Area softball: No. 3 Southland 5, No. 6 Goodhue 4

The Wildcats challenged Southland in the Section 1A East tournament opener, but the host Rebels prevailed by plating the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning Thursday.

"We were the underdog tonight and we took them to the seventh inning," Goodhue coach Chris Irvin said. "Other than getting the win you can't ask for too much more."

With runners on second and third and no outs in the seventh, Southland's Brandi Schammel hit a bloop single down the right-field line off Anne Lodermeier that scored her sister, Jana, for the walk-off win. Irvin said that even if the Wildcats made the catch he thought Jana Schammel could have tagged up and scored.

"I thought about loading the bases and putting her on, but I feel that puts a lot more pressure on the pitcher," Irvin said.

Lodermeier pitched all six innings and allowed four earned runs on 10 hits. She struck out two and walked two.

She also had two of her team's six hits and scored a run.

Even though the Wildcats didn't collect a ton of hits, Irvin said Southland struggled to field some Goodhue bunts and that allowed the Wildcats to stay in the game.

However, Brandi Schammel retired the Wildcats in order in the top of the seventh.

Goodhue finished the season 5-16.

Tags: sports, prep, softball, goodhue, wildcats