YME catcher Alana Almich scored the game-winning run for the Sting in the second game, beating a rundown between third plate and home to secure the sweep.

“I was just like, ‘Go! Don’t get out!’ I was scared, I didn’t really want to go and catch another inning, so I was like, ‘Let’s go with nine, we’ve got to score now,’… I think I’m still out of breath” Almich said with a laugh, noting that she also has to catch again on Tuesday. “We’ve got to score now, otherwise it’s going to last a while, and we were at a good spot in our lineup.”

Lakeview had scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to force extras, sending Khya Gawarecki and Makenna Anderson home on a Kendra Velde single to tie up the game at 6-6. Still, the late rally wasn’t enough.

“She’s [Anderson] one of our quicker girls, and she’s got the drive to do it, but on that play, it’s anyone I’m sending and we’re going to tie that game,” Lakeview head coach Linnea Stibbe said. “Lay it out all on the line. You’ve got to win games to keep moving forward, so that’s what we’re doing. We’re aggressive baserunners and that’s how we’re always going to play that one.”

Photo by Jake McNeill: Yellow Medicine East's Chasity Schmitz (4) jumps for joy as teammates Charlotte Paslawski (3) and Carley Redepenning (9) join her in walking out of the dugout to celebrate the Sting softball team's walk-off win over Lakeview, Monday in Cottonwood.

Sneller earned the win in both games for YME, giving up five earned runs with 12 strikeouts across 16 innings of work, while Anderson took the pair of losses after surrendering 13 earned runs with 13 strikeouts across 15 1/3 frames.

Almich logged six hits and four RBIs across the pair of games to lead YME at the plate, and the Lakers were led by Taylor Hinz’s six hits and Kiara Hinz’s five.

Strong winds were a factor in the game, making it hard to track deep fly balls. As a result, YME finished with eight errors across the pair of games. YME head coach Jen Sneller noted that with some players’ absence, the Sting were forced to make a handful of changes to their defensive positions but that she felt that the girls did a good job of supporting each other in new spots.

“They stepped into big roles for us, and the girls really surrounded Chasity [Schmitz] at shortstop and helped her out there and let her know where she needed to be in certain situations, so I’m super proud of how they stuck with it,” coach Sneller said. “It wasn’t our prettiest games, but we still won.”

Lakeview, meanwhile, was consistently clean with its defense, not making an error in either game.

“We’ve come together as a team in the last couple of games, and it’s been a mission of ours to limit the errors and get back-to-back hits,” Stibbe said. “That’s what we did tonight … I mean, they [YME] were up going into the fifth inning, and we came back and tied it up to force extra innings, so these girls are pulling it together and they’re starting to work together.”

YME improves to 8-4, including an 8-1 record against Class A opponents, and next goes on the road to take on Montevideo on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

Lakeview falls to 5-7 and aims to get back in the win column when it heads to Clara City for a matchup against MACCRAY on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

GAME 1

YME 6, Lakeview 4

The Sting took the lead for good in the top of the third. Almich singled with one out and scored the go-ahead run on an Ella Cherveny single into right field. Cherveny then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Chasity Schmitz, and Emma Keller singled into center field to drive in Cherveny before she was tagged out on the basepaths with a 4-2 Sting lead.

Almich finished the day with a game-high three hits and two RBIs, while Brianna Nelson also singled twice. Kiara Hinz led Lakeview with another three hits while Taylor Hinz and Teegan Fiene added another two each.

Bayli Sneller started in the circle for YME, pitching another complete game while striking out 12 batters. She limited Lakeview toa pair of earned runs on nine hits and three walks..

Makenna Anderson got the start at pitcher for Lakeview in the opener, surrendering six earned runs on nine hits and a pair of walks.

The Lakers took an early lead when Kiara Hinz, Taylor Hinz and Morgan Velde hit consecutive singles to load the bases with no outs in the first. Sneller struck out each of the next three Laker batters, but an error at catcher allowed Kiara Hinz to run home for the game’s first run.

YME surged ahead when Cherveny walked and Schmitz singled in the top of the second. Keller grounded out to drive in Cherveny. After Charlotte Paslawski and Bailey Mortenson each got on to load the bases, Kourtney Peterson hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly to right field to give the Sting a 2-1 lead.

Adison Hinz led off the bottom of the second with a single before Sneller retired each of the next two batters. Yet, an error allowed the inning to continue with two outs Taylor Hinz singled in Adison Hinz to tie the game at two runs apiece.

Facing a 5-4 deficit, Lakeview put itself in a position to take the lead when Fiene and Kiara Hinz hit back-to-back singles to open the bottom of the sixth. Sneller came up clutch with a pair of strikeouts before a walk to Avery Hinz loaded the bases, but Sneller got her third strikeout of the inning to escape the jam.

In the fourth, Adison Hinz reached on an error and scored on a Fiene single to cut the deficit to one. Yet, the Sting got the run right back a half-inning later when Sneller walked and scored on an Almich single.

Avery Hinz once again cut the gap to a single run for the Lakers in the fifth, reaching on a walk, stealing second and then scoring when Anderson grounded into a fielder’s choice.

GAME 1 BOX SCORE

YME

BATTING

K. Peterson: 0-3, RBI, SO; B. Nelson: 2-4, R, SO; B. Sneller: 0-2, BB, R; A. Almich: 3-4, 2 RBI, R, SB; E. Cherveny: 1-3, BB, RBI, 2 R, SO; C. Schmitz: 1-3, R; E. Keller: 1-3, 2 RBI; C. Paslawski: 0-3, SB, SO; B. Mortenson: 1-3.

