Area softball: Tigers finish fourth

LA CRESCENT, Minn. - Lake City played solid defense in two of its three games and finished fourth at the La Crescent invitational.

In the first game, the Tigers beat Rushford-Peterson 2-1. They lost to the host school 10-1 in the semifinals and then fell to Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 5-4 in 10 innings.

"It came down to our defense held together well" in the first and third game, Lake City coach Katie Luhmann said. She added: "It was hard to get a ball through the infield."

One play in the ninth inning of the third-place game showcased that defense. Junior Emily Sprick caught a ball in right field and threw to cutoff Katie Loppnow. The junior shortstop relayed the ball home, nabbing a W-E-M runner at the plate to keep the game tied. Laura Berktold, Lake City's senior catcher, was knocked back several feet on the play but held onto the ball.

W-E-M managed to push across the winning run in the bottom of the 10th when senior Kayla Holling drove in senior Alicia Reinke, who had tripled in the previous at bat.

Sprick started the day in the circle for the Tigers, but she took a line drive off her kneecap in the La Crescent game. Heather Marking, a sophomore, came on in relief and also pitched the third game.

Sprick finished 6-for-11 on the day.

"It was a long day, but I think they had fun today," Luhmann said. "We went out and played good ball."

Lake City (8-9 overall) plays host Monday to Triton.

Knights finish fourth

HAYFIELD, Minn. – Kenyon-Wanamingo’s mistakes in the field cost the Knights two games Saturday at the Hayfield invitational and resulted in a fourth-place finish.

After opening play with a 10-4 win over Fairmont, the Knights made five errors in a 9-6 loss to the host school and eventual tournament champion.

K-W made twice as many errors in the final two innings of the third-place game, a 10-0 loss in five innings to Blooming Prairie.

The Knights’ miscues came despite having seniors start at all four infield positions and catcher.

“Sometimes they play like seniors and sometimes they don’t,” K-W coach Matt Nelson said. “I think they’re mentally drained. We’ve played a lot of games recently. You see it at the plate. … You see them making decisions they usually wouldn’t make.”

The third-place contest was the Knights’ seventh game of the week. K-W (4-13) won’t have much time to rest. It plays host Monday to Goodhue, travels Tuesday to Byron and starts play Thursday in the subsection tournament.

Senior Kayla Musgjerd finished with a team-high five hits at the Hayfield tournament.

Classmate Stacy Sahl had just one hit, but it was a two-run home run in fifth inning against Hayfield that tied the score at 6.

Junior Rachel Sandager earned the win in the circle against Fairmont.

Tags: lake city, sports, softball, kenyon, wanamingo