Urbandale will be making its 17th trip to the state softball tournament next week, but is first since 2002, when the J-Hawks play fifth ranked Waukee in a class 5A quarterfinal on Monday afternoon. Most of the previous trips to Fort Dodge came under legendary coach Gary Page back in the 1970s and 80s.
Third year coach Veronica Roshek says that was even before she played against Urbandale in high school She says a lot of people have reached out to her after the team won the spot in the tourney. She has turned around a program that won only 12 games two summers ago. “We’ve been building the last couple of years, the last few years I’ve had a very young team,” Rosheck says.
Almost all the team returned this year, and Rosheck says she has been impressed with how well they have played. Roshek says this season’s success began with last year’s team that finished 20-20 and lost a heart breaker to West Des Moines Valley in regional play. “When we lost that game that we felt like we could win…once that game was over, it was just in everyone’s mind it didn’t happen this year, next year is the year,” Rosheck says.
Urbandale is 25-17 on the season.