No. 1 Vikings, No. 4 Eagles set for UMAC Softball Championship Saturday

No. 1 Vikings, No. 4 Eagles set for UMAC Softball Championship Saturday

Bookmark and Share

MANKATO, Minn.---The 2019 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) softball tournament started in surprising fashion as the top two seeds face elimination after day one and No. 3 College of St. Scholastica and No. 4 University of Northwestern remain undefeated after a full day of action Thursday in Mankato, Minnesota.

Following a thrilling day two, though, No. 1 Bethany Lutheran College clawed its way out of two elimination games sending home No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Superior and No. 3 St. Scholastica after No. 4 Northwestern won the opener to remain undefeated. No. 1 Bethany Lutheran and No. 4 Northwestern will face off in the title series Saturday beginning at 12 p.m. with No. 1 Bethany Lutheran needing two wins to secure the championship. 

| Tournament Site | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 |

GAME 5 - No. 4 Northwestern def. No. 3 St. Scholastica, 3-1 | Box Score |
Following a day one where the bats were hot for the victorious teams, pitching and defense played a big role in all three games including the opener which saw just four total runs. No. 4 Northwestern emerged victorious over the Saints to advance to the title game for the second-straight season behind a one-run complete game behind Lexi Kopacek on the mound. 

The Eagles got on the board first in the first when Mindy Forcier singled to lead off the game and then came home on a RBI single from Ellie Ronning in the three-spot of the line up. The Saints were held scoreless in the bottom of the inning which set up Eagles to add another in the top of the second when Mindy Forcier drove in Faith Forcier to make it 2-0. 

The Saints responded in the bottom of the second when Ashley Pollema sent pinch runner Kailee Pederson home on a single to cut the lead to 2-1 in favor of the Eagles. The Eagle defense held tough as that was all the Saints could get across the plate despite recoding 10 hits. 

The final run for the Eagles came in the top of the fourth when Kayla Hannasch scored on a RBI single from Faith Forcier. The Eagles held on to remain undefeated and advance to Saturday, sending the Saints into an elimination situation. 

The Forcier sisters each recorded two hits to lead the Eagles offensively, while Toni Bishop went 3-for-3 leading the Saints' offensive effort.

GAME 6 - No. 1 Bethany Lutheran No. 2 Wisconsin-Superior, 5-0 | Box Score |
During the regular season No. 1 Bethany Lutheran held off No. 2 Wisconsin-Superior to clinch the conference title, but beating a team at the top of the standings three times in a season is a tough task. However, the top-seeded Vikings weren't ready to see their season end as the silenced Wisconsin-Superior with a 5-0 win to hang on for one more game. 

The game started with two-and-a-half scoreless innings before the home Vikings got their bats going. Zoe Kinakin led off with a single followed by a double from Haylee Sobrero. Both then came home on back-to-back singles from Jenna Reyonds and Jasmine Bejarano to make it 2-0. 

In the very next inning, the Vikings built their lead up to 5-0. Sarah Presler and Sobrero both waited patiently for walks and then crossed home on a three-run shot over the left field fence from Reynolds. The Vikings then got three more scoreless innings on the mound from Shelby Bloemendaal to send the Yellowjackets home.

Bloemendaal earned a complete inning victory and surrendered just one hit. Kinakin, Sobrero and Reyonds each led the Vikings with two hits, while  pinch hitter Davriana Horvath tallied the lone hit for the Yellowjackets who ended their season 18-19 overall.

GAME 7 -  No. 1 Bethany Lutheran def. No. 3 St. Scholastica, 4-2 | Box Score |
Less than an hour after eliminating the Yellowjackets, No. 1 Bethany Lutheran had to face No. 3 St. Scholastica in another elimination game to keep their chances alive of a tournament title. Thanks to another strong pitching performance and some critical hits, the Vikings will play on after eliminating the Saints with a 4-2 decision. 

The Saints started off the game on a high note as Nicole Anders reached on a error to get a runner on for Maggie Schley who singled to set up Anders' run after a throwing error in the field. Down 1-0 early, the Vikings answered in the bottom of the inning as a ground-out from Reynolds drove in Kinakin to even the score at 1-1. 

From that point, a pitcher's duel ensued between the Saints' Schley and the Vikings' Bria Majeski through the next three-and-a-half innings. The Vikings finally got to Schley in the bottom of the fifth adding three runs – Anna Hoffman came home for run number two on a RBI out from Kaylee Mork. Bloemendaal then made it 3-1 scoring on a Saints' error. Kinakin scored on a RBI double from Sobrero to give the Vikings a 4-1 lead to protect for just two innings. 

The Saints gained some life in the top of the sixth when Hannah Thul scored on a RBI single from Bishop to cut the lead in half. The bats got quiet in the seventh as Majeski forced the Saints to go three-up, three-down in the top of the seventh to send them home and the Vikings into Championship Saturday. 

Majeski struck out five batters and allowed just four hits and no earned runs in the complete game win. Schley finished with just one earned run on six hits in six innings of work for St. Scholastica. Sobrero and Hoffman led the Vikings with two hits a piece. The Saints finish another strong season with a 13-16 overall record.

The final day of UMAC softball Saturday will see No. 1 Bethany Lutheran and No. 4 Northwestern meet at 12 p.m. Northwestern can win the tournament with a victory in the opener, but a win for Bethany Luthearn would set up the winner-take-all game at 2 p.m. 
 

Playoff Schedule
Thursday, May 2 (Day One)
Game 1 – 10 a.m. – No. 4 Northwestern def. No. 5 Minnesota Morris, 5-1 | Box Score | UMM Recap | UNW Recap |
Game 2 – 12 p.m. – No. 3 St. Scholastica No. 2 Wisconsin-Superior, 11-0 (5 inn.) | Box Score | CSS Recap | UWS Recap |
Game 3 – 2 p.m. – No. 4 Northwestern def. No. 1 Bethany Lutheran, 7-4 (9 inn.) | Box Score | BLC Recap | UNW Recap |
Game 4 – 4 p.m. – No. 2 Wisconsin-Superior def. No. 5 Minnesota Morris, 9-3 | Box Score | UMM Recap | UWS Recap |

Friday, May 3 (Day Two)
Game 5 – 12 p.m. – No. 4 Northwestern def. No. 3 St. Scholastica, 3-1 | Box Score | CSS Recap | UNW Recap |
Game 6 – 2 p.m. – No. 1 Bethany Lutheran def. No. 2 Wisconsin-Superior, 5-0 | Box Score | BLC Recap | UWS Recap |
Game 7 – 4 p.m. – No. 1 Bethany Lutheran def. No. 3 St. Scholastica, 4-2 | Box Score | BLC Recap | CSS Recap |

Saturday, May 4 (Day Three)
Game 8 – 12 p.m. – No. 1 Bethany Lutheran vs. No. 4 Northwestern | Live Broadcast |
Game 9 – 2 p.m. – If necessary – same teams as Game 8 | Live Broadcast |
 

Event Information
The UMAC tournament has the following 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 for 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 Tournament page. Keep up with all of the tournament action on Twitter and Instagram using #UMACchamp.
 
2019 Tournament Page