Softball roundup: NLS Wildcats power past Paynesville Bulldogs

PAYNESVILLE — Addi Nelson got the better of a familial matchup on Thursday.

Addi, a freshman for the New London-Spicer softball team, hit a grand slam and was the winning pitcher for the Wildcats in a 9-5 win over host Paynesville.

The Bulldogs are coached by Addi’s uncle, Zach Nelson.

“She played really well,” Zach said. “That was a good win for her.”

After NLS put up five runs in the top of the first inning, Addi drove the ball into the hazy sky and over the left-field fence to make it a 9-0 game through one-and-a-half innings.

“That grand slam, that was fun,” said NLS head coach Melissa Bergeson. “That was a no-doubter.”

Paynesville responded with four runs of its own in the bottom of the second. Beyond that, a strong defensive performance behind Addi kept the Bulldogs off the board until they scored a run in the bottom of the seventh. Addi struck out eight, allowing four runs on three hits and five walks over 5-2/3 innings.

“Our defense stepped it up,” Bergeson said. “Our defense made all the rest of the plays in the last five innings.”

Seven players had hits for the Wildcats. Brianna Wileman went 1-for-2 with an RBI and Emiliy Ruter was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

For Paynesville, Keyona Brooks went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Kaydence Roeske was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

NLS (5-11) wraps up the regular season with a Wright County Conference doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. Friday in Rockford. The Wildcats find out their postseason path Friday morning when seeds for Section 3AA-North are released.

Paynesville (9-7) has a pair of games Saturday in Morris. The Bulldogs open with Wheaton/Herman-Norcross at 11:45 a.m., followed by Morris/Chokio-Alberta at 1:30 p.m. The Bulldogs find out their seed in the Section 6AA tournament on Saturday.

NLS                  540   000   0-9   7   1
Paynesville      040   000   1-5   5   3
Hitting - NLS: Abby Knudsen 1-2, Mallory Johnson 1-3, Addi Nelson 1-4 hr rbi-4 r, Brianna Wileman 1-2 rbi, Delaney Hanson 0-4 rbi-2, Emily Ruter 1-3 2b rbi, Sydney Feist 1-3, Maren Munsch 1-3 2b … Paynesville: Kaydence Roeske 1-3 2b rbi, Sierra Roeser 1-4, Keyona Brooks 2-4 rbi, Erica Ruhoff 1-3 rbi
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - NLS: Nelson (W) 5.2-3-4-1-5-8, Sarah Kraemer 1.1-2-1-1-0-0 … Paynesville: Arianna Messer (L) 1-2-7-6-4-1, Roeser 6-5-2-2-0-2

Yellow Medicine East scored three runs in the sixth inning to complete its comeback against Montevideo at Granite Falls.

Bayli Sneller earned the win for the Sting. She pitched seven innings with 15 strikeouts, allowing three hits and one earned run.

The Thunder Hawks’ three hits came from Lily Eisenlohr, Kylieann Johnson and Taya Weber.

Montevideo plays a doubleheader at 4 p.m. Friday at Sauk Centre. YME next plays against a to be announced opponent at a to be determined time in the first round of Section 3A-North play at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Montevideo    002   001   0-3   3   0
YME                000   113   x-5   6   1
Hitting - Montevideo: Lily Eisenlohr 1-4, Kylieann Johnson 1-3 rbi, Tenley Epema 0-3 r sb-3, Taya Weber 1-2 r bb, Carlee Axford 0-1 r bb … YME: Bayli Sneller 1-3 r rbi bb sb-2, Kourtney Peterson 1-2 bb sb-3, Hope Stark 1-2 r sb-3, Abbie Winter 0-2 bb, Aria Peters 0-1 r-2 bb-2 sb, Alana Almich 1-3 r rbi 2b sb, Ella Cherveny 1-2, Hannah Stark 1-1
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Montevideo: Axford (L) 6-6-5-5-5-5 … YME: Sneller (W) 7-3-3-1-2-15

Lac qui Parle Valley fell short at Wabasso.

The Eagles had four hits from four batters. Taylor Shelstad, Rylee Lund, Kendyl Shelstad and Madelyn Matthies each had singles.

