By John George
The No. 2 seeded Lady Eagle softball team did just what they were supposed to on Monday in the first round of the 6A North Sub-Section Tournament. They pitched well, they played good defense, they had timely hitting and they scored lots of runs. The results was a 12-0 win over No. 7 Cass Lake.
"We played pretty well today," head coach Bryan Dunrud said. "It took a couple of innings to warm up, ten we started connecting at the plate."
The game started late as officials worked to dry the field after an afternoon rain storm. Mills then went down quickly in their first at bat.
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Fate played a part in the first scoring opportunity in the second. With Stephanie Cichy and Kristen Perala on base with two outs, Nicole Nebosis hit a two-strike foul-tip into the catcher's mit. If the catcher had held on, strike three and inning over. But the catcher couldn't hang on, and Nebosis had new life. She took advantage with a two-run single, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
In the third, Cichy began a two-out rally with a walk. Kristina Boe followed with an infield single off the thumb of the Cass Lake pitcher, knocking her out of the game. Perala greeted the new pitcher with a two-run bloop double and the Eagles had a 4-0 lead.
Mills broke the game open in the fourth. After one run came in on a wild pitch, Emily Salo ripped a RBI triple, then scored on a wild throw. After Brea Welter drove in Kim Becker for a 8-0 lead, Perala delivered her third and fourth RBI of the game on a triple. Nebosis finished the inning with her third RBI of the game and Mills had a 12-0 lead.
With a win by 10-run rule hanging in the balance, pitcher Tessa Wegscheid promptly struck out the side in the top of the fifth, giving her nine for the game. She allowed just two hits in picking up her 11th win
Next Round
Mills (11-9) will now take on Park Region Conference rival Verndale in the 6A Sub-Section semifinals. The No. 3 seeded Pirates (11-7) beat No. 6 Laporte in Monday's quarterfinals, 0-0. The Eagles split a doubleheader with Verndale on May 8, winning the first game, 13-5, then dropping the second, 12-5.
The Sub-Section semifinals and finals will be in Menahga today (May 24). No. 1 Menahga will take on No. 4 Pillager at noon in the first semifinal. Mills and Verndale will play at 2 p.m. in the second semi with the finals to follow at approximately 4 p.m.
The Section 6A semifinals will be May 29 in Menahga.
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Above .500
The Eagles ensured a .500 record with a 5-2 win over Bertha-Hewitt in the regular season finale last Thursday.
Kristina Boe drove in three runs, including the game's first in the top of the second, scoring Stephanie Cichy.
After Bertha-Hewitt tied the game in the third, Sam Welter and Tessa Wegscheid drove in runs in the fourth to give Mills a 3-1 lead. Boe drove in two insurance runs in the seventh, scoring Emily Salo and Kim Becker.
The Bears scored one run on three hits off Wegscheid in the bottom of the seventh, but left two runners on to end the game.
Thursday, May 17
New York Mills 5, Bertha-Hewitt 2
R- H- E
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NYM 0-1-0-2-0-0-2-- 5-10-1
B-H 0-0-1-0-0-0-1-- 2- 7- 1
Eagles-- Tessa Wegscheid 1-3, SAC, RBI; Emily Salo 1-4, R; Kim Becker 0-4, R; Brea Welter 1-4; Stephanie Cichy 1-3, R; Kristina Boe 2-4, 3 RBI; Kristen Perala 1-3, R; Sam Welter 1-4, R, RBI; Nicole Nebosis 2-2.
Pitching IP R ER H SO BB
Wegscheid (10-9) 7 2 2 7 8 2
Monday, May 23
6A Sub-Section Quarterfinals
#2 New York Mills 12, #7 Cass Lake 0
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R- H- E
Cass Lake 0-0-0-0-0--- 0- 2- 4
NYM 0-2-2-8-x---12- 0- 1
Eagles--Wegscheid 1-3, BB, SB, R; Salo 1-3, 3B, 2 RBI; Becker 2-3, R; B. Welter 1-3, SB, R, RBI; Cichy 1-2, BB, 2 SB, 2 R; Boe 1-2, BB, SB, 2 R; Perala 2-2, BB, 3B, 2 R, 4 RBI; S. Welter 0-2, HBP, SB, R; Nebosis 1-2, BB, R, 3 RBI.
Pitching IP R ER H SO BB
Wegscheid (11-9) 7 0 0 2 9 0
Park Region Conf. All
Otter Tail Central 12-2 19-2
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Parkers Prairie 9-5 10-7
Menahga 9-6 12-9
New York Mills 9-6 11-9
Verndale 8-7 12--8
Pillager 5-9 7-10
Bertha-Hewitt 3-11 7-12
Sebeka 3-12 5-15
(Several scores have not been reported)
