The State Softball Tournament gets underway today at Rogers Sports Complex north of Ft. Dodge. When Class 3A play begins tonight the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference will be represented by conference champion Saydel (Des Moines). The Eagles have a 31-4 record and are the fourth seed in the eight team field. They will face 23-8 Davis County (Bloomfield) in the quarterfinals.

Greene County is very familiar with Saydel, having played the Eagles three times in each of the past two seasons. Coach Tom Kennedy’s team played Saydel closer than most teams in 2022 even though they went 0-3, losing 3-2 at Saydel to begin the season, 5-0 in Jefferson, then 1-0 on July 9 in a Class 3A Region 2 semifinal. Saydel won its other two postseason games 7-0 and 11-2 on its way to State. The Eagles are led by junior pitcher Dakota Lake, who has struck out 394 batters in 209 innings.

Some Greene County team members are planning on making the trip north to watch the State Tournament tonight.