Wabasso’s Sara Carlson went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a pair of stolen bases and one run.

LQPV plays a doubleheader at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Ortonville.

LQPV   000   010   0-1   4   1
Wabasso     121   001   x-5   7   1
Hitting - LQPV: Taylor Shelstad 1-3 r, Rylee Lund 1-2 rbi bb, Kendyl Shelstad 1-3, Madelyn Matthies 1-3 … Wabasso: Sophia Hanna 1-4 rbi, Kelsey Frank 2-4 2b r rbi sb-2, Sara Carlson 3-3 2b-2 r sb-2, Annabelle Struntz 0-3 rbi, Addisyn Hillesheim 0-1 r-2 bb-2 sb, Callie Burns 1-2 r rbi bb 
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - LQPV: T. Shelstad (L) 6-7-5-5-4-3 … Wabasso: Avery Carlson (W) 7-4-1-1-2-5

Both games between Willmar and Fergus Falls needed nine innings to declare a winner. And in the Central Lakes Conference doubleheader, the host Otters got the ‘W’ in both contests.

In the bottom of the ninth in Game 1, Fergus Falls got the walk-off win with a McKenzie Sjolie single to center field that scored Ella Dirkman. In Game 2, the Otters put up four runs in the top of the frame to win the high-scoring affair.

Madi Norsten went 1-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs in Game 1, then followed that by going 2-for-6 with seven RBIs and three runs in Game 2 for Willmar. She hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth.

“We played two of our best games of the entire season,” said Cardinals head coach Christian Brown. “Offensively and defensively, it was some of the best softball I have coached.”

Brown added, “We put everything together to give ourselves a chance in both games but came up short. However, that’s not to take away from anything the girls did. They played outstandingly; we just didn’t come out on the winning end.”

Finishing the regular season at 1-17, Willmar begins the Section 8AAA tournament on Tuesday. Seeds have yet to be determined.

Fergus Falls   001   712   404-19   20   3
Willmar     031   401   600-15   15   4
Hitting - Fergus Falls: Madilynn Budke 4-7 r-2 rbi-2, Hattie Fullhart 2-7 3b r-2 rbi-2, Rylynn Krein 3-5 2b r-3 rbi bb, McKenzie Sjolie 3-5 bb, Karlie Petersen 0-4 r bb, Jennifer Neigel 1-5 r rbi-2 bb, Karyssa Eberle 3-6 r rbi-4, Isabella Abrahams 2-6 3b r rbi-2, Kendal Hanson 2-5 3b r-2 rbi hbp … Willmar: Hannah Magnuson 1-3 r-2 bb-3, Madi Norsten 2-6 2b hr r-3 rbi-7, Zoe Schroeder 2-5 2b 3b r rbi bb, Lexi Owens 1-5 2b rbi-2, Shea Loso 0-1 r, Cadence Parker 4-6 r sb-2, Hailie Smith 1-3 r-2 bb-2 hbp, Grace Bjur 0-4 r, Grace Etterman 3-5 r-3 rbi-2, Paige Akerson 1-5 r rbi-2
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Fergus Falls: Eberle 5-9-8-5-1-4, Krein 3-6-7-5-3-2, Neigel (W) 1-0-0-0-2-1 … Willmar: Zadina Butcher 3.2-8-8-4-1-2, Bjur (L) 5.1-12-11-7-3-3 
Game 1: Fergus Falls 6, Willmar 5 
Willmar   040   010   000-5   9   6
Fergus Falls     101   100   201-6   9   1
Hitting - Willmar: Hannah Magnuson 3-5 r-2 rbi sb, Madi Norsten 1-5 3b rbi-3, Zoe Schroeder 1-4 rbi, Cadence Parker 2-4, Hailie Smith 0-3 r bb, Grace Etterman 2-4 r, Shea Loso 0-3 r bb … Fergus Falls: Madilynn Budke 1-5 r, Ella Dirkman 2-4 r-2 hbp sb, Rylynn Krein 1-4 rbi bb, McKenzie Sjolie 3-5 3b rbi-3, Jennifer Neigel 2-4 3b r, Carlana Zetah 0-4 rbi, Isabella Abrahams 0-3 r bb, Kendal Hanson 0-4 r 
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Willmar: Etterman (L) 8-9-6-3-2-0… Fergus Falls: Krein (W) 9-9-5-5-2-18

Morris/Chokio-Alberta won its ninth straight West Central Conference title with the sweep of West Central Area In Barrett.

