“It feels good, I’m excited. We have been ready. We went in thinking that it’s not given, but we are totally here,” YME’s Ella Cherveny said. “We just showed up, and had to really dial it in and do the little things right.”

The competitiveness was set high early and didn’t falter at any point in the game, beginning with four scoreless innings. Almich’s game-winning hit put YME ahead in the fifth inning, while a backwards center-field catch from Cherveny the following inning maintained the Sting’s energy, and prevented BOLD from potentially tying the game up.

“I am so incredibly proud. There are not big enough words to talk about how proud I am of them,” YME head coach Jen Sneller said. “They have set big goals for themselves all season long, and worked, worked and worked, and dialed in on the little things that we knew would make a big difference in clutch games like this. That’s exactly what they did out there. Their energy that they brought today, I’m proud of their mental focus. I’m so proud as a complete whole, they came to win today.”

Bayli Sneller pitched another complete game in the shutout victory, and finished her day with six strikeouts, while allowing just two walks and four hits.

Photo by Samantha Davis: The Yellow Medicine East softball team and head coach Jen Sneller (center) celebrate after winning the Section 3A quarterfinals 1-0 against BOLD Saturday afternoon in Marshall.

YME finished with eight hits and no errors to the Warriors’ four hits and two errors.

Offensively, Kourtney Peterson led the Sting and went 3 for 4 at the plate.

Following four scoreless opening innings, the Sting’s starting senior pitching-catching duo of Almich and Sneller came up big to give YME the go-ahead, and ultimately game-winning, run.

Sneller got on base with a single, and stole second following a sacrifice hit from Emma Keller that was caught out of bounds.

Almich then stepped up to the plate in the next at-bat, and sent the ball to deep right field on a line drive to run Sneller home to give the Sting a 1-0 edge, electrifying the dugout and YME crowd.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Yellow Medicine East's Everra Leenerts (left) cheers on first baseman Bailey Mortenson (right) after making a double play in the seventh inning in the Section 3A quarterfinals against BOLD Saturday afternoon in Marshall.

“Once we get going, we stay high. We play high and stay high and that’s kind of our thing,” Cherveny said of the team’s energy. “You get up there, and you have to stay. You got to keep going.”

Notably, Almich also came up big at the plate in YME’s first and second-round section games on Tuesday, where she also had two doubles and a total of three RBIs.

“She [Almich] is coming in clutch when we need her the most,” coach Sneller said. “She’s got an incredibly strong swing. When she’s in control of her bat, she’s on, she’s hot and she’s exactly what we need.”

The Warriors wrapped up the final out to prevent another possible YME run with an infield ground-out.

But, YME’s momentum carried right into the top of sixth defensively, continuing to hold the Warriors off.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Yellow Medicine East's Bayli Sneller smiles while running home to score the game-winning run off an Alana Almich RBI double in the Section 3A quarterfinals against BOLD Saturday afternoon in Marshall.

With a Warriors’ runner on first following a fly-ball single, a ball was hit toward Cherveny in deep center field, and she made the impressive backwards catch and threw the ball infield to complete the double play to force the runner out at first. BOLD was in scoring position, with the possibility of tying the game 1-1, had Cherveny not made the catch as the runner made her way to third base before the catch.

“I did not think I had that [catch],” Cherveny said, laughing. “I was like, ‘Oh crap.’ I just knew that I had to run back, and the [BOLD] runner was [off], so I threw it in. It feels good though.”

The Sting’s energy stayed high the rest of the way to finish off the game on the top of the seventh in BOLD’s final plate appearance.

Bailey Mortenson completed YME’s second double play of the day at first base, catching a line drive and stepping on the bag to get a Warriors’ runner out who was headed toward second.

“Defense wins games. You can’t afford errors, and they just locked in. They talked all season about being aware of where runners are, when they’re on, heads-up plays and a lot of communication on the field,” coach Sneller said of the team’s defense. “It was clutch to get those double plays.”

Photo by Samantha Davis: The Yellow Medicine East dugout cheers after the Sting made a defensive play in the Section 3A quarterfinals against BOLD Saturday afternoon in Marshall.

With a 2-2 count, Sneller tossed a final pitch to strike out BOLD swinging to end the game.

“We work really well together. We really dialed in on the things we needed to do, and the things we needed to work on,” Cherveny said. “We deserve to be here.”

Immediately following the win, the entire Sting team and coaching staff congradulated one another with high cheers, hi-fives and hugs, after booking their ticket to the semifinals.

YME made a handful of impressive defensive plays throughout the win, including Almich catching a foul ball behind the plate in the second inning, to not allow BOLD to get many opportunities to get into scoring position.

The Sting nearly got on the board in the bottom of the fourth after getting bases loaded with an Almich infield hit and back-to-back successful bunts from Cherveny and Chasity Schmitz. But, BOLD also had a strong defensive performance throughout the day and held YME on the bases between a strikeout and two infield plays.

Photo by Samantha Davis: The Yellow Medicine East softball team celebrate one another after winning the Section 3A quarterfinals 1-0 against BOLD Saturday afternoon in Marshall, advancing to the section semifinals.

YME opened the postseason in the North subsection with a pair of wins, defeating No. 8 Ortonville 11-0 in five innings and No. 4 MACCRAY 14-5. BOLD did much of the same in the South bracket, taking down No. 7 Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 10-0, and No. 3 Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian 7-0.

The Warriors and Sting met once over the regular season, seeing another down-to-the-wire battle, where BOLD came away with a 4-2 win on April 24 after it rallied late for three runs in the bottom of the sixth.

YME (19-5) will next take on top-seeded Wabasso from the South subsection in the semifinals for a spot in the section championship. The loser will drop down to the elimination bracket final, and the winner of that game will earn the other spot in the championship.

The Rabbits also enter the semifinals 19-5 on the season, and defeated No. 2 Lac qui Parle Valley 10-3 in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

YME and Wabasso met in last season’s quarterfinals of the tournament, where the Sting came up short in a 5-3 loss.

The Sting have been making progress in the postseason over recent years. They were eliminated in the 2024 section tournament following second-round and elimination first-round losses, but progressed to last year’s quarterfinals and now to the section semifinal.

The semifinal is slated for Tuesday with a 4:30 p.m. first pitch back at the Marshall softball complex.

“It’s the same mindset. One game at a time, playing together, it’s a team sport. Everybody’s got to come here with their heads on straight, with their minds in the right place, and they have to keep working. They can’t let off the gas,” coach Sneller said about approaching the semifinals. “Keep working together, doing the little things in practice like we’ve been doing all season long, and play hard, play strong together.”

BOX SCORE

BATTING

K. Peterson: 3-4; B. Nelson: 1-4; B. Sneller: 1-3, R; E. Keller: 1-3; A. Almich: 1-3, RBI; E. Cherveny: 1-3; E. Leenerts: 0-2, BB.

PITCHING

B. Sneller: 7 IP, 6 SO, 4H, 2BB.