The Section 3AA banner carrier in state showed winning form in its first state game. It was a hard-fought contest against Maple Lake. And in the end, the unseeded-in-state Arrows of Pipestone had a 4-3 victory over their second-seeded foe. Section 3AA is the home of our MACA Tigers.
Pipestone needed eight innings to tuck away the Tuesday victory. Action was at Caswell Park, North Mankato, where yours truly once visited to cover our Tigers in state play. I'll confess it was quite a few years ago. But I remember well. I remember how the driving route to Mankato had no Interstate highway. Interstate can really ease a long trip.
I passed by Fort Ridgely State Park and wished I had time to explore a little there. I could feel harried by the demands of my work in those days. Obviously I let it get to me too much. Interstate or no, I enjoyed the trip covering the Tigers. I would have enjoyed covering the Pipestone Arrows Tuesday.
Southern Minnesota teams have a reputation for very strong softball, inexplicably in my view. Teams from down there have been a nemesis for our normally-high-achieving Tigers on many occasions. Let's consider the cliche "it is what it is."
Up to bat comes Kyla Hubbling. Now we see the key batted ball: a grounder to short that was mishandled. Pipestone scores. The Arrows would emerge with this savory 4-3 win.
The state tournament obviously features a lot of fine pitchers. Jessa Reinert had this role for Pipestone and her rival was Taylor Hess. They both pitched the distance. The "Globe" newspaper reported that Reinert's very first pitch was "a slow strike." Changing speeds turned out to be a forte for her. It's not always about being overpowering. Reinert stayed ahead of hitters.
Pipestone got an early lead at 2-0. "Small ball" was in evidence as MacKenzie Manderscheid singled, stole second and got to third on a bunt. This was in the first inning. An infield grounder got Manderscheid across home plate.
The fourth inning saw Melody Remund connect for a two-out run-scoring double.
Maple Lake would get untracked in the scoring column, well enough to take the lead at 3-2 after five. A Maple Lake fielding miscue in the sixth allowed Pipestone to pull up even. This set the stage for Pipestone's critical success in the eighth. Congrats to the Arrows.
The line score was four runs, four hits and two errors for Pipestone, and three runs, five hits and four errors for Maple Lake. So the game was not a fielding showcase. But Pipestone did what was needed to win!
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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