Late-game rally powers No. 5 Cougars past No. 4 Storm in opening tournament game
ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn.---Heading into the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) softball tournament play-in game Tuesday, the matchup between No. 4 Crown College and No. 5 University of Minnesota Morris couldn’t be more intriguing.
In the regular season series, the opening game was decided in extra innings with the Storm emerging victorious by a score of 3-1 before taking down the Cougars 6-5 in the closing game. The Cougars had revenge and upset on their minds in Tuesday's and got exactly what they needed with a huge sixth-inning comeback to take down Crown 11-8 8 to advance to the double-elimination portion of the UMAC tournament set for Thursday.
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Tuesday’s game was a thriller from start to finish, but looked early on as if Crown would pull off a solid third win over Minnesota Morris. The Storm opened the bottom of the first with a triple from lead-off batter Janelle Williams. Then, three batters later, Sofia Palacios drilled a three-run homer over the right center wall to put her team up 3-0.
The Cougars gained some momentum in the top of the third with a pair of hits from Alex Anderson and Gina Downie who came home on a passed ball and RBI ground out from Autumn Mahoney to make it 3-2.
The Storm responded quickly, though, scoring a set of runs on fielding errors and a wild pitch to extend the lead to 5-2. After a scoreless fourth, the Cougars picked up another run to make it 5-3 in the top of the fifth on an RBI single from Bret Hulett.
Looking to put a comeback out of reach, Palacios homered again in the bottom of the same inning to drive in two more runs to make it 7-3 with just two innings to play.
The Cougars were not ready to give up and strung together an impressive sixth inning scoring seven runs. Magen Knickerbocker led off the inning with a solo home run to left field to give her team some momentum. The next run came on a fielding error before Mahoney brought in a run on a bunt single. The next two runs came across on a fielding error and a wild pitch to make it 8-7 for the Cougars’ first lead of the game.
The inning continued as Hulett singled to bring home another run before she then corssed the plate to make it 10-7 on another RBI from Knickerbocker.
Crown didn’t have an answer to the Cougars’ big inning and gave up another run in the top of the seventh to face an 11-7 deficit. With two outs in the bottom of the final inning, the Storm picked up a run on a Sarah Petkau RBI and loaded the bases with the tying run. However, the last-ditch comeback fell just short as Elli Steveson struck out Amada Morrison on a full count to lock up the win for the Cougars.
Hulett and Knickerbocket each picked up three hits and two RBI for the Cougars, while Mahoney drove in three with two hits and two runs scored. On the mound, Maegan Anderson earned the win in relief allowing just two earned runs and striking out two.
For Crown, Palacios went 4-for-4 with five RBI, while Cassidy Valenzuela and Marissa Becerra each had a pair of hits and two runs. Liz King took the loss in seven innings pitched, but gave up just four earned runs in the loss.
The four-team double elimination portion of the tournament is set to begin Thursday at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota. The Saints clinched the top spot in the tournament sweeping Crown Saturday. The No. 1 Saints will face No. 5 Minnesota Morris at 4 p.m. The opening game will feature No. 2 University of Northwestern-St. Paul and No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Superior at 2 p.m.
All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the
UMAC Softball Playoffs page. Keep up with all of the tournament action on
Twitter and
Instagram using
#UMACchamp.
Playoff Schedule
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, May 3
No. 5 Minnesota Morris defeats No. 4 Crown, 11-8 |
Box Score |
CC Recap |
UMM Recap |
Tournament Day One – Thursday, May 5; Duluth, Minn.
Game 1 – No. 2 Northwestern vs. No. 3 Wisconsin-Superior, 2 p.m. |
Live Broadcast |
Game 2 – No. 1 St. Scholastica vs. No. 5 Minnesota Morris, 4 p.m. |
Live Broadcast |
Tournament Day Two – Friday, May 6; Duluth, Minn.
Game 3 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 12 p.m. |
Live Broadcast |
Game 4 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 2 p.m. |
Live Broadcast |
Game 5 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 4 p.m. |
Live Broadcast |
Tournament Day Three – Saturday, May 7; Duluth, Minn.
Game 6 – Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5, 12 p.m. |
Live Broadcast |
Game 7 – (If Necessary) Same teams as Game 6, 2 p.m. |
Live Broadcast |
Event Information
The UMAC four-team tournament has the following set admissions prices: Single Day Adult Ticket, $10; Single Day Student/Senior Ticket - $5; Adult Tournament Pass, $15; Student/Senior Tournament Pass, $7. All UMAC students, staff and faculty are FREE with valid institution ID to all games. No other passes will be accepted.
All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the UMAC Softball Playoffs page. Keep up with all of the tournament action on
Twitter and
Instagram using
#UMACchamp.
2016 Tournament Page