Area softball: Z-M captures fifth straight subsection title

Jamie St. Marie went 4-for-4 with a triple and drove in four runs as she led Zumbrota-Mazeppa to an 8-2 win over Cannon Falls in the Section 1AA West semifinals Saturday in Pine Island.

Z-M opened the game strong, managing five base hits and coming away with a pair of runs in the first inning.

"We took ourselves out of the inning a little bit with some base running miscues and only scored two runs," Z-M coach Kevin Nelson said. "But it's always nice to play with a lead and feel more confident."

Amber Jentsch was 3-for-4, scored three runs and had two RBI to help the Cougars in the win. Teammate Julia Niebuhr finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs.

Lydia Franken recorded the only RBI for Cannon Falls, while Sam Wolter and Kalyn Reinardy scored one run apiece.

The loss ended Cannon Falls' season. The Bombers finished 9-9 overall.

"It's the best record we've had in many years and a lot of good things came out of this year," Cannon Falls coach Anthony Flemmons said.

"This was a great season for our seniors. Granted, we're going to lose quite a few, but we've got some great players coming up so we're excited for the future of the program."

Z-M advanced to the subsection finals to take on No. 7 Byron, which defeated No. 3 Stewartville 5-1 in the semifinals.

The Cougars advanced past Byron 4-3 in eight innings.

"We got off to kind of a rough start, but then we settled down," coach Nelson said.

Megan Nelson went the distance for the win, totaling four strikeouts and no walks. At bat, she finished 5-for-5 with an RBI.

Haley Tostenson led Byron with a home run and an RBI.

The win puts the Cougars at 19-3 and secures their fifth straight subsection championship.

Z-M advanced to the section tournament and will go up against Cotter Schools at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Austin.

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