Marshall 12, Willmar 0

WILLMAR — Mackenzie Olsen was a double away from the cycle for the Marshall softball team on Tuesday night. The senior catcher recorded four hits to lead the Tigers to a 12-0 road win over Willmar.

Olsen was hot from the start of the first inning. Consecutive doubles from Brielle Riess and Jayda Bednarek gave Marshall its first run of the game and, after a strikeout and a lineout, Harley Beek kept the momentum rolling with another RBI double. Olsen then came up to back and drilled a two-run home run to straightaway center field for a 4-0 Marshall lead after the first.

Beek started in the circle for the Tigers and tossed a complete-game shutout. She struck out five batters on the day, holding Willmar to three walks, a single and a double. 

Willmar retired each of the first two batters in the seventh inning when Marshall got back into things. Morgan Bjella hit a double and Halla Casavan was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Beek then doubled to center to score Bjella and a throwing error allowed Casavan and Beek to score and give Marshall a 12-0 lead. Olsen kept the rally going with a triple but a ground out ended the inning after Marshall plated three runs.

As a team, Marshall had three triples on the day. In addition to Olsen, Jaina Dekker hit an RBI triple to score Olsen for a 9-0 Tiger lead in the sixth inning and Naya Grahn hit a leadoff triple before scoring on a Bednarek grounder to make it 8-0 in the fifth inning.

The Tigers pushed three runs across the plate in the top of the third, starting with Beek reaching on an error and Olsen hitting the first of her two singles on the day. Dekker advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt before a pop out to second base put two down. Yet, Grahn came up with a two-run single and Riess hit an RBI double to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead. Riess stole third but the inning still ended on a ground out.

Olsen led Marshall with four hits and a walk in five at-bats while Riess added another three hits in five at-bats for the Tigers. Bednarek and Beek each also reached base three times in the game.

Marshall improves to 7-4 with the win, its third in a row. The Tigers will look to add to their streak when they head out on the road for a tournament at Mound Westonka on Saturday starting at 9 a.m.

RRC/WWG 13,

HLOF 3 (5)

WALNUT GROVE — Natalie Wahl came up with a home run, a double and one of the game-ending runs for the Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove softball team on Tuesday night as the Falcons picked up a 13-3 win over Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda in five innings.

Wahl hit a double to lead off the second inning and advanced to third after consecutive walks to Mercedes Myers and Ella Knakmuhs. A fly out put one away before Wahl stole home on a passed ball to make it a nine-run game and Ella Erickson stole home on another passed ball to end the game via run rule in the same at-bat.

HLOF scored each of its three runs in the first inning but the Falcons locked in defensively from there behind the play of Addeson Jenniges in the circle. She threw all five innings, holding the Coyotes scoreless after the first. She also struck out five batters while holding HLOF to four hits and a pair of walks.

The Falcons scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the first when Carlie Ross singled and eventually scored on a Knakmuhs groundout. The second inning, however, was when they pulled away.

Hadley Jenniges and Addeson Jenniges started off the RRC/WWG second-inning rally with back-to-back walks with one out. Ross then hit a single to drive in the first run and Natasha Wahl hit a two-run double to make the score 4-3 in favor of the Falcons.

Natalie Wahl followed up Natasha and gave the Falcons some breathing room, smashing a two-run home run to center field for a 6-3 RRC/WWG lead.

Myers led RRC/WWG with three hits on the day, all singles, while Ross and Wahl each also reached base three times with a pair of hits and a walk. Hadley Jenniges did the opposite, hitting a single and walking twice. Natasha Wahl also drove in a game-high three RBIs.

The Falcons put together another run in the third inning before pulling away with a four-run fourth inning. Hadley Jenniges hit a two-run double in the frame and scored on a passed ball while Addeson Jenniges drove in a run on a ground out. 

YME 10, Lakeview 3 (Game 1)

GRANITE FALLS — Bayli Sneller racked up four total bases and pitched a complete-game victory for the Yellow Medicine East softball team on Tuesday night as the Sting took down Lakeview 10-3.

Sneller struck out nine batters for the Sting over seven innings without walking one. She held Lakeview to just two runs on six hits.

At the plate, Sneller finished the game with a team-high three hits, making her the only YME player with more than one. She also hit a leadoff double in the sixth inning, the only extra-base hit of the game for the Sting.

For Lakeview, Olivia Hinz led the way with two hits while Emma Brusven had a double for the Lakers.

YME jumped out to an early lead with a pair of runs in each of the first two innings. Lakeview scored one run in each of the second, third and fourth innings but a six-run fourth for the Sting put the game out of reach.

Teegan Fiene pitched all seven innings for Lakeview, racking up seven strikeouts on the day. While she allowed 10 runs on eight hits and a walk, four of the runs were unearned.

Lakeview 6, YME 5 (Game 2)

GRANITE FALLS — After dropping the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader, the Lakeview softball team bounced back with a 6-5 win over Yellow Medicine East in game 2. The win ends a four-game skid for the Lakers.

The Lakers jumped ahead with a three-run first inning, courtesy of RBI singles from Kiara Hinz and Aubreigh Rausch. Hinz also stole home on a passed ball in the inning.

Emma Brusven earned the pitching win for Lakeview, allowing four earned runs on six hits over seven innings. She struck out seven batters while walking just two.

Aubrey Pederson had the game’s lone extra-base hit, a line-drive triple in the top of the second. She scored on a wild pitch shortly thereafter to give Lakeview a 4-0 lead.

YME scored one run in the bottom of the second as well as the third and fourth, but Khya Gawarecki drove in two runs on an error in the fifth inning to keep Lakeview safely ahead with a 6-3 lead.

