Card softball: Alexandria upends Sartell, sweeps Willmar

• Ellingson

Alexandria’s Taylor Ellingson picked up three wins this week, taking a doubleheader from Willmar on Monday and defeating Sartell on Tuesday. (Echo Press photo by Eric Morken)

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• Photo Gallery: Alexandria Softball

The Cardinal softball team exploded in the late innings on Tuesday night to run away with a 13-2 win over Sartell-St. Stephen.

The two teams were locked in a scoreless tie until Alexandria put six on the board in the fifth inning. Lauren Trumm had an RBI triple in the frame, while Emily Kuennen added a two-RBI double.

The Cardinals kept adding on over the next two innings. They scored three times in the sixth and four more in the seventh.

Trumm and Dani Carlson led a potent offensive attack for Alexandria. Carlson had three doubles and four RBIs. Trumm finished with three hits and four RBIs, while Kuennen added two doubles and two RBIs.

That made a winner out of Taylor Ellingson. The sophomore went the first six innings, allowing five hits and two walks, while striking out eight. Kuennen worked the seventh, allowing the two Sartell runs. She struck out two.

“The Cardinals have been getting solid pitching from Taylor and Emily and the bats have really come alive in the last five games,” head coach Randy Albers said. “During that time, the Cardinals have outscored their opponents 51-9.”

GAME SUMMARY

ALEXANDRIA 000 063 4 – 13

SARTELL 000 000 2 – 2

ALEXANDRIA PITCHING – Ellingson – W, 6IP, 5H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 8SO; Kuennen – 1IP, 2R, 2SO

ALEXANDRIA HITTING – Carlson – 3 hits, 4 RBI; Trumm – 3 hits, 4 RBI; Kuennen – 2 hits, 2 RBI; Mikayla Lucas – 1 hit

Alexandria takes two

Taylor Ellingson pitched her way to a pair of victories as the Cardinal softball team took both halves of a doubleheader from Willmar Monday afternoon.

ALEX 10, WILLMAR 2

It was Ellingson on the mound for the Cardinals in game one, and the Alexandria sophomore allowed just five hits over seven innings in the 10-2 win.

Senior Lauren Trumm was the offensive juggernaut for the Cardinals as she pounded a three-run homer in the first to highlight a five-run opening frame.

“A three-run home run by Lauren was measured at 260 feet,” said head coach Randy Albers. “Dani Carlson and Jess Syvrud were on base ahead of her.”

A bases-loaded walk scored the fourth run and a sacrifice fly by Mikayla Lucas drove in the fifth of the inning.

Willmar’s Leah Ruter then allowed back-to-back triples off the bats of Syvrud and Trumm, along with a sacrifice fly to Sarah Bruzek to bring in two more runs in the second.

The Cardinals increased their lead to 8-0 with a run in the third on a double by Syvrud to bring home Lucas.

A small letdown in the top of the fourth allowed Willmar to score twice on a hit and an error, but Alexandria erased that difference with a pair in the sixth as Ellingson doubled home Carlson and Trumm.

ALEXANDRIA 14, WILLMAR 5

Alexandria struggled early in game two against Willmar, allowing the visiting Cardinals three runs in the bottom of the first on a hit and an Alexandria throwing error.

The home Cardinals took the lead in the top of the third, scoring five times as they combined four consecutive hits – a double by Syvrud and singles by Trumm, Bruzek and Ellingson – before Natalie Berglin drove in the fifth run on a single.

Willmar evened the game at five apiece with two runs in the bottom of that inning, but Alexandria added a run in the fourth on a fielder’s choice, then broke the game open with six runs in the top of the fifth.

Six hits accounted for the scoring, including doubles by Syvrud, Kuennen and Lucas, while Trumm, Bruzek, Ellingson and Amanda Christianson all singled off Willmar’s Ruter.

In the top of the seventh, Alexandria finished off their opponents with two more runs on singles by Kuennen and Lucas to drive in Bruzek and Ellingson.

Kuennen started on the mound for Alexandria, but left the game after three innings. Ellingson picked up the win in relief.

GAME SUMMARIES

WILLMAR 000 200 0 2-5-0

ALEXANDRIA 521 002 X 10-11-0

PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) – Taylor Ellingson (W) 7-5-2-1-3-5; Leah Ruter (L) 6-11-10-10-4-5.

HITTING – Jess Syvrud 3 hits, Lauren Trumm 3 hits, 3 rbi; Sarah Bruzek 1 hit, 1 rbi; Taylor Ellingson 2 hits, 1 rbi; Emily Kuennen 1 hit; Mikayla Lucas 1 hit, 1 rbi.

ALEXANDRIA 005 160 2 14-15-1

WILLMAR 302 000 0 5-3-2

PITCHING – Emily Kuennen 3-3-5-5-0-3; Taylor Ellingson (W) 4-0-0-1-4; Leah Ruter (L) 7-15-14-13-2-4.

HITTING – Jess Syvrud 2 hits, 2 rbi; Lauren Trumm 3 hits, 1 rbi; Sarah Bruzek 2 hits, 1 rbi; Taylor Ellingson 2 hits; Emily Kuennen 2 hits, 2 rbi; Mikayla Lucas 2 hits; Natalie Berglin 1 hit; Amanda Christianson 1 hit.

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Tags: alexandria sports, sports, cardinals, softball