A while back I wrote about the chronic lack of competitiveness in Minnewaska Area boys athletics this school year. Not only losing often but losing badly, unfortunately for the student-athletes there. I haven't really checked on spring sports. But it was a down day Tuesday for the female gender on the softball diamond.
The Lakers squared-off against our Tigers in a doubleheader here. It sure was not an interesting day of competition. The Tigers swept away the Lakers with scores of 15-0 and 17-0.
An MAHS faculty member has told me that MACA softball is prone to suffering in the post-season due to a lack of really being tested in the regular season. For one thing, our conference is weak, this person told me. Not sure why that has to be. We in particular run into a buzz saw with the teams from southern Minnesota in the post-season. I sure don't see why that has to be. This has gone on for a great many years.
The Tigers will enter the post-season with a super W/L mark, getting fans to think "state," but in so many seasons it just doesn't happen. The scores from Tuesday at the softball complex illustrate again how the Tigers breeze through so many games - satisfying in the short term, yes. But also a little boring? Has to be.
I wonder how the fans did in finding reasonable comfort and a good viewing position Tuesday. Holmberg Field is set up in such a challenging way for fans. I'm a little embarrassed as I think about how the visiting team fans try to cope with it. Not a good selling point for Morris, that's for sure. I'm guessing that it's hair-pulling for some. Too late now for a re-design. Our baseball program has the asset of grandstand seating. The softball girls should have the same asset IMHO.
The Tigers pounded out 13 hits in the 15-0 win over the Lakers. The game was restricted to four innings. Kortney Sanasack knocked the cover off the ball with a triple and four RBIs, Brett Miller reports. Sanasack also scored three runs. Brianna Marty and Kaylin Steen each picked up three RBIs. Marty crossed home plate four times. Amaya Raths drove in two runs. Lauren Hottovy made noise with the stick: three hits, four runs scored.
In the pitching circle it was Nora Boyle excelling with a mere one hit allowed in four innings. She struck out seven and walked none.
Bring on game 2! It was really just a carbon copy of the first game in terms of MACA dominance. So it was a 17-0 outcome in five innings this time. Great to see Cate Kehoe donning the uniform in this school year in which she spent much time sidelined with injury. Cate connected for a home run in the 17-0 win!
Haley Kill tripled in a run. Kenzie Anderson picked up two ribbies. Brianna Marty was right in the zone and this Tiger drove in five runs. Kill pitched with polish as she allowed just one hit in her five shutout innings. She fanned six.
My, the orange and black has a conference win streak of 46! Brett Miller reports that the Lakers are 1-9. Can Minnewaska Area break out of its funk for next year? Might morale start to dim? That would be unfortunate. I remember in last fall's football game here, I was concerned that the 'Waska quarterback had to leave the field with a possible concussion.
The Tigers came out of Tuesday with 11-1 W/L numbers. Can we parlay this into extended post-season success? I guess that's the big question.
Tigers 14, Sauk Centre 0
Wow, a 14-0 thumping of Sauk Centre! That's what the MACA softball Tigers achieved at the Sauk Centre diamond. The game was another showcase for pitcher Haley Kill. The Willmar newspaper spells it "Hailey" but I most often see it as "Haley." We have a track and field athlete named "Hailey Werk."
The softball action had Haley Kill tossing a one-hitter in the 14-0 rout of the Streeters. The Streeters were frustrated at bat. Of the 15 total batters that Kill faced, ten were retired via strikeout. Kill walked no one.
With 14 runs scored, MACA generated no shortage of offensive highlights. Our 13-hit attack had Brianna Marty posting a three-for-four line. Tigers with two hits were Lauren Hottovy, Kortney Sanasack and MacKenzie Anderson. Tigers with one hit were Amaya Raths, Kill, Nora Boyle and Kaylin Steen.
Sauk Centre's Lanna Walter had a hit in her two at-bats. The losing pitcher was Hailey Hokanson. Four of the runs she allowed were unearned. She fanned three batters, walked six.
MACA came out of the starting gate strong with six runs in the first inning, and we proceeded to score in each of the five innings. Coach Mary Holmberg had to be pleased with the errorless brand of ball we played. Sauk Centre committed three errors.
The orange and black came out of the day with a sterling 9-1 record.
Baseball: Tigers 9, Sauk Centre 2
The Tigers of the baseball world began their week with this nifty 9-2 triumph at the Sauk Centre diamond. Obviously our pitching was reliable. And it was backed partly by Andrew Marty who had three hits in four at-bats. He drove in four runs. His double in the fourth plated two runs. His single in the fifth brought in two more.
So the Tigers assumed command in the middle innings. Ashdon Hacker drove in a pair of runs. Riley Asmus and Trevor Buss each contributed two hits. And in the pitching phase, fans saw Drew Huebner twirl four shutout innings. He fanned nine Streeters and allowed just one hit. The ball was handed to Jackson Hallman for the last two innings. The Tigers are over .500 at 5-3.
Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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