Olivia and Kiara Hinz, as well as Brusven and Teegan Fiene, each had a pair of singles in the game for Lakeview. Alana Almich was the only Sting player to reach base multiple times in the game, singling once and walking twice.

Sneller pitched the first five innings for YME in the second game of the doubleheader, striking out 10 batters without a walk. She allowed four earned runs and two unearned on eight hits.

Abbie Winter tossed two shutout innings of relief, holding Lakeview to three hits and a walk while striking out one batter.

YME got back into the game in the bottom of the sixth when Sneller and Almich hit back-to-back singles to start the inning and scored on a Riley Haar single and an Everra Leenerts groundout, making it a 6-5 game. Yet, Haar remained stranded at third after an inning-ending groundout and the Lakers retired the Sting in order in the bottom of the seventh to hold on for the win.

YME is now 5-9 after the doubleheader while Lakeview is 4-7. The Lakers will head to Raymond for a doubleheader against MACCRAY on Thursday starting at 4:30 p.m. while YME will head out on the road for a single game against Tracy-Milroy-Balaton at the same time.

E/SWC 8, RTR 2

TYLER — Some costly errors cost the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton softball team on Tuesday night. The Knights allowed five unearned runs in their matchup against Edgerton/Southwest Christian and suffered an 8-2 loss.

Alderson pitched all seven innings for RTR, striking out 13 batters while allowing three earned runs and five unearned on nine hits and three walks. It was her first time all season allowing multiple earned runs and only her third time in 12 starts allowing any earned runs after allowing one each to Pipestone and Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda.

RTR took the lead in the first inning when Alderson reached base on an error and Laken Baartman hit a two-run home run — her eighth homer of the year — to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. 

E/SWC, however, responded by scoring a run in each of the next four innings to lead 4-2 through the first five. They also tacked on an additional four runs in the final frame to get some extra breathing room.

Alderson was the only Knight with multiple hits, finishing with a single and a double, while Gabi Borresen also had a single.

Maddie Feikema pitched all seven innings for E/SWC, holding RTR to one earned run on four hits and three walks. She also struck out nine batters.

RTR falls to 10-2 with the loss and will look to bounce back on Thursday when it goes on the road for a 4:30 p.m. matchup against Adrian/Ellsworth. 

TMB 7, RRC/WWG 6

WALNUT GROVE — Avery Torgeson came up clutch with a go-ahead hit for the Tracy-Milroy-Balaton softball team on Tuesday night, sending the Panthers past the Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove Falcons for a 7-6 win.

TMB led 6-3 heading into the sixth inning when RRC/WWG rallied back into the game. Ella Erickson and Natasha Wahl reached on a walk and error respectively before Natalie Wahl drove both in with a two-run triple. She then scored the tying run when Mercedes Myers reached on an error.

With the game all tied up in the bottom of the inning, Jordyn Hanson started the Panthers off with a leadoff double. Melaina Ankrum and Piper Freeberg then drew consecutive walks to load the bases with one out.

Hanson was caught at the plate when Aliayah Loftness reached on a fielder’s choice but Torgeson singled to drive in the go-ahead run. 

With their backs against the wall and trailing by a run in the top of the seventh, Carlie Ross and Hadley Jenniges started the Falcons off strong with a single and a walk. Yet, Ross was tagged out and Jenniges was put out on a fielder’s choice to put two down and a strikeout ended the game.

Jaida Fricke pitched the first 5 1/3 innings for TMB, allowing three earned runs and three unearned on seven hits and five walks. She also struck out five batters. 

In a relief appearance, Melaina Ankrum held RRC/WWG scoreless for 1 2/3 frames. She allowed just two walks and one hit.

Torgeson and Hanson each recorded three hits for TMB with Hanson doubling twice. Loftness, Freeberg and Emma Chandler each also hit a double for TMB while Natalie Wahl hit a triple for RRC/WWG. 

Natalie and Natasha Wahl and Ella Knakmuhs each had a pair of hits for RRC/WWG.

Ross pitched the first four innings for RRC/WWG, allowing six runs on eight hits and three walks, while Addeson Jenniges held TMB to one run on three hits and three walks over the final two innings.

RRC/WWG scored a run in the top of the first but TMB responded with four of their own in the bottom of the frame. They never trailed from that point on.

TMB improves to 4-7 with the loss while RRC/WWG falls to 6-6. The Falcons will look to bounce back on the road Thursday against Edgerton/Southwest Christian while TMB will host Yellow Medicine East for a doubleheader. Both RRC/WWG and TMB’s games will start at 4:30 p.m.

MCC 8, MLAC 5

SLAYTON — The Murray County Central softball team picked up its sixth consecutive win on Tuesday night, defeating Mountain Lake Area-Comfrey by a final score of 8-5 behind three hits from Ava Deacon and a solid pitching performance from Thea Schneider.

MCC took its first lead of the game when Emmi Peltola hit an RBI double to drive in Deacon in the bottom of the first. After MLAC responded with a run of its own in the next half-inning, Deacon drilled a two-run double to left field to put MCC back on top, 3-1, in the bottom of the second. They led for the remainder of the game.

MLAC kept things close by scoring one run in the third and fourth innings to make the score 4-3 in favor of the Rebels heading into the bottom of the fifth. Yet, Ava Deacon drove in another pair of runs with a single and Schneider drove Deacon after reaching base on an error to make the score 7-3.

Schneider pitched all seven innings for the Rebels with each of the five runs she allowed being unearned. She struck out seven batters while holding MLAC to four hits and a pair of walks.

Morgan Winter and Calleigh Doeden each also got a pair of hits for the Rebels.

MCC improves to 8-1 with the win and will look to pick up its seventh straight victory when it goes on the road to face off against Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.