When freshman Lucy Porter grounded to third with the bases loaded, she had no idea the Dodgers were about to walk off into the Class 5A semifinals.

Top-ranked Fort Dodge (36-6 overall) made quick work of No. 12 Waukee (25-15) with a 12-0 perfect game in three innings on Monday in the Class 5A quarterfinals.

The Dodgers will now face sixth-ranked West Des Moines Valley (27-13). The Tigers defeated No. 7 Southeast Polk (26-12) by a 7-5 final in their quarterfinal.

Valley and Fort Dodge will meet for the third time this season. The Dodgers won the opener of a late-May twinbill, 7-3, but the Tigers took the nightcap 7-1.

“We’ve been preparing for this week for months,” said FDSH head coach Andi Adams. “These girls wanted to come to the park much earlier than we did. They just love to play softball.

“They’re like greyhounds at the slip…they just want to get out here. State softball is like Christmas morning for them.”

Adams is a 1994 graduate of WCHS. She was inducted into the Webster City Hall of Fame in 2011 as well as the Buena Vista Hall of Fame.

With the Dodgers already leading 9-0 in the bottom of the third, the bases were juiced for the Dodgers’ No. 4 hitter.

Porter hit a ground ball to third base. When the catcher bobbled the ball at the plate, the ball hit the foot of a sliding Cadence Touney and went for a ride around the backstop.

Tourney scored, followed by Reese Pederson. A hustling Haley Wills then crossed the plate for the clinching mercy-rule run, as Porter sprinted all the way to third.

“The first thing I thought was don’t get out at first,” Porter laughed. “The ball was kicked, then I kept looking back, and (first-base) coach (Aaron Miller) told me to go to second. Then I went all the way to third as everything was happening (at home).”

Meanwhile, future Iowa Hawkeye Jalen Adams (21-3) fired a three-inning perfect game with five strikeouts. Adams became the first large-class pitcher since Stephanie Ackerson of West Des Moines Dowling nearly 20 years ago to log both a no-hitter and a perfect game at state.

Adams had a no-hitter a year ago in the quarterfinals.

“Initially, we go to our field at the high school (behind FDSH) and warm up and keep it loose,” Jalen Adams said. “We just zone in from there and go through our routine.”

It was the second straight quarterfinal no-hitter for Adams, who did the same thing to Bettendorf in last year’s opener. Adams is now 16-2 in her postseason career. She has 211 strikeouts this season.

“We’ve focused on the first pitcher all week,” Adams said. “We knew she liked to throw steady outside pitches.

“We knew we had to have our mindset right and pass each test as it comes. Get the first win, move on and keep achieving our goals.”

The Dodgers were ready for Waukee. In fact, they were ready for everything, plating six runs right out of the chute and pounding out 12 total hits.

“At the beginning, we do our hair for about an hour. Then we lock in,” Porter said. “We just have the strongest bond.

“I’m only a freshman, but these seniors and everyone else are my best friends.”

The defending 5A champs were ready for the atmosphere, the opponent, the chase and the outcome. Adams had her gameplan for the team, and they followed it to perfection against a squad that had just upset No. 3 Johnston in the regional finals six days ago.

“We prepare regardless of the opponent,” Andi Adams said. “They are here for a reason. We don’t assume anything or take anything lightly.

“We know what we can do and we do what we can.”

The scouting report on Waukee pitcher Lily Rand was that she liked to work the outside corner. The Dodgers were ready.

After the big first inning, the Dodgers didn’t let up. Freshman Mariah Myers hit a two-run home run well over the left field fence for an 8-0 advantage. It was Myers’ ninth longball of the season, breaking the school record for a ninth-grader.

“I thought she was going to throw it out and low, so I moved up in the box,” Myers said. “It’s an awesome feeling, because this is what we’re looking for.”

Lydia Lara plated Elleena Dunn with the final run before Porter’s at-bat.

Myers finished 3-for-3 with two RBI. Future Iowa Hawkeye Tory Bennett and Porter added two hits each. Bennett scored twice, Porter scored and drove in a run.

“It means everything to be advancing,” Bennett said. “This team is drastically different from last year’s team (with six new starters), but we are clicking at the right time. We have so much fun together…we’re just keeping our eyes on the prize.

“These girls are my family. I want nothing more than to help lead them to a championship.”

Sophomore Macy Brown was 2-for-2 with a run driven in. Wills, freshman Meah McCaleb and junior Maggie Elsbecker all drove in runs.

Seven of the nine Dodgers recorded hits.

In their fifth straight state trip and seventh in eight years, the Dodgers are prepared to do what it takes to leave a new mark in the school’s history books.

“Every girl on this team wants to be part of this,” Adams said. “These younger girls have waited their turn and they have earned their spot. Our three seniors are leaders.

“There is no drama or fighting on this team. They fight for each other.”

FORT DODGE 12, WAUKEE 0

Waukee 000 — 0 0 3

Fort Dodge 633 — 12 12 0

WP–Jalen Adams (21-3), 3IP, 0H, 0ER, 5SO, 0BB; LP–Lily Rand (13-8), 2IP, 11H, 9ER, 1SO, 0BB; LOB–Waukee 0, Fort Dodge 4; 2B–FD: Lydia Lara; HR–FD: Mariah Myers; HBP–FD: Meah McCaleb; SACF–FD: Lara; SB–FD: Reese Pederson (2), Tory Bennett, Lucy Porter.