2022 Softball State Tournament Day 1 Recap

Thirty-two games were played over more than 13 hours during Day 1 of the Minnesota State School League’s Softball State Tournament on Thursday, June 9, 2022, at Caswell Park in North Mankato. Following the softball feast, championship games are now set in the four enrollment classes. Consolation final, third-place and championship games will be played on Friday in the final day of the high school season.

Here is a look at what happened on Day 1:

Class A

Top-seeded Nicollet, making its first state tournament appearance since 1982, used a record-tying performance in defeating Edgerton/SW MN Christian 4-1 in the semifinals late Thursday. Senior pitcher Marah Hulke gave up just two hits and struck out 20 in sending the Raiders to the championship game. Hulke’s performance tied the single-game state tournament mark of 20 strikeouts for a regulation game set by Pine City’s Rhiannon Sauter against Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton in 2007..

Junior second baseman Tori Adams was 3 for 3 with three runs batted in.

Moose Lake/Willow River, also making its first state tournament appearance since 1982, completed the championship pairing with a 3-2 victory over Randolph, which had been the defending Class A champion. Freshman first baseman Sandra Ribich had two RBIs for the Rebels.

Freshman pitcher Carter Raymond was 2 for 3 for Randolph.

Quarterfinals

Edgerton/SW Mn Christian 3, Red Lake Falls 1 --- Junior third baseman Makenna Moss and sophomore leftfielder Alyda Vande Griend had run-scoring hits in the top of the eighth inning to send Edgerton/SW Mn Christian to a victory over Red Lake Falls. Senior pitcher Bella Amiot had 12 strikeouts for Red Lake Falls.

Moose Lake/Willow River 8, Wabasha-Kellogg 0 --- Moose Lake/Willow River scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth to pull away from Wabasha-Kellogg in the quarterfinals.  Senior catcher Natalie Mikrot had two RBIs.

Nicollet 10, Menagha 0 --- Senior shortstop Marah Hulke was 2 for 3 with three runs scored and two knocked in to power the top-seeded Raiders past Menagha. Senior pitcher Hayley Selby contributed with 10 strikeouts.

Randolph 5, Upsala 1 --- Junior left fielder Anna Olsen and freshman second baseman Chloe Vaought had two RBIs each to send Randolph to a 5-1 victory over Upsala. Freshman pitcher Carter Raymond limited Upsala to three hits and struck out nine.

Class AA

Top-seeded Proctor kept hopes for school history alive following a 2-1 victory over Maple Lake in 12 innings. The Rails, making their first state tournament appearance since 2006, ended the marathon game in unique walk-off fashion. With the bases loaded and no outs, senior shortstop Payton Rodberg flied out to Maple Lake senior centerfielder Emma Jude. She fired the ball into second to double up the Proctor baserunner. The relay to home wasn’t quite in time to catch junior third baseman Sophia Parendo, who tagged up and scored from third with the winning run to end the 2 hour, 36 minute game.

Chatfield filled the other championship spot with a 3-1 victory over Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton. The Gophers assembled a three-run burst in the top of the second behind a two-run single from freshman designated player Brittin Ruskell. Chatfield is also seeking its first softball state championship.

Quarterfinals

Proctor 7, Pipestone Area 6 --- Top-seeded Proctor needed two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to erase a deficit and climb over Pipestone Area for a quarterfinal victory. Junior second baseman Abigail Hanson delivered a two-run single for the winning margin. Junior first baseman Sophia Parendo was 4 for 4 with two RBIs.

Chatfield 8, Mounds Park Academy 5 --- Chatfield posted a four-run sixth inning to race past Mounds Park Academy in the quarterfinals. Junior pitcher Claire Springer was 3 for 3 with two RBIs to power the Gophers. In the pitching circle, she had eight strikeouts.

Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 4, LeSueur-Henderson 2 --- Unseeded Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton built a three-run lead and added an insurance run in the top of the seventh en route to defeating LeSueur-Henderson, the defending Class AA champion. Senior pitcher Mallory Leitner had two RBIs and limited the Giants to six hits while striking out five. Junior pitcher Chloe Brandt struck out 11 for LeSueur-Henderson.

Maple Lake 4, St. Cloud Cathedral 1 --- Maple Lake broke open a deadlocked game with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to pull away from St. Cloud Cathedral. Senior second baseman Bryn Elsenpeter, sophomore Kelsi Jude and junior designated player Audrey Beffel had two hits each for the Irish.   

