COTTONWOOD - Sam Gjerde held BOLD hitless for the first three innings and scored the game’s first run, helping Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg advance to the Section 3A championship round as the Fighting Saints blanked BOLD 2-0 in the loser’s bracket final on Tuesday.
KMS, the North sub-section’s No. 1-seed, will meet South No. 1 Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian on Thursday back in Cottonwood. The Fighting Saints would have to win twice to get back to the state tournament after a one-year absence.
The Dutchmen beat KMS twice in last year’s championship round to win the section.
The teams start play on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Gjerde led off the KMS first with a single and advance to third on a Sadie Sulier single. Alison Krieger then hit a fly ball to right to knock in Gjerde for an early 1-0 lead.
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The Fighting Saints threatened in each of the next four innings, but BOLD starter Morgan Flann kept them off the scoreboard. Another sacrifice fly gave Gjerde and KMS an insurance run in the sixth. Andrea Olson hit a one-out triple and came home on MiKaylie Hagen’s fly ball to left.
Elsa Skeie and Peyton Weis hit back-to-back singles in the fourth for BOLD, but Gjerde induced two fly outs to keep her shutout intact. The Warriors manufactured a better scoring chance in the seventh by loading the bases, but Gjerde struck out the final two batters to end the Warriors’ season.
Gjerde and Sulier both had two hits to account for 80 percent of the Saints’ five hits.
KMS 2, BOLD 0
BOLD 000 000 0 - 0 3 1
KMS 100 001 x - 2 5 1
HITTING – BOLD: Elsa Skeie 1-3, Peyton Weis 1-3, Taylor Sagedahl 1-3 2b … KMS: Sam Gjerde 2-3 r, Sadie Sulier 2-2 2b, Alison Krieger 0-2 rbi, Andrea Olson 1-3 3b r, MiKaylie Hagen 0-0 rbi
PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - BOLD: Morgan Flann (L) 6-5-2-2-3-3 … KMS: Gjerde (W) 7-3-0-0-3-7
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BOLD 6, Springfield 0
Peyton Weis was 2-for-3 with a two-run double, while Morgan Flann pitched a complete game as BOLD shut out Springfield to reach the loser’s bracket final on Tuesday in Cottonwood.
Flann also doubled twice and scored twice in the contest, which saw BOLD score three times in the third and another three in the fifth.
Elsa Skeie added a two-run double in the fifth.
Springfield 000 000 0 - 0 6 1
BOLD 003 030 x - 6 6 1
HITTING – Springfield: Mariah Hoyt 3-3… BOLD: Morgan Flann 2-3 r-2 2b-2 rbi, Lauren Kopel 1-3 r, Elsa Skeie 1-2 r 2b rbi-2, Peyton Weis 2-3 2b rbi-2
PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Springfield: Molly Dunn (L) 6-6-5-2-2 … BOLD: Flann (W) 7-6-0-0-0-1
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Section 3AA
Pipestone 3, Morris/CA 0
Shelby Bloemendaal tossed a two-hitter as Pipestone, the South’s No. 2-seed, knocked off North top seed Morris/Chokio-Alberta in the third round of the elimination bracket on Tuesday in Marshall.
The Tigers’ best scoring chance came in the sixth inning when Lexi Mahoney led off the frame with a single and advanced to second base on a Piper Gibson sacrifice bunt.
The Arrows’ Rachel Styberg was 3-for-3 and Bloemendaal added two hits. Pipestone later beat Jackson County Central in the loser’s bracket final to reach the championship round where it will play New Ulm on Thursday in Marshall.
Kayla Pring went the distance for the Tigers, giving up seven hits with three walks.
The Tigers end the season 21-3.
Morris/CA 000 000 0 - 0 2 2
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Pipestone 001 002 x - 3 7 0
HITTING – Morris/Chokio-Alberta: Piper Gibson 1-3, Lexi Mahoney 1-1 … Pipestone: Rachel Styberg 3-3, Shelby Bloemendaal 2-2
PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - M/CA: Kayla Pring (L) 6-7-3-2-3-1 … Pipestone: Bloemendaal (W) 7-2-0-0-2-3