The wins were the 49th and 50th straight for the Tigers.

“It’s my 44th year of coaching so it’s quite the accomplishment to do 50 (wins) in a row and nine (conference titles) in a row,” Morris/CA head coach Mary Holmberg said.

WCA  051   12-9   9   4
Morris/CA    134   (13)x-21   16   3
Hitting - WCA: Alaina Sykora 2-4, Addison Staples 2-4, Madison Fagre 2-2, Zoey Fuhrman 2-3, Nora Anderson 1-3 … Morris/CA: Lauren Hottovy 2-3, Brianna Marty 2-4, MacKenzie Anderson 1-3, Kate Kehoe 2-3, Haley Kill 2-2, Nora Boyle 2-3, Ryla Koehler 2-3, Mackenzie Konz 3-3 
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - WCA: Lily Mahoney (L) 3.1-10-16-14-7-5, Anderson 0.2-6-5-5-1-0 … Morris/CA: Boyle (W) 3.1-7-7-1-1-4, Kill 1.2-2-2-0-0-3

Morris/CA  033   004   3-13   8   2
WCA     000   013   0-4   9   2
Hitting - Morris/CA: Brianna Marty 2-5, Lauren Hottovy 3-4, Kortney Sanasack 1-4, Kate Kehoe 1-3, Haley Kill 1-4, Nora Boyle 2-4 … WCA: Alaina Sykora 2-4, Addison Staples 2-3, Madison Fagre 1-3, Izzy Puchalski 1-3, Brinley Ulrich 1-3, Zoey Fuhrman 1-3, Jaclynn Nelson 1-3
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Morris/CA: Kill (W) 7-9-4-2-0-8 … WCA: Lily Mahoney (L) 4-4-6-2-6-8, Claire Stark 3-4-7-1-1-4

Benson dropped both of its games in its doubleheader against Melrose at Benson.

In Game 1, Melrose held Benson to one run on five hits. Sophie Krusemark, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, scored the lone run for the Braves.

Melrose’s Ellie Grieve batted 3-for-3 with a home run, three runs, an RBI and a stolen base. She also got the win in the circle.

In Game 2, Krusemark and Jordan Schmidt had a hit each for the Braves. Krusemark was 1-for-1 with four stolen bases, two runs and a pair of walks and Schmidt was 1-for-2 with four stolen bases, one run, an RBI and a walk.

Allie Hoppe and Kaydence Bertram each had a home run for Melrose as six Dutchmen hitters recorded at least three hits in Game 2.

Benson     206   00-8       3   4
Melrose     492   5x-20   22   1
Hitting - Benson: Mya McGeary 0-2 r sb-4, Emma Krusemark 0-2 r bb sb-2, Sophie Krusemark 1-1 r-2 bb-2 sb-4, Ellie Krusemark 0-2 r bb sb-3, Jordan Schmidt 1-2 r rbi bb sb-4, Miranda Klassen 0-2 r bb sb-2, Gwen Wilcox 0-3 r sb… Melrose: Hannah Hoppe 3-4 r-3 sb-2, Eleanor Heller 1-4 r rbi, Allie Hoppe 3-4 r-2 rbi-4 hr sb-3, Kaydence Bertram 3-4 r-3 rbi-3 hr, Paige Gruber 3-3 r-3 bb 2b sb, Theresia Nathe 3-3 r-4 rbi-2 bb sb-2, Jazmin Finken 3-4 r-2 rbi sb-2, Shantel Gruber 1-2 r rbi-2 2b bb sb-2, Kari Rademacher 2-4 r rbi-2 sb-2
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Benson: McGeary (L) 4-22-20-20-3-2 … Melrose: H. Hoppe 3-2-7-5-7-4, Kaitlyn Klasen (W) 2-1-0-0-0-2

