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Cochrane-Fountain Metropolis’s softball crew met up with a well-known foe in Thursday’s WIAA Division 4 regional remaining, and sadly for Pirates followers, historical past repeated itself.
Sixth-seeded C-FC noticed its season come to a detailed with an 11-3 loss in opposition to seven-seed Osseo-Fairchild, after the 2 groups pulled off first spherical upsets for the second season in a row.
Final spring the seventh-seeded Thunder beat six-seed C-FC 19-9, and the Pirates have now been eradicated within the regional title sport the previous three seasons.
The Pirates (16-8) had been pink sizzling the previous few weeks of the season, profitable 9 of their previous 10 video games heading into Thursday, however Osseo-Fairchild was robust from the beginning.
The Thunder (13-8) scored 4 runs within the first inning, together with a three-run house run to left discipline by senior Rae Prudlick and by no means trailed the remainder of the way in which.
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C-FC junior pitcher Bella Holzer settled in over the following three innings, holding O-F scoreless and choosing up 5 strikeouts.
Nevertheless, the beforehand sizzling Pirates bats remained chilly as that they had hassle adjusting to the model of senior Katie Skoug.
“As we speak, we have been off the tip of our bat so much. I assumed repeatedly, ‘we’re going to interrupt this one, going to interrupt this one.’ It simply didn’t occur,” C-FC head coach Steve Lyga stated.
The Thunder scored two runs within the prime of the fifth to make it 6-0, then the Pirates acquired on the board within the backside of the fifth with senior Kourtney Foley driving in freshman Mackenzie Wenger with a single for a 6-1 rating.
Osseo-Fairchild saved hitting from there, including three within the sixth and two within the seventh to get the lead as excessive as 11-1.
C-FC closed the season on a powerful word with two runs, but it surely was not sufficient for a miraculous comeback. Freshman Caitlyn Bissen scored on a fielder’s alternative by senior Cadence Wenger, and Wenger got here house on a double by Foley.
Whereas Foley and Cadence Wenger have been a pair of necessary seniors, the Pirates had a younger crew total, with two freshmen on this 12 months’s beginning lineup and pitching ace Holzer coming again subsequent season.
“It’s an important 12 months, going 16-8 with a bunch of freshmen and sophomores,” Lyga stated. “For them to get out and play softball, and hold maturing as pupil athletes, that’s going to assist them of their future.”
(1) Winona 17, (5) Stewartville 3
The highest-seeded Winhawks (18-2) cruised to a victory of their first playoff sport following a first-round bye, beating the fifth-seeded Tigers (9-8) by 14 runs in 5 innings in a Part 1AAA event matchup in Austin.
Winona scored early and infrequently, with 4 runs within the first inning and three extra within the second. After a scoreless third, the Winhawks put the sport out of attain with a 10-run rally within the fourth.
Stewartville picked up three runs within the prime of the fifth to interrupt their drought, however all three have been unearned on the file of senior Ava Hamsund, who allowed seven hits with no walks and 7 strikeouts within the win.
Winona’s prime three hitters every had three-hit days to steer the offense, with Hamsund going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored, senior Makayla Steffes at 3-for-3 with a stroll, a double, two RBI and 4 runs scored and senior Macy McNally at 3-for-4 with a double, two triples, two runs scored and 5 RBI.
With the victory, the Winhawks advance to the Part 1AAA semifinals the place they may tackle two-seed Byron (15-4) in a battle of state ranked groups Wednesday in Austin.
Winona is second within the state on this week’s Minnesota Fastpitch Coaches’ Affiliation Prime 10 rankings, whereas Byron rounds out the record in tenth.
The 2 groups met up early within the common season, with Winona choosing up a 4-0 win at house on April 10.
(1) St. Charles 6, (2) Cotter 2
(4) La Crescent-Hokah 2, (2) Cotter 1
The Ramblers (16-5) dropped a pair of video games within the Part 1AA event to see their season come to a detailed.
On Tuesday, Cotter head coach Pat Bowlin tied the Minnesota state teaching file with 802 victories, and with Thursday’s pair of losses, he’ll stay tied with retired New Ulm Cathedral coach Bob Mertz till subsequent season.
Cotter acquired off to a sizzling begin within the subsection title sport in opposition to the Saints (21-2), scoring two runs within the prime of the primary inning on a two-run single by eighth grader Ella Deets.
St. Charles, which ranks as the highest crew in Class AA by the MFCA, scored three runs within the backside of the primary and led the remainder of the way in which.
Within the comfort bracket, the Ramblers dropped a matchup with a lower-seeded La Crescent-Hokah squad (17-6) that performed them shut twice within the common season.
LC-H picked up two runs within the prime of the third, and Cotter was solely capable of rating as soon as within the backside of the fifth with freshman Savy Repinski driving in fellow freshman Camrie Macal.
Lancers pitchers Addie Murilla and Kaitlyn Miller mixed to permit simply two hits and three walks, with Bowlin crediting the robust play of the LC-H protection at stopping a number of hits with runners on base.
(6) G-E-T 8, (11) Northland Pines 4
The sixth-ranked RedHawks (13-10) scored six runs over the fifth and sixth innings to take management on their house discipline and beat 11-seed Northland Pines to advance within the WIAA Division 2 regional event.
G-E-T will go to the third-ranked West Salem within the regional semifinals on Tuesday.
Collin Handke pitched six innings for G-E-T, placing out eight batters and permitting simply three hits. Jack Beedle went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and Calvin Davis went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
(9) Wisconsin Rapids Assumption 8, (8) C-FC 5
The Pirates (8-12) took their 8-seed vs 9-seed matchup to additional innings, however misplaced to an offensive explosion by the Royals (7-11) to finish C-FC’s season within the first spherical of the Division 4 regional event.
Every crew had three runs via the primary seven innings in Fountain Metropolis, however Assumption broke the sport open with a five-run rally within the prime of the eighth inning. C-FC’s bats got here alive within the backside of the body, scoring twice, however not sufficient to beat the deficit.
Large 9 Convention championship
Winona competed within the Large 9 Convention title meet on the North Hyperlinks Golf Course in Mankato on Thursday, ending eighth out of the 12-team discipline.
As a crew, the Winhawks shot a 389 to beat out Rochester Century’s 393 however behind Pink Wing’s 372. Owatonna received the meet at 330, beating Northfield’s runner-up 339.
Winona was led by junior Marin Keller, who shot a 90 in a three-way tie for sixteenth place to earn a spot on the all-conference crew for the third consecutive season.
