Photo by Samantha Davis: Minneota’s Madison Hennen eyes down a pitch in the first game of a doubleheader against Renville County West Tuesday night in Minneota. Hennen pitched a shutout and hit a home run in the first game, as the Vikings took the first game 11-0 and the second game 13-2.

GAME 1 (5 inn.)

RCW 0

MINNEOTA — Madison Hennen homered and threw a complete-game shutout for the Minneota/Canby softball team in the first game of its Camden Conference doubleheader against Renville County West on Tuesday. Her two-way effort helped the Vikings cruise to an 11-0 victory.

As a pitcher, Hennen struck out 13 batters on the day while giving up two hits and no walks. As a batter, she hit a home run and a double for six RBIs.

The game was locked in a scoreless tie heading into the bottom of the third. A pair of singles by Greta Buysse and Kiersyn Hulzebos, broken up by a walk drawn by Izabelle Hulzebos, loaded the bases with no outs. Joelle Otto hit an RBI single, Hennen drove in another three runs with a double and then scored on an error.

With two runners on and one out in the fourth, Otto hit an RBI single and then scored on a three-run homer from Hennen. 

Otto tallied a game-high three hits with four RBIs and a walk, while Kiersyn Hulzebos also contributed a pair of hits. Otto also hit a two-run single with two outs in the fifth to trigger the mercy rule.

GAME 2 (6 inn.)

RCW 2

MINNEOTA — Courtney Antony and Kiersyn Hulzebos each accounted for five total bases for the Minneota/Canby softball team on Tuesday as it defeated Renville County West 13-2 in six innings in the second game of a Camden Conference doubleheader.

Antony finished with a game-high three hits — including a triple — and a walk while Hulzebos finished with a triple, a double and a walk. Joelle Otto also reached base three times with a pair of singles and a walk.

Otto threw all six innings for Minneota, striking out 10 batters while giving up two earned runs on seven hits and a pair of walks.

After a single by Izabelle Hulzebos and a double by Kiersyn Hulzebos, Otto put the Vikings on the board with a two-run single in the top of the first. Otto went on to score on a passed ball.

RCW responded with a run in the bottom of the first, but the Vikings scored one run in each of the next three innings before RCW got back on the board with a run in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 6-2.

Minneota/Canby pulled away in the final two innings, starting with a four-run fifth inning.

Antony led off the fifth with a single before scoring on a McKenzie Bednarek double. Emily Walker hit a two-run double and Kiersyn Hulzebos hit a triple before scoring on a passed ball to make the score 10-2.

Three consecutive singles by Dakota Pesch, Antony and Winifred Swedzinski made the score 12-2  and Izabelle Hulzebos hit an RBI double to make the score 13-2. Otto retired the side in order in the bottom of the frame to seal the mercy-rule win.

Minneota/Canby (10-1) hosts Ortonville (1-6) for its next game on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Worthington 10, Marshall 0 (5 inn.)

WORTHINGTON — The Marshall softball team wasn’t able to pick up its first win of the season on Tuesday, falling 10-0 in five innings in a Big South Conference matchup against Worthington.

The Trojans scored three first-inning runs and another four in the second. They tacked on three more in the fourth to put the mercy rule in play, and retired Marshall in order in the top of the fifth to end the game.

Sara Dallman led Marshall at the plate with two of the team’s five hits. No Tigers walked on the day.

As a pitcher, Dallman surrendered four earned and two unearned runs on five hits and two walks. Alissa Moen took over for Dallman with one out in the second inning, going on to allow three earned runs on four hits over 2 2/3 innings. Dallman and Moen each struck out three batters.

Marshall (0-8) will look to get in the win column when it goes the road to take on Windom (2-7) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

YME 14, MACCRAY 0 (5 inn.)

GRANITE FALLS — Bayli Sneller’s complete-game effort in the circle set the tone for the Yellow Medicine East softball team in its Camden Conference matchup against MACCRAY on Tuesday. Sneller shut the Wolverines out on the day as the Sting bats got active for a 14-0 win in five innings.

Sneller struck out 10 of the 17 batters she faced on the day. She had a no-hitter through three innings until a two-out single broke it up in the fourth, and the lone other MACCRAY players to reach base came on an error in the first inning and a catcher’s interference call in the fifth.