Melrose      140   26-13   17   2
Benson       000   10-1      5    1
Hitting - Melrose: Hannah Hoppe 1-1 r-3 rbi-2 bb-2 sb, Allie Hoppe 3-4 r-2 rbi-2, Kaydence Bertram 3-4 r rbi-4 2b sb, Paige Gruber 3-4 r rbi 2b, Theresia Nathe 2-4 rbi 2b, Jazmin Finken 1-4 r rbi sb, Shantel Gruber 0-3 r bb, Kari Rademacher 1-2 r, Ellie Grieve 3-3 r-3 rbi hr sb … Benson: Mya McGeary 1-2 bb, Emma Krusemark 1-3 sb, Sophie Krusemark 1-3 r sb-2, Miranda Klassen 1-2, Haliee Ellingson 1-2
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Melrose: Grieve (W) 5-5-1-1-1-6 … Benson: McGeary (L) 5-17-13-12-3-4

Haley Wilner went 2-for-4 with a double, four runs, two RBIs and a stolen base in Game 2 to help Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City to the doubleheader sweep at Royalton.

In Game 1, Willner was 2-for-4 and got the complete-game pitching win, striking out nine and walking five. She allowed six hits and two earned runs.

In Game 2, Mikaili Johnson, Kenall Miller and Brook Schultz all had two hits for the Falcons.

Royalton   011   00-2   5   2
ACGC     226   2x-13   13   0
Hitting - Royalton: Jamie Mick 1-3 3b r … ACGC: Haley Wilner 4-4 2b r-4 rbi-2 sb, Mikaili Johnson 2-4 2b r-2 rbi-2 sb, Mackenzie Powers 1-1 r-2 rbi-2 bb hbp-2, Kendall Miller 2-4 rbi-2 sb, Macy Elton 0-3 rbi sb, Kady Martin 1-2 r bb, Ally Giese 1-3 r, Brooke Schultz 2-2 r-2 bb 
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Royalton: Brooke Wenner (L) 2.2-10-10-9-3-4, Rachel Cekalla 1.1-3-2-2-0-0 … ACGC: Wilner 1-0-0-0-1-0, Miller (W) 4-5-2-2-4-6 

ACGC   000   210   0-3   7   0
Royalton     002   000   0-2   6   1
Hitting - ACGC: Haley Wilner 2-4 r, Mikaili Johnson 1-3 rbi, Mackenzie Powers 1-3 2b r rbi, Macy Elton 1-3 rbi, Ally Giese 1-3, Brooke Schultz 1-2 r hbp sb … Royalton: Rachel Cekalla 1-4 r sb, Emily Block 1-3 rbi-2 bb
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - ACGC: Miller (W) 7-6-2-2-5-9… Royalton: Cekalla (L) 7-7-3-3-0-4 

Holdingford completed the doubleheader sweep of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa at Brooten, getting 20 hits in the two games.

For BBE, McKenna Lieser went 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs, an RBI, a hit-by-pitch and a stolen base in Game 2. In Game 1, Anna Jaeger was 4-for-4 with two runs, a walk and two stolen bases.

BBE   511   110   1-10   13   3
Holdingford     202   800   x-12   12   1
Hitting - BBE: Anna Jaeger 1-4 r bb, McKenna Lieser 3-4 3b r-2 rbi hbp sb, Faith Radermacher 2-5 r rbi-3, Taylor Shelton 1-3 r-3 bb-2 sb, Brooklyn Fischer 2-3 2b rbi-3 hbp, Kadynce Haider 1-3 r rbi-2 bb, Brenna Quade 1-4, Bree Radermacher 2-2 2b r-2 rbi bb … Holdingford: Trista Popp 2-4 r rbi-3 bb sb-2, Makadence Gallus 1-2 r-3 rbi bb hbp-2 sb-4, Mekenna Bartkowicz 2-2 r-2 rbi-3 bb-2 sb, Ayla Young 3-4 r rbi sb, Brooke Soltis 1-2 sb, Annaliese Odden 1-3 2b r-2 bb, Gabrielle Bruns 1-3 r-2 rbi-2 bb sb, Hailey Kotzer 1-3 r sb
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - BBE: Mariah Koenig (L) 4-11-12-11-8-5, F. Radermacher 2-1-0-0-0-3 … Holdingford: Ava Hagerty (W) 7-13-10-9-7-3 

