The action is at Caswell Park in Mankato. Yours truly once traveled there for the MACA Tigers. A beautiful facility, and as I recall, nice bleacher accommodations for the fans.
The Wolverines played their last three section games at the softball complex in Morris. A very nice arrangement in terms of not having to travel far for the CGB fans. The MACA Tigers play in 3AA which requires them to play in Marshall for sections. That's a long trip. So ironically, after Morris showed the commitment to get the softball complex established, our own Tigers must travel to Marshall while the CGB Wolverines make the short trip here from the west.
CGB of course stands for Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley.
I sometimes hesitate reporting on the softball tournament because I'm not sure if it's double-elimination at a particular level. It's hard enough for the casual fans to follow all the post-season sports, what with so many teams in action. Morris will have boys soccer next year: historic. Adding to the complexity for softball is double-elimination which I'm sure makes many fans wrinkle their foreheads. I suppose I should just speak for myself.
When things get potentially confusing, we have the "Minnesota Scores" website to help us out. So I see on this Friday morning that CGB has won two games in state. A thrill! Good luck to those Wolverines today as they take the field to play New Ulm Cathedral. Game-time is 4 p.m. at Caswell Park No. 2. I can't remember the exact year I went there for the Tigers. I do remember our ace pitcher had the last name Giese.
I will remind y'all that state is an elusive place for our MACA Tigers to reach. Our team can be fantabulous in the regular season, yes. But there's something about the teams from southern Minnesota - e.g. Jackson County Central - that stands in the way. CGB got past all obstacles in their 2024 climb and now will seek to win again in the rarefied air of state.
"Retro" newspaper?
Does the "Northern Star" newspaper even have a website? I could not find one. I could not find web-based coverage of the Section 6A games. Would've been nice to find some basic details of those wins. So I went to our Morris Public Library yesterday because the Northern Star comes out Thursday. I almost never look at it.
I took a look at this week's issue and instantly thought it looked like an old-fashioned town paper. The pages were large, making it a little like a road map to handle. Most papers have shaved down page size, an example being our Morris paper. Of course everything has gotten smaller with our Morris paper as with nearly all papers. Hutchinson and Litchfield have lost their papers. It's not necessarily sad because everything of interest can move online.
Yes it seems quaint to look at the Northern Star now. But I was happy to find the section game details. Hallelujah! But something needs to be online because that is where the kids themselves turn. Our librarian told me not long ago "I never see kids with the newspapers." I am the opposite of a kid so I still look. I'm 69. But I have gotten attuned to the online world.
OK so CGB took care of Red Lake Falls 9-7 in the state opener. What drama with a late CGB surge. Excellence in the clutch! When the chips were down! Red Lake Falls appeared to be in command going into the seventh inning. CGB fans must have been ecstatic as they watched their Wolverines rally for seven runs in the seventh! Unforgettable.
The Wolverines scored their first run in the second inning, as Makayla Hennessy got hit by pitch and then stole second. She came home on Sadie Wright's base hit.
Moving on to the third, there were two outs when Addison Ward reached on an error. Chloe Cardwell's bat resonated with a single. Hannah Gary took advantage of another Red Lake Falls fielding miscue to reach base. That same error opened the door for CGB's second run to score.
Both teams were retired 1-2-3 in the fourth. CGB went down the same way in the fifth. Red Lake Falls got going in this frame and when it was over, Red Lake Falls had the 4-2 lead. CGB threatened in the sixth as Gary was hit by pitch and Jordan Wright singled. No runs came in and Red Lake Falls got all three outs via strikeout.
Unforgettable 7th
I'm licking my chops for reviewing the seventh! Showtime! Imagine the ecstasy among the CGB faithful. CGB coach Brice Hoffman started things off by sending a pinch hitter up to bat. Bristol Paulson singled. Another pinch hitter strode up to the plate: Katrina Johnson drew a walk. Ward singled to load 'em up.
Nobody out! Up to bat comes Chloe Cardwell who worked the pitcher for a walk. So the runner at third trotted home. Then came a wild pitch by the Red Lake Falls pitcher: another run in! And an error was committed on the same play. Another run comes in and now the score is 7-5 with CGB still facing the daunting task of overcoming this deficit so late.
Here comes Hannah Gary with her lumber. She doubles! So another run is in. Red Lake Falls was having its fortunes just crumble. Next is a base on balls. Oh my, then an error! Finally Sadie Wright comes up to bat and she singles to put CGB up 9-7.
Red Lake Falls needed three runs. They did get a base hit at the start. The next three batters struck out! CGB wins and advances. Must have been amazing to be there. CGB now sits with a 19-4 season record. They won again 8-2 over West Lutheran.
Can they beat New Ulm Cathedral? Ah, sounds like one of those private schools.
Jordan Wright was the winning pitcher vs. Red Lake Falls: six innings, eight strikeouts, one walk, six hits. Sadie Wright pitched one inning: three strikeouts, one walk, five hits. Wright as a hitter went two-for-four with three RBIs. Seven other Wolverines had one hit each. Good luck to the Wolverines this afternoon!
Some video
You can watch the closing moments of the Wolverines winning Section 6A with this video taken by my Bonanza Valley friend Randy Olson. CGB triumphed at Morris.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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