WAITE PARK - Ridgewater advanced to the second day of the NJCAA Region 13A Softball Tournament, but the Warriors will need to win three games today to advance to the national tournament after they were 1-1 Thursday.
Ridgewater, the No. 4 seed in the four-team tournament, fell to top-seeded St. Cloud Tech 6-2 in the first round to fall into the loser’s bracket. The Warriors then outlasted No. 3 Anoka-Ramsey 11-9 in eight innings to eliminate the Golden Rams.
The Warriors (28-14) start today’s action at 10 a.m. against Rochester. A win would propel them into the championship round to play St. Cloud Tech at noon. If Ridgewater would win both games, it would play again at 2 p.m. in the title game.
First Round
St. Cloud Tech 6, Ridgewater 2
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Kassidy Klaphake gave Ridgewater plenty of chances to pull off the upset, but she survived issuing six walks by limiting the Warriors to seven singles. Ridgewater stranded 11 runners in the game with six stuck in scoring position.
Ridgewater got its first run in the second when Brooke Wuertz drove in Jordin Delzer with a single. The Cyclones scored three times in the third and Ridgewater then pulled within one in the fourth after Erica Melbie doubled in Katelyn Durbin.
But the Warriors wouldn’t get any closer as St. Cloud Tech produced another three-run frame in the fifth - highlighted by Janae Myers’ solo home run - to stake a 6-2 lead.
Wuertz was the only Warrior to collect two hits as six different players singled for Ridgewater.
Ridgewater 010 100 0 - 2 7 2
SC Tech 003 030 x - 6 10 1
HITTING – Ridgewater: Brooke Wuertz 2-2 rbi, Erica Melbie 1-4 2b rbi, Heather Horning 1-4, Jess Solum 1-4, Sarah Stadem 1-2, Katelyn Durbin 1-2 … St. Cloud Tech: Janae Myers 3-4 solo-HR rbi, Katie Heinen 2-4 2b rbi-3
PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Ridgewater: Horning (L) 6-10-6-5-2-4 … St. Cloud Tech: Kassidy Klaphake (W) 7-7-2-2-6-3
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Consolation
Ridgewater 11, Anoka-Ramsey 9
Ridgewater fell behind 4-1 early before completing a rally to stay alive.
The Warriors forced extra innings when Sydney Knudsen drew a bases-loaded walk in the top of the seventh. Melbie then gave the Warriors their third lead of the game when her two-out single to left field in the eighth brought in Sarah Stadem and Ellie Peterson.
Heather Horning got the last eight outs to earn the win in relief of Peterson. Horning sent Anoka-Ramsey down 1-2-3 in the eighth.
Ridgewater pounded out 19 hits in the game with Wuertz pacing the attack with a 4-for-5 performance. Collecting two hits apiece were Durbin, Horning, Knudsen, Melbie, Peterson, Jacie Selseth and Jess Solum. Stadem also got a hit, an RBI single in a five-run sixth.
Melbie doubled in two runs, Knudsen and Stadem delivered RBI singles, and Solum drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth. The Golden Rams then scored four times in the bottom half to regain the lead at 9-8.
Selseth doubled in the game’s first run in the third and the freshman later slugged a solo home run in the fifth. Solum also singled in a run in the fifth.
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Ridgewater 001 025 12 - 11 19 1
Anoka-Ramsey 001 314 00 - 9 12 2
HITTING – Ridgewater: Wuertz 4-5 2b, Melbie 2-5 2b sf rbi-4, Jacie Selseth 2-5 2b solo-HR rbi-2, Horning 2-5 2b, Sydney Knudsen 2-3 rbi-2, Solum 2-3 rbi-2, Stadem 1-3 rbi, Durbin 2-5, Ellie Peterson 2-5 … Anoka-Ramsey: Deyja Rosario 3-5 2b rbi-2, Cassie Kunkel 2-4 2b-2 rbi-3
PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Ridgewater: Peterson 5.1-9-5-5-1-0, Horning (W) 2.2-3-4-2-1-2 … Anoka-Ramsey: Maddy DeMaras 7-16-9-9-4-1, Brooke Mathis 0.1-1-2-2-2-1, Lexi Luedtke (L) 0.2-1-0-0-0-0