The Sting surged ahead in the bottom of the third with six runs. Riley Haar drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored when Brianna Nelson laid down a bunt and MACCRAY committed an error.

The Wolverines retired each of the next two YME batters, but the Sting rallied with two outs. Alana Almich walked before Kourtney Peterson singled in Nelson. Consecutive walks to Emma Keller and Bailey Mortenson forced in one run and a wild pitch allowed Peterson to score another. Charlotte Paslawski walked to reload the bases, and a wild pitch and a passed ball scored another two runners for a 7-0 Sting advantage.

Almich reached base three times for the Sting with a double and two walks, while Nelson, Cherveny and Sneller each singled twice. As a team, YME tallied nine hits and nine walks. 

YME first claimed the lead in the top of the first, when Nelson singled and scored on an Almich double.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Sting bats stayed hot when Ella Cherveny singled and scored on a Sneller single. Almich walked and Keller was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out, and Sneller scored on a passed ball to make the score 9-0. 

Paslawski and Haar drew consecutive walks to extend the rally, and a two-run single from Cherveny and an RBI single from Sneller made the score 14-0.

Yellow Medicine East (2-3) returns to action on Thursday when it hosts Lakeview (3-3) for a 5 p.m. doubleheader. 

NUC 9, Wabasso 0

NEW ULM — An early deficit was too much for the Wabasso softball team to overcome in a Tomahawk Conference matchup against New Ulm Cathedral on Tuesday. The Rabbits never got their bats going and lost 9-0. 

The Rabbits fell into an early hole when five hits, including a three-run home run, gave Cathedral a five-run inning. The Greyhounds added another run in the third and three more in the fourth.

Camryn Irlbeck was the lone Rabbit with multiple total bases, hitting a double, while Aylah Jenniges had a single and a walk. 

Jenniges got the start for Wabasso, giving up seven earned and two unearned runs on 11 hits over four innings. Alexa Remiger threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, striking out three batters while giving up two walks and a single.

Wabasso (7-3) gets back to its home diamond on Thursday when it hosts Sleepy Eye (9-1) at 5 p.m.

GAME 1

Ortonville 7, Dawson-Boyd 1

MADISON — Early success at the plate gave the Ortonville softball team all the momentum it needed to claim a Camden Conference win over Dawson-Boyd on Tuesday. The Trojans scored all of their runs in the first two innings and never looked back, defeating Dawson-Boyd 7-1. 

Ortonville scored six first-inning runs on five hits, a walk and a pair of hit batters to grab the lead early. The Trojans scored another run in the second inning to make the score 7-0 and never looked back. 

The Blackjacks scored their lone run in the bottom of the fifth when Lauren Lee doubled before scoring on a passed ball. 

Natyah Ritter tallied a team-high four hits in four plate appearances while Elsie Wiebe contributed another two of the Blackjacks’ 11 total. 

Shay Bothun tossed all seven innings for Dawson-Boyd, giving up seven earned runs on 16 hits and a walk. She struck out eight batters in the game. 

Dawson-Boyd 18, Ortonville 13

ORTONVILLE — The Dawson-Boyd softball team ended its four-game skid on Tuesday night with an 18-13 bounce-back win in the second game of its Camden Conference doubleheader against Ortonville.

Natyah Ritter led the Blackjacks’ offensive efforts with four hits in five at-bats, marking her second four-hit game of the day. Madalyn Wente and Macy Moen each also contributed three hits, including a triple, a double and three RBIs for Wente.

Three consecutive singles from Ritter, Moen and Kadyn Perkins to start the game gave the Blackjacks the game’s first run. With two outs, Wente hit an RBI double, Elsie Wiebe hit an RBI single. Wiebe scored on a passed ball and Quinn Larson then drove in a run with a double to make the score 5-0 after the first.

Ortonville answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame, but never overtook the Blackjacks. 

Dawson-Boyd scored a pair of second-inning runs before Ortonville did the same in the third. The Blackjacks then pulled further ahead with six runs in the top of the fifth before Ortonville erupted with another five in the bottom of the frame.