PITCHING

B. Sneller: W, 7 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 12 SO.

LAKEVIEW

BATTING

K. Hinz: 3-4, R, SB; T. Hinz: 1-4, RBI, SO; M. Velde: 1-4, 2 SO; Av. Hinz: 0-1, 3 BB, R, SB; M. Anderson: 0-4, RBI: Ad. Hinz: 1-4, SB, 2 R; T. Fiene: 2-3, RBI.

PITCHING

M. Anderson: L, 7 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO.

YME 7, Lakeview 6

With the game tied at six runs apiece, Lakeview put runners on second and third with one out in the top of the eighth, but Sneller got a strikeout and induced a fly out to keep the game tied. The Lakers held the Sting scoreless in the bottom of the frame and Sneller retired the side in order in the top of the ninth to set YME up with the opportunity to walk off the win.

Almich and Cherveny singled consecutively to start the ninth, and Schmitz dropped down a bunt to advance the two runners into scoring position. Emma Keller then hit a grounder up the middle to the pitcher, and the Sting caught Almich in a run down between second and third.

With no force out available, the Lakers got to chasing up and down the basepaths. Yet, after a few changes of direction, Almich was able to beat the throw to the plate and slid home for the winning run, sending the Sting bench into an eruption.

“It wasn’t our prettiest game, so it felt good to win,” Almich said. “It builds more adrenaline and gets us ready as the next few weeks go on … It’s good that we had this situation where we’re tied going into extra innings, so when the playoffs come and that happens, we’re ready for it.”

Lakeview trailed the entire game until they rallied in the seventh. Avery Hinz singled in the leadoff spot and, after Hinz was replaced on first when Gawarecki reached on a fielder’s choice, Anderson hit another single to put the tying run on base. Adison Hinz then dropped down a sacrifice bunt to put both runners in scoring position with two outs, and Velde sent a hard-hit ball into center field.

While the ball wasn’t hit up against the wall, the Lakers still elected to send Anderson home. YME got a good throw to the plate, but Anderson turned on the burners to slide into home, and after the dust cleared she was ruled safe on the play.

“Nobody wants to lose, so they knew they had to score to win,” coach Sneller said of her team’s mindset heading into extras. “All of a sudden, they brought energy in that last inning, and that was huge. I wish they would keep that energy all game long, but they brought it when it mattered most.”

Taylor Hinz had a game-high four hits in the second game while Kiara and Avery Hinz, Velde and Anderson each added another two. For the Sting, Almich led the team while Peterson and Nelson chipped in another two each. Keller also drove in a game-high four RBIs and Carley Redepenning doubled for the game’s lone extra-base hit.

After slowly maintaining a lead throughout the first game, YME took command early in the second. Peterson and Nelson hit consecutive singles to start the inning, and Almich was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Sneller picked up the win in the circle for YME, giving up three earned and three unearned runs over nine innings. She struck out eight batters while giving up 13 hits without a walk on 139 pitches.

For the Lakers, Anderson was charged with seven earned runs on 11 hits and five walks over 8 1/3 frames. She also struck out nine batters.

The Lakers got a force out at home on a Cherveny grounder up the middle, but they tried to turn two and an error at first allowed Nelson to run home for the game’s first run. The Sting continued to make Lakeview pay for the error when two more runs scored on a Schmitz line-drive single up the middle to stake a 3-0 lead before Anderson got the inning-ending strikeout.

Lakeview didn’t take YME’s early offense lying down. Anderson singled with one out and Adison Hinz reached when a ground ball skipped over a YME glove for an error, bringing the tying run to the plate.

The two runners stole their way into scoring position, and another YME error on the catch after cleanly fielding a Velde bunt sent the ball into the outfield and sent Anderson and Hinz home, cutting the deficit to one. The Sting then committed their third error of the frame when a missed catch at first on a Kiara Hinz single sent Velde home for the tying run.

The game didn’t stay tied for long after the Lakers’ rally. Back-to-back singles by Peterson and Nelson put two on, and a wild pitch with two outs put them into scoring position. Almich again came up big in a high-leverage situation, sending a single into left-center field to send both runners home for a 5-3 lead.

Kendra Velde scored in the fourth when she singled and went home on a Taylor Hinz single, cutting the gap to a run, but the Sting got the run right back in the fifth when Almich singled, stole second and scored on a Keller ground out.

GAME 2 BOX SCORE

YME

BATTING

K. Peterson: 2-4, R, SB, 2 SO; B. Nelson: 2-4, BB, 2 R; A. Almich: 3-4, HBP, 2 RBI, 3 R, SO; E. Cherveny: 1-4, RBI, R, SO; C. Schmitz: 1-3, 2 BB, SB; E. Keller: 1-4, BB, 4 RBI, SO; C. Redepenning: 1-1 (2B), BB.

PITCHING

B. Sneller: W, 9 IP, 13 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 8 SO.

LAKEVIEW

BATTING

K. Hinz: 2-5, SB; T. Hinz: 4-5, RBI, 2 SB; M. Velde: 1-5, SO; Av. Hinz: 2-4, SB, 2 SO; K. Gawarecki: 0-5, R; M. Anderson: 2-5, 2 R, SB, 2 SO; Ad. Hinz: 0-5, R, SB, SO; K. Velde: 2-5, 2 RBI, 2 R.

PITCHING

M. Anderson: L, 8.1 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 5 BB, 9 SO.