Softball roundup: Willmar salvages a split with Alexandria

Tom Elliott, Joe Brown, Donna Middleton, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·6 min read

May 17—WILLMAR — The Willmar softball team split a doubleheader with Alexandria on Monday.

"Willmar lost the first game 12-2 in five innings and then won the second 3-1.

"We had a team meeting after our first game and I challenged the girls to put that game behind us and play like the team that I know we can be," said Willmar head coach Christian Brown. "They did just that. We came together and battled back to play an outstanding game.

"This was a big win for us against a conference and section opponent. I am so proud of what we overcame tonight to get a solid win."

In Game 1, Cadence Parker, Lexi Owens and Amelia Reed had hits for Willmar.

In Game 2, Willmar scored in the top of the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie. Owens went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and Zoe Schroeder was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Willmar played in the Concordia Academy Tournament in Roseville over the weekend. Litchfield beat Willmar 17-6 in five innings on Friday night. Willmar then beat St. Paul Central 5-4 before falling 7-6 to Aitkin in two games Saturday.

Alexandria 412 14-12 5 2

Willmar 000 02-2 3 10

Hitting — Alexandria: Peyton Goetsch 1-3 r-3 rbi bb sb-2, Kinzie Johnson 2-4 r sb, Aubrie Porter 1-1 2b r-2 rbi bb-2 sb-2, Madalyn Woodford-Buboltz 1-2 r-2 bb sb, Jordan O'Kane 0-1 r bb-3, Brookelyn Stender 0-3 r-2 rbi bb, Madison Heid 0-1 r sb ... Willmar: Cadence Parker 1-3 rbi, Lexi Owens 1-2 rbi bb sb, Amelia Reed 1-2 r, Madison Norsten 0-2 r sb

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Alexandria: Heid (W) 4-0-0-0-1-0, Ayla Rolin 1-3-2-0-0-0 ... Willmar: Grace Bjur (L) 5-5-12-5-8-9

Willmar 020 000 1-3 7 0

Alexandria 001 000 0-1 4 0

Hitting — Willmar: Lily Reed 1-4 rbi sb, Lexi Owens 2-4 sb-2, Zoe Schroeder 2-4 rbi, Hannah Magnuson 1-4 sb, Amelia Reed 1-3 2b r sb, Abby Clancy 0-2 r bb sb, Marin Enstad 0-1 r bb-2 sb ... Alexandria: Jordan O'Kane 2-4 r, Peyton Goetsch 2-2 3b rbi

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Willmar: L. Reed (W) 7-4-1-1-2-2 ... Alexandria: Lauren Hornstein (L) 1.2-2-2-2-2-0, Madison Heid 5.1-5-1-1-1-3

Erin Geislinger went 2-for-3 with two runs and Amber Scherer struck out seven over finnings to lead Eden Valley-Watkins to the victory over Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City at Grove City.

Haley Wilner was 2-for-2 with an RBI and Kady Martin was 2-for-2 for ACGC.

EV-W 241 17-15 10 1

ACGC 000 02-2 6 1

Hitting — EV-W: Erin Geislinger 2-3 r-2 ... ACGC: Haley Wilner 2-2 rbi, Macy Elton 1-2, Kady Martin 2-2, Ally Giese 1-2

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — EV-W: Amber Scherer (W) 5-6-2-2-3-7 ... ACGC: Kendall Miller (L) 4.2-9-15-13-9-4, Abbie Kragenbring 0.1-1-0-0-1-0

Kya Alderson tossed a six-inning two-hitter to lead Russell-Tyler-Ruthton past Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg at Tyler.

Alderson struck out 12 and walked one. She also went 2-for-2 at the plate with a double.

Eighth-grader Taylor VanHeuveln went 3- 2/3 innings of relief for KMS.

KMS 000 000-0 2 5

R-T-R 071 011-10 4 1

Hitting — KMS: Shakira Olson 1-3, Katlyn Peters 1-3 ... R-T-R: Kya Alderson 2-2 2b, Regan Mitchell 1-4, Laken Bartman 1-2

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — KMS: Grace Collins (L) 2-2-7-3-6-1, Taylor VanHeuveln 3.2-2-3-1-3 ... R-T-R: Alderson (W) 6-2-0-0-1-12

Kya Alderson tossed a three-hitter over seven innings, striking out 12 and walking three, to lead Russell-Tyler-Ruthton past Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg at Tyler.

Maddy Burns had four hits and Alderson three for R-T-R.

Josie Gjerde went 1-for-1 with a double and RBI for the Fighting Saints.

KMS is host to RCW/BOLD for a doubleheader beginning at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Murdock.

R-T-R 401 130 4-12 16 0

KMS 001 000 0-1 3 2

Hitting — R-T-R: Maddy Burns 4-5, Whitney Bruns 2-4 2b, Kya Alderson 3-5, Regan Mitchell 1-5 ... KMS: Shakira Olson 1-3, Josie Gjerde 1-1 2b rbi, Katlyn Peters 1-3

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — R-T-R: Alderson (W) 7-3-1-1-3-12 ... KMS: Maddy Anderson (L) 7-16-12-9-4-5

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton opened up its home doubleheader against Dawson-Boyd with a 10-run victory in Tracy.

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton completed the sweep of Dawson-Boyd with a Game 2 victory in Tracy.

Brienna Dybdahl tossed a five-hitter to help Morris/Chokio-Alberta beat New London-Spicer at New London.

Dybdahl struck out four and walked no one. She allowed two runs, but zero earned.

It was Senior Night for NSL. The Wildcats honored five seniors, including team manager Ellie Hanson. The other seniors are: Courtney Ronning, Nyla Johnson, Sadie hatlestad and Catlin Wileman.

NLS plays a Wright County Conference doubleheader Tuesday at Glencoe-Silver Lake.

Morris/CA 013 031 1-9 7 3

NLS 001 100 0-2 5 4

Hitting — Morris/CA: Yasmine Westerman 1-4 r-2 bb sb, Brienna Dybdahl 1-3 r-2 bb, Sydney Dietz 1-3 rbi bb, Shannon Dougherty 1-4 r-2 rbi sb, Reilly Gibson 1-4 r rbi-2, Kortney Sanasack 1-4 2b, Leah Staples 1-1 rbi, Bryanna Marty 0-3 r sb, Catherine Kehoe 0-2 r bb ... NLS: Brianna Wileman 1-3 r, Caitlin Wileman 1-2, Sydney Feist 2-2 rbi, Courtney Ronning 1-3 r, Nyla Johnson 0-3 rbi

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Morris/CA: Dybdahl (W) 7-5-2-0-0-4 ... NLS: Johnson (L) 3-2-4-2-4-2, Emily Ruter 4-5-5-0-1-5

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa won the non-conference game over Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at Long Prairie.