In total, Dawson-Boyd tallied 19 hits with five walks in the game while Ortonville logged 15 hits and six walks.

Perkins threw the first 4 1/3 innings for Dawson-Boyd, giving up nine earned runs on 11 hits and five walks. In relief, Wente surrendered four earned runs on four hits and a walk over three innings.

Dawson-Boyd (2-5) plays again on Thursday when it heads to Madison for a doubleheader against Lac qui Parle Valley (5-2) at 4:30 p.m.

LQPV 18, TMB 6

TRACY — A 10-run third inning from Lac qui Parle Valley was too much to overcome, despite a six-run fifth inning, as the Tracy-Milroy-Balaton softball team suffered an 18-6 loss in a full seven innings in a Red Rock Conference matchup Tuesday night. 

LQPV finished the game with eight hits and five errors to TMB’s seven hits and four errors. 

The Eagles took a 14-0 lead by the fourth inning, and were on the brink of ending the game early in mercy-rule, until the Panthers fought back for a 14-6 deficit in the bottom of the fifth. 

Kendra Timmerman hit an RBI double to get the rally started, reaching first off an LQPV fielding error, scoring in both Rosa Vang and Brianna Duscher. 

Hits from Gretchen Lanoue, Aliyah Loftness and Piper Freeburg brought in the other runs for the Panthers. 

But, TMB went scoreless over the final two innings while the Eagles brought in another four to end the game. 

Melaina Ankrum was the starting pitcher for the Panthers, but was relieved by Lanoue the rest of the game after the first inning. 

Ankrum threw one strikeout with four walks and two earned runs, while Lanoue finished with four strikeouts, nine walks and 14 earned runs. 

Timmerman led TMB with her two RBIs. 

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton (4-3) welcomes MACCRAY (4-6) to the Tracy Softball Complex on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

RTR 8, RRC/WWG 7  

TYLER — Down by as many as five runs, Laken Baartmen hit a crucial two-run go-ahead home run in the sixth inning to give the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton softball team an 8-7 win over Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove Tuesday night.

RRC/WWG built up a 7-2 lead in the fourth inning, yet the Knights rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fourth to bring the game within one. 

In a scoreless fifth inning, RTR’s Baartman stepped up to the plate and hit her homer out to center field to run in Audrey Schreurs, and gave the Knights the lead. 

RTR’s defense held off RRC/WWG in its final at-bat to secure the comeback victory. 

RTR recorded nine hits and four errors, while the Falcons finished with five hits and one error. 

For RRC/WWG, Carlie Ross pitched the entire game for four strikeouts and four walks. 

Leah Carter had a team-high three RBIs, while Natalie Wahl had another two. Natasha Wahl led the team with three runs and two hits. 

For the Knights, Jaida Fricke was also on the mound for the entire night, throwing 11 strikeouts and four walks. 

Kynsi VanderPlaats led the offense with three hits and three RBIs, to pair along with Baartman’s two hits and pair of RBIs. 

Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove (2-7) next competes on Thursday with a road matchup against Springfield at Riverside Park at 6:15 p.m.

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (4-8) will stick around in Tyler to host Murray County Central (6-1) for a doubleheader on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

MCC 8, Adrian/Ellsworth 5 

SLAYTON — Thea Schneider’s pitching showed up big once again to help prevail the Murray County Central softball team in an 8-5 win over Adrian/Ellsworth Tuesday night in a Red Rock Conference game. 

Although holding onto a one-run lead, 6-5, by the end of the fourth inning, Schneider threw for nine strikeouts with just two walks and one earned run the entire night. The Rebels brought in two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning while holding A/E scoreless the final three to secure the win. 

Taylor Larson hit a double RBI line drive to left field to score Kate Blankenship and Elyse Paulzine to give MCC its 8-5 lead. 

Both teams finished with nine hits and errors. 

Blankenship, Paulzine and Calleigh Doeden each shared a team-high two hits, while Schneider, Blankenship and Larson all had a pair of RBIs as well. 

Murray County Central (6-1) travels to Tyler to take on Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (4-8) for a 4:30 p.m. doubleheader on Thursday.