2024 Softball State Tournament: Class AA Championship

Randolph’s debut in Class AA was a festive success. 

Fans from the town with a population of 458 created a lively sea of orange and blue during Randolph’s three-day run at the Minnesota State High School League’s Softball State Tournament at Caswell Park in North Mankato. Randolph, a recent power in Class A, moved up an enrollment class and the top-seeded Rockets proved just as formidable after posting a 3-0 victory over No. 2 Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial in the Class AA championship game on Friday, June 7.

The Rockets scored two runs in the second and added another in the seventh to punctuate a season of dominance that included a 20-game winning streak during the regular season. In the postseason, the Rockets were 7-1, the only loss to Caledonia in the Section 1AA final. But Randolph bounced back from the 5-2 setback to defeat Caledonia 6-0 in the elimination game on May 30. 

In the penultimate game of the season, sophomore catcher Allie Gillette gave the Rockets the lead for good with a two-run double down the line. Later, junior right fielder Kyree Carey added an RBI single in the seventh. 

With that three-run lead, Randolph junior ace Carter Raymond needed just three more outs to end the season on a winning note. She struck out two and induced a championship-clinching ground ball out. In the three-game tournament, she allowed just two runs, with one being earned. In the championship game, she pitched out of jams in the third inning and again in the sixth. 

From 2018-2023, Randolph qualified for the Class A State Tournament, winning the crown in 2021.

Junior right fielder Julia Montgomery had two hits for Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial (23-3).

Third place

Sophomore first baseman Samantha Dingmann had an RBI single in the sixth inning, and sophomore third baseman Tayla Vought added one of her own an inning later to spark No. 3 St. Cloud Cathedral (24-3) to a 3-1 victory over No. 5 St. Agnes in the third-place game. Sophomore pitcher Angela Proper recorded 12 strikeouts for St. Anges (23-4).