Two area Class 1A softball teams met their matches Friday night and saw their season’s come to a close in the second round of regionals. Harris-Lake Park traveled to Larchwood to battle Siouxland Conference champion West Lyon, and returned with an 8-1 setback. The Wildcats used a three-run homer by junior Denyelle Viereck to take a 5-0 lead in the first, and then went up 8-1 in the fifth when she cracked a two-run shot. Viereck finished with five RBI. Senior Taylor TeGrootenhuis limited the Wolves to four hits and one run, striking out thirteen in the process. The lone HLP run came on senior Anna Brandt’s solo homer in the third inning. Harris-Lake Park finishes the year with a 10-20 record. West Lyon will play in the regional semifinals on Monday in Hartley against West Bend-Mallard. The Wolverines got there with a 4-0 blanking of the HMS Hawks in Emmetsburg on Friday. The Hawks registered just three hits against McKenzie Grimm, who struck out nine batters. Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn closes out their season with a 12-16 mark overall.
Elsewhere in Class 1A, North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted defeated Algona Bishop Garrigan 4-1 to reach the third round, where they will battle AGWSR on Monday in Algona.
The Class 2A playoffs featured a mammoth, early-round tilt between the two co-champions from the Lakes Conference, who had split their regular season series. In the end, Estherville-Lincoln Central pulled away for a 7-1 victory over Emmetsburg on the E-Hawks home diamond. The contest was locked in a 1-1 tie until the Midgets put up a six-spot in the sixth. Morgan Schichtl provided the thunder with a three-run homer. Miranda Vlasman drove in the lone E-Hawks run on a sac fly, as Emmetsburg tallied just five hits. Faith Schmidt took the loss, while Kendall Bosch got the win. Both struck out eight batters. Emmetsburg concludes their summer with a 28-7 record. The Midgets, at 21-11, will return to Emmetsburg on Monday for a semifinal matchup with East Sac County, who took down Sioux Central, 7-2.
In the Class 2A, Region 1 bracket, Alta-Aurelia eliminated Cherokee with a 6-0 shutout. The Mustangs will next face Western Christian, who also won a 6-0 ballgame over Sheldon. That same 6-0 differential brought Sioux Center’s season to a close against Ridge View, which will take on Missouri Valley in the next round.