Class AAA

Semifinals

It will be an all-Big 9 Conference matchup when top-seeded Winona and No. 2 Mankato West meet for the Class AAA crown at 1:30 p.m., on Field 3 at Caswell Park. The two played just once during the conference season with Winona recording a 7-5 victory on May 17 in the second-to-last game of the regular season.

Winona made its way to the championship game for the second consecutive season behind a 4-0 victory over Chisago Lakes in the semifinals. Junior pitcher Ava Hamsund had two doubles and two RBIs in sending the Winhwawks to their 23^rd victory of the season. In the pitching circle, she limited the Wildcats to two hits while striking out five.

Chisago Lakes, making its state tournament debut, got 10 strikeouts from junior pitcher Ashley Mandell.

Mankato West needed late-inning heroics to defeat Simley 4-3 in the other semifinal. Eighth-grade catcher Lydia Banse delivered a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh to complete the Scarlets’ rally from what had been a 3-0 deficit. Junior rightfielder Carlee Emery was 3 for 3 with three runs batted in for Mankato West.

Simley built a three-run lead with two runs in the top of the fourth inning behind a two-run home run by senior third baseman Olivia Hennanger.

Quarterfinals

Winona 9, Rocori 0 --- Senior shortstop Grace Fricke was 2 for 3 with two home runs and four RBIs to power the top-seeded Winhawks past Rocori. Junior pitcher Makayla Steffes scattered four hits and had 11 strikeouts.

Simley 3, St. Anthony Village 2 --- Sophomore shortstop Bailey Frank hit a two-run single through the right side of the infield in the top of the sixth inning to help send Simley to a 3-2 victory over No. 3-seeded St. Anthony Village. The Huskies closed the gap to 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the sixth and threatened again in the seventh, but couldn’t find the tying run.

Mankato West 5, Monticello 1 --- Senior first baseman Lauryn Douglas hit a two-run single in a three-run sixth inning to help send No. 2 Mankato West to a 5-1 victory over Monticello.

Chisago Lakes 6, Benilde-St. Margaret’s 1 --- Chisago Lakes made its state tournament debut a memorable one with a victory over the Red Knights. The Wildcats used a four-run third inning and the pitcher of junior Ashley Mandell, who had seven strikeouts, to keep Benilde-St. Margaret’s at bay.

Class AAAA

Semifinals

No. 4-seeded Forest Lake and No. 2 Brainerd made their way into the championship game with victories in the semifinals.

Forest Lake, the big-school runner-up in 2021, earned another chance at a title behind a 3-2 victory over White Bear Lake early on Friday afternoon. The Rangers (21-5) built a three-run lead with two runs in the fifth inning. White Bear Lake pulled to within a run with two runs of its own in the bottom of the fifth, but sophomore pitcher shut down the Bears the rest of the way with 2 1/3 innings of relief to earn the save.

It was Forest Lake’s first victory over White Bear Lake in three games this season. In the previous two meetings, the Rangers lost 2-0 and 7-2, respectively, during Suburban East Conference play. Junior centerfielder Maddie Larrabee was 2 for 3 with a run scored for the Rangers. Forest Lake is seeking its first softball state championship in five title game appearances.

Brainerd, making its first state tournament trip since 2011, is also chasing its first softball crown. The Warriors earned that chance with a 5-2 victory over Hopkins in the other semifinal. Senior third baseman Meghan Smith had two RBIs while freshman shortstop Mya Tautges and junior centerfield Josie Kappes had two hits each.

In what might have been a premonition of a championship game matchup, Forest Lake and Brainerd played in the regular-season finale with the Warriors recording a 2-1 victory.

Quarterfinals

White Bear Lake 3, Lakeville South 0 --- Senior shortstop Jordan Meyer hit a three-run home run to left field in the bottom of the third inning to send the top-seeded Bears to a 3-0 victory over the Cougars.

Hopkins 3, Chanhassen 1 --- Junior pitcher Signe Dohse hit a leadoff home run off University of Minnesota recruit Sydney Schwartz to help send Hopkins to a victory over No. 3-seeded Chanhassen. Dohse finished with two hits, and in the pitching circle, scattered six hits and struck out seven.

Brainerd 4, East Ridge 3 --- Senior third baseman Megan Smith hit an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to snap a tie and send the top-seeded Warriors to a 4-3 victory over East Ridge. Senior pitcher Olivia Tautges was 3 for 3 and struck out eight batters.

 Forest Lake 6, Centennial 3 --- Junior catcher Bethany Weiss hit a two-run home in the bottom of the sixth inning to send Forest Lake to a 6-3 victory over Centennial.