“It has been a lot of fun. We have grown so much over the years,” YME catcher Alana Almich said. “It’s fun seeing how much we have progressed, and we had high goals for the season. It has been a lot of fun.”

Entering Thursday, YME needed one win while BOLD had to defeat the Sting twice in a row after YME initially bumped the Warriors down to the elimination bracket in the quarterfinals.

Thursday also marked the third and fourth meetings between the Sting and Warriors. BOLD won the first matchup in the regular season on April 24, 4-2, while YME got its revenge in the section quarterfinals with a 1-0 win.

BOLD then defeated Wabasso 6-0 in the elimination final to reach the section championship.

Photo by Samantha Davis: The Yellow Medicine softball team stands with their Section 3A runner-up trophy after the Section 3A championship on Thursday in Marshall.

A hive full of memories

Despite the loss, the Sting have built up plenty of pride throughout the season to make it one that will not be soon forgotten. YME represented the region as one of the section’s top teams and collected milestones along the way.

“They [teammates] have meant everything to me,” YME right fielder Emma Keller said. “At first, we started out rocky, but we have become a family … It [this season] has meant everything. It’s meant a lot that all these people have come up to cheer for us and push us to what we know we can do. We have pushed ourselves, knowing that we can play to our fullest and to our best.”

YME has not played in the section championship as long as any of the active players have been alive. The team got to the big lights after a 10-8 down-to-the-wire semifinal win over reigning section champion Wabasso on Tuesday.

“They had a goal at the beginning of the season, and they worked really hard to get here and I’m so proud that I got to be along for the ride,” YME head coach Jen Sneller said.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Yellow Medicine East's Chasity Schmitz (left) and Alana Almich (right) share a hug after the Section 3A championship on Thursday in Marshall.

2026 was also a season of resiliency for YME. The Sting faced early struggles in the first part of the regular season, but they took the mindset of continuing to show up and right their path, rather than fade.

Four of YME’s five regular-season losses came through the team’s first eight games, getting off to a 4-4 start to the season.

But, after the Sting’s fourth loss, which was the loss to BOLD in April, YME embarked on a nine-game win streak. Its only other regular-season loss came from Martin County West on May 9.

To cap off the historic run, YME has claimed a 20-win season this year. The semifinal win over Wabasso marked the Sting’s 20th win, and they finish 20-7 overall.

“It’s been so much fun … I have made some of the best memories with them,” Almich said. “We all have energy the whole time. We got to play together again this weekend, and we really do [all] it together.”

Photo by Samantha Davis: The Yellow Medicine East softball team walks up to receive the Section 3A runner-up trophy and is cheered on by their coaches after the Section 3A championship on Thursday in Marshall.

Senior farewell

YME graduates a strong leading trio of seniors in Bayli Sneller, Ella Cherveny and Almich, who have all played pivotal roles.

“With our three seniors leaving, you’re losing a part of a whole, and we don’t know what we are going to do without them,” Keller said, emotionally.

“We have grown so much over the years, and my other seniors [and I] have been on varsity together since seventh grade,” Almich added.

Sneller leaves as the Sting’s primary pitcher. She finishes off her impressive senior campaign, pitching all but six innings over the course of YME’s season, with 220 strikeouts and a 1.75 ERA.

Photo by Samantha Davis: The Yellow Medicine East softball team receives their Section 3A runner-up trophy and head coach Jen Sneller comforts Alana Almich after the Section 3A championship on Thursday in Marshall.

Almich has also been Sneller’s sidekick, serving as the team’s main catcher. Cherveny has been a defensive force, managing center field.

“I actually have had the opportunity to coach all three of those girls since they were in third grade all the way through their entire careers,” coach Sneller said. “So, it hurts that we’re done and that today was the last day that I got to be on the field with them, but I’m just incredibly thankful that I got to be along the entire time with them.”

GAME 1

BOLD 2, YME 1

Much like the first two times BOLD and YME have faced each other this season, it was a battle of pitching and defense between the two.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Yellow Medicine East head coach Jen Sneller (right) and senior pitcher Bayli Sneller (left) hug one another after the Section 3A championship on Thursday in Marshall.

