Softball: Chatfield Loses to Cotter but Advances to 1AA Final Four

Chatfield softball is again in the 1AA final four. Brent Berge’s Gophers went 3-1 on the week in playoff games.  The Gophers (2-seed, 14-6) handled early round opponents Rushford-Peterson (15-seed, 4-17) and La Crescent/Hokah (7-seed, 14-9) by 11-0 and 10-0 tallies, both in five innings.  Versus the Trojans, Caijel Berge (5 IP, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K, Win) pitched a one-hitter.  Makenna Dornack (2-3, 2 R) had a pair of triples.  Marley Everson (2-2, 2B, R) drove in three runs. Brynn Horsman (2-4, RBI, 2 R), Kendyl Nolte (2-3, 2B, R), Rylee Urban (1-2, 2B, 2 RBI, R), and Olivia Karver (1-3, 3B, 2 RBI) added to a six-extra-base attack.  Alannah Skalet (1-2) had R-P’s sole hit. The Trojans finish at 4-18.   Versus the Lancers, Chatfield scored seven first inning runs.  Urban (5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K; 2-3, 2B, 3B) pitched the shutout.  Audrey Springer (2-2, 2 R) drove in three runs.  Madyson Proper (2-3, RBI), Dornack (2-3, 2B, RBI), Karver (1-3, RBI, R), Nolte (1-3, RBI, R), Berge (1-2, R), and Horsman (1-3, R) helped in a 12-hit cause. The Gophers (2-seed, 16-6) then faced archrival Cotter/HL (3-seed, 18-6).   Camrie Macal hit a 3-run home run in the fourth to give the Ramblers a 3-0 lead.  But the Gophers fought back, Nolte hitting a sac fly to score Horsman to tie the game 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth.  The game went to extras tied 3-3.  But in the top of the eighth, Cotter/HL scored five runs, three on Gopher errors.  Trailing 8-3, the Gophers narrowed it to 8-5 in their half, and had the tying run at the plate, but a strikeout ended it.  The Ramblers prevailed 8-5. Dornack (2-4, 2 R) had two more triples.  Horsman (1-4, 2 R), Nolte (1-3, RBI), Urban (1-3, RBI), and Springer (1-4, RBI) also did work.  Urban (8 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) took the loss.  Madelynn Speltz (8 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K) got the win.  Raegen Hoheisel (2-3, 2B, RBI, 2 R) joined Macal (1-3, HR, 3 RBI, R) to lead Cotter/HL. The Gophers (2-seed, 16-7) then rallied versus rival D-E (4-seed, 15-7) in a loser-out game. Springer smacked a two-run double in the first.  A couple Eagle errors in the third plated three more. All of the game’s runs were scored in the first three innings in a 5-1 Chatfield win.  Springer (2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, R), Horsman (2-4, R), and Nolte (2-3) had two hits. Urban (7 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K) to the win. Chatfield (2-seed, 17-7) moves on to a Memorial Day loser-out game with Zumbrota-Mazeppa (6-seed, 15-10).