A back-and-forth slugfest between county rivals Okoboji and Spirit Lake
ended in high drama with a come-from-behind, walk-off win Tuesday night in the
season opener for both squads. The Pioneers jumped out to an 11-3 lead after a
ten-run fifth inning that saw 14 batters come to the plate and chased Indians
starter Bailee Newman from the game. Spirit
Lake refused to quit
though, scoring six runs in the next two innings to make it a 12-9 ballgame
entering the bottom of the seventh. Already with three RBI on the night, senior
Emily Mercer ended the game with a two-out single to right field that plated
Paige Krause and capped a four-run seventh to give 15th-ranked Spirit Lake
a 13-12 victory. Mercer finished 3-for-4 with three doubles and Alissa
Christoffer reached base five times, scoring four runs. Freshman Sami Ashland
earned the win. Okoboji, which committed six of their seven errors in the last
two frames, was paced by Mikkinzie Peschong. The senior was 3-for-4 with two
runs driven in and two scored at the plate, but took the loss in the circle.
The Pioneers open conference play Wednesday at Sioux
Center, while Spirit Lake
will hit the road to battle fourth-ranked Newell-Fonda.
Click here for the postgame interview with Indians coach Rachel Gerking
Click here for the postgame interview with Pioneers coach Dennis Baschke
Elsewhere in softball play on Tuesday, Harris-Lake Park
opened their season with a loss. The Lady Wolves fell 9-1 at Storm Lake St.
Mary’s. HLP will host Spirit
Lake on Thursday.
Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire kept their game with
Alta/Aurelia close, but eventually dropped a 9-6 ballgame. GT/RA opens the
season with back-to-back losses.
The season opener for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn presented a
massive test, a road trip to take on the top-rated team in Class 1A.
Akron-Westfield backed it up with a 10-1 win over the Hawks, who will hit the
road again Wednesday to play Clay Central-Everly.
North of the border, the softball postseason began Tuesday in Minnesota, and Jackson County Central came up two runs shy of advancing to the Section 3AA semifinals. The Huskies, who topped Luverne 5-4 in the first round, dropped a 2-0 contest to New Ulm in the quarterfinals to end their season. New Ulm had previously defeated Fairmont, 10-6 in six innings. Worthington also lost their first round matchup, a 10-3 setback to St. James.
In Section 2A, Martin County West is into the second round following a 10-0 blanking of Mountain Lake/Butterfield-Odin. Meanwhile, Windom lost to Tracy-Milroy-Balaton, 8-7, in their playoff opener.
