ABERDEEN — It took all 21 outs, but the Dakota Valley Panthers are state softball champs.

No. 3 Dakota Valley took down No. 8 Elk Point-Jefferson, 9-6, claiming the school’s first-ever state softball title.

The Panthers held off a late seventh-inning, two-out rally to capture the championship.

“I’m crying for the girls,” said Dakota Valley coach Jason Anderson. “The way they’ve come together throughout this season brings a tear to my eye. I love it.”

With a convincing 9-1 lead heading into the final frame, the Panthers were just three outs from its first-ever title, but the Huskies were no stranger to playing spoiler in the state tournament. EPJ knocked off top-seeded Madison and the defending champion West Central Trojans in the first two rounds of the state tournament.

With two outs in the seventh inning, Molly Geary poured in two EPJ runs on a triple, followed by a Paige Jacobs RBI-double with another double by Cera Schmitz. 

Bailey Johnson laced another two-RBI-single into center field and the Huskies had cut the lead to just three runs. But Johnson got caught in a pickle rounding first base, getting tagged out to end the game.

“We had battled all day, we battled all weekend and we could get it,” said DV pitcher Emma Barnett. “Those few runs didn’t matter, we’re still a strong team and getting that out was amazing, it felt so awesome.”

Barnett was a catalyst in the Panthers title run this weekend. She threw every single pitch for the Panthers in three state tournament games. Anderson said he debated on pulling Barnett before the seventh inning, but elected to let the junior slam the door on the championship.

“We have four pitchers and I debated on whether to pull her for somebody else in that last inning just for a change. We had enough of a lead that I decided, she brought us here and got us through all of that, and I wanted to see her finish it.”

And on the other side, the DV offense was consistent throughout the state championship, scoring runs in five of its six appearances at the plate.

Barnett got the scoring started with a first inning RBI-double, Audrey Sindt added an RBI-single in the second inning before Annie Bourne’s RBI-single in the third gave DV a 3-0 lead.

“We knew our bats were hot, we just had to get going right away,” Barnett said of the early offense. “Being the home team had a huge advantage, just being able to get early and get going was a huge thing for us and has been all weekend.”

EPJ’s Laney Trometer plated the first Husky run on a single in the fifth inning but was quickly countered by back-to-back three-run innings from the Panthers.

The Huskies monumental comeback fell just short in the final inning, handing DV its first state softball championship.

“The South has risen,” said Anderson. “EPJ and Dakota Valley come all the way up here for a state championship. The great thing is, in Class A, you just never know which team is going to win it and you’ve got to come with that energy every single game otherwise someone is going to come get you.”

Brynn Ramos tallied three hits, a double, and two RBIs for the Panthers, Bourne had two hits and a walk while Barnett, Payten Konopasek, Paige Moffatt and Sindt each drove in a run in the win for the Panthers.

Regan Rasmussen took the loss for EPJ, allowing nine runs on nine hits and three walks in six innings, striking out three.

EPJ’s Trometer had three hits and an RBI, Geary added two RBIs on two hits, one triple, Johnson had two RBIs on one hit while Jacobs added an RBI-double in the loss. Rasmussen added two hits as well.

The Huskies' run to the state championship fell just short, but EPJ head coach Amber Otkin says there was plenty to be proud about with her group.

“There’s really not a better tournament that we could’ve asked for,” Otkin said. “We came in and beat Madison and nobody expected us to beat them. Then we came and beat the defending champs and we had a game here too. That’s what our goal is all season is be competitive and have a little bit of fun along the way and we sure did that.”