Holdingford   070   010   3-11   8   1
BBE      110   102   1-6   13   0
Hitting - Holdingford: Trista Popp 0-2 r bb-3 sb-3, Makadence Gallus 0-2 r rbi hbp, Ava Hagerty 1-3, Lauren Soltis 1-2 2b r-2 rbi-2 bb-2 sb-2, Annaliese Odden 1-5 2b rbi, Mckenna Bartkowicz 0-1 r bb-3 hbp sb-4, Cali Opatz 0-0 r bb hbp sb-2, Hailey Kotzer 1-3 rbi-2, Ayla Young 1-2 r-2 bb-2, Brooke Soltis 3-3 2b-2 r-2 rbi-2 hbp, Gabrielle Bruns 0-3 r rbi bb … BBE: Anna Jaeger 4-4 r-2 bb sb-2, McKenna Lieser 1-4 2b rbi-3 hbp, Faith Radermacher 2-4 2b 3b r rbi-2 bb sb, Taylor Shelton 1-3 bb sb-2, Brenna Quade 2-4, Brooklyn Fischer 2-4 r-2, Bree Radermacher 1-2 r
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Holdingford: Opatz 2-6-2-2-2-0, Hagerty (W) 1-0-0-0-1-2, L. Soltis 4-7-4-3-4-2 … BBE: F. Radermacher (L) 1-0-3-3-4-1, Jaeger 1-2-4-4-3-0, Mariah Koenig 5-6-4-4-5-4

MACCRAY won a pair of one-run games against Dawson-Boyd to get the doubleheader sweep at Raymond.

In the top of the seventh inning In Game 1, the Wolverines’ Emersyn Pederson poked a ground ball through to left field, scoring Layla Owen-Dobmeier for the go-ahead run. Then in Game 2, MACCRAY drove in three runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead for good.

Greta Meyer was 4-for-4 with two RBIs and a run for MACCRAY in the opener. Layla Owen-Dobmeier led the offense in the nightcap, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Hady Schoffman got the win in the circle for both games.

Allison Estling went a combined 5-for-9 for the Blackjacks. Madison Peterson added three hits for D-B in Game 2.

Dawson-Boyd   110   022   0-6   15   2
MACCRAY     101   203   x-7   10   1
Hitting - Dawson-Boyd: Allison Estling 3-5 2b r rbi, MaKaylee Wente 2-4 2b r bb, Madalyn Wente 2-3 r rbi-2 bb, Taylen Jorgenson 2-4, Kate Dahl 2-4 r, Madison Peterson 3-4 2b rbi, Rylan Plessner 1-3 rbi … MACCRAY: Erika Pieper 2-4 r-2 rbi sb-2, Tayte Nokleby 1-3 rbi-2 bb, Greta Meyer 1-2 r-2 rbi bb-2 sb-3, Hady Schoffman 1-3 bb, Layla Owen-Dobmeier 3-4 rbi-2 sb, Regan Aker 1-2 r-2 bb sb, Breanna Dirksen 1-3 r sb
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Dawson-Boyd: Mad. Wente (L) 5.2-9-7-7-5-2, Estling 0.1-1-0-0-0-1 … MACCRAY: Schoffman (W) 7-15-6-5-3-6 

MACCRAY   000   002   11-4   12   1
Dawson-Boyd     000   011   10-3   8   0
Hitting - MACCRAY: Erika Pieper 2-5 2b r, Greta Meyer 4-4 r rbi-2 sb-3, Hady Schoffman 1-3 bb, Layla Owen-Dobmeier 2-4 r sb, Leia Colby 0-4 rbi, Emersyn Pederson 1-4 rbi, Regan Aker 1-4, Breanna Dirksen 1-3 r bb sb-4 … Dawson-Boyd: Allison Estling 2-4 3b r sb-2, MaKaylee Wente 1-2 bb-2 sb-b, Madalyn Wente 1-3 rbi bb, Taylen Jorgenson 1-4 r sb-2, Alivia Estling 2-3 rbi, Lauren Larson 1-1 rbi
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - MACCRAY: Schoffman (W) 8-8-3-3-3-8 … Dawson-Boyd: All. Estling (L) 8-12-4-4-2-5