Sneller and the Warriors’ Kaitlyn Flann, their respective team’s main pitchers, have each tossed nearly every inning this season with over 200 strikeouts each on the year.

Both teams made several strong defensive plays that limited a handful of possible runs.

“We knew that we weren’t going to be able to come into the game and say, ‘Oh, we’re going to win, we don’t have to try our hardest.’ We knew that we had to leave our foot on the gas and go as hard as we could,” Keller said.

YME first baseman Bailey Mortenson had a pair of diving catches in the infield while outfielders Brianna Nelson, Cherveny and Keller all made big plays as well. Returning the favor, BOLD did much of the same.

Almich also had a successful throw-down to second base from behind the plate for a tag-out in the game.

The Warriors scored their two runs in the first and third innings.

Cherveny scored YME’s run in the bottom of the fifth after she hit a leadoff single on a line drive to right field, stole second, moved to third on an Everra Leenerts sacrifice bunt, then scored on a passed ball.

YME was able to string together a few hits and get runners on base, but it was ultimately Flann’s pitching that challenged the Sting at the plate. Flann finished with eight strikeouts while allowing no walks, and Sneller retired four batters with one walk.

The Warriors got bases loaded in the top of the fifth with an opportunity to deepen their lead late in the game, but a pair of Cherveny catches in center field and a foul-ball catch from Kourtney Peterson outside of third base halted BOLD further.

In YME’s last at-bat, BOLD staved off the Sting with a strikeout, foul out and a ground out to even the series 1-1.

BOX SCORE

BATTING

K. Peterson: 2-3, B. Nelson: 1-2, E. Cherveny: 1-3, R.

PITCHING

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

GAME 2

BOLD 8, YME 1

Different from the first, the Warriors quickly clicked at the plate in the second game. A third-inning grand slam gave BOLD a 5-0 lead, following a run scored prior, and put YME in an early hole.

“I think they got in their own heads today a little bit, and instead of owning the box like we had been doing, they just got a little bit underconfident,” coach Sneller said. “We had bright moments where they definitely got back into it, got out of their own heads, and put the ball in play. We just couldn’t string those hits together like you need to.”

The Sting again were able to get off a few hits throughout the game, but another strong pitching performance from Flann also limited YME’s offensive opportunities.

Sneller finished with six strikeouts, allowing one walk, and Flann tossed seven strikeouts with no walks once more.

“When your team is winning and you got adrenaline going like that, pitchers definitely add some additional heat to their pitches, and Kaitlyn did that,” coach Sneller said. “She locked in, got excited and used her team as a force behind her.”

Six of the Warriors’ eight runs came off home runs, as BOLD hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning as well.

Sneller scored YME’s run in the top of the sixth off an Almich RBI single with a line drive to right field. Sneller had a base hit as well to reach base.

BOLD secured the title after the Stings’ final plate appearance in the seventh, answering a Chasity Schmitz single with three straight outs.

“They [YME] were ready, they came in with the right mindset and preparation was great. The attitudes, energy, they brought all of the things we needed,” coach Sneller said. “We just came up short.”

Following the loss, each player accepted their section runner-up medals and the team trophy with plenty of pride as everyone supported one another with hugs and eventual smiles.

BOX SCORE

BATTING

B. Nelson: 1-3; B. Sneller: 1-3, R; Almich: 2-3, RBI; C. Schmitz: 2-3.

PITCHING

B. Sneller: 6 IP, 6 SO, 10 H, 5 ER, BB.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Yellow Medicine East senior Alana Almich catches a pitch during the Section 3A championship on Thursday in Marshall.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Yellow Medicine East senior Ella Cherveny cheers for the team during the Section 3A championship on Thursday in Marshall.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Yellow Medicine East senior Bayli Sneller throws a pitch during the Section 3A championship on Thursday in Marshall.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Yellow Medicine East's Everra Leenerts (left) hi-fives Bailey Mortenson (right) after making a defensive play after the Section 3A championship on Thursday in Marshall.

Photo by Samantha Davis: The Yellow Medicine East softball team hi-fives one another after the Section 3A championship on Thursday in Marshall.