Softball roundup: Alexandria falls to Bemidji, playoff brackets announced

Alexandria ended the regular season on Saturday with a 5-2 loss on the road at Bemidji.

Alexandria got on the board first with a leadoff RBI double in the first inning, but Bemidji (7-11) rallied by scoring a run in the second, two in the third, one in the fourth and one in the sixth.

The Cardinals cut into the Lumberjacks lead with a run on a error in the sixth inning but the Lumberjacks held on from there to seal a 5-2 win.

Alexandria (4-16, 3-6 Section 8AAA) is the No. 4 seed in the Section 8AAA Tournament and hosts the No. 5 seed Willmar (1-17, 1-5 Section 8AAA) at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The winner plays top-seeded Rocori (11-9, 6-1 Section 8AAA), at 4 p.m. on Thursday, while the loser plays an elimination game on Thursday.

Alexandria and Willmar split a doubleheader to start the 2023 season.

Alexandria - 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 - 2 3 0

Bemidji - 0 1 2 1 1 0 X - 5 12 1

Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press

The Brandon-Evansville Chargers finished a game that was set to conclude on May 9, 2023, but was suspended due to poor weather. B-E earned a 2-0 win over Browerville-Eagle Valley.

“This was a big win for us and always nice to end the regular season on a positive note heading into playoffs," B-E head coach Kasi Sieling said. "Taylin Kramer threw the ball really well and did a nice job of throwing strikes and letting her defense work behind her. The defense stepped up and made some nice plays to prevent Browerville from getting anything going on the bases. Offensively we hit the ball well, and all of our batters worked hard in the box to move runners around.”

Kramer had a gem of a game in the circle, striking out nine batters, walking just one and allowing just four hits.

Nine different Chargers had a hit, led by Kendra Klimek and Ava Santjer with two.

B-E (12-7, 11-5 Section 6A) is the No. 7 seed in the Section 6A-East, and faces the No. 2 seed Browerville-Eagle Valley (15-5, 8-3 Section 6A) and play at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

The winner plays either the No. 3 seed New York Mills (14-6, 4-1 Section 6A) or the No. 6 seed Swanville (11-7, 7-5 Section 6A) on Thursday at 3 p.m. in New York Mills while the loser plays an elimination game at 4:30 p.m.

Brandon-Evansville - 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 - 2 11 1

Browerville-Eagle Valley - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 1 

B-E OFFENSE - Hallie Richter - 1-2, RBI; Ava Santjer - 2-2; Taylin Kramer - 1-4; Kylee Dingwall; Maddie Stich - 1-3; Sydney Schaefer - 1-2; Sophie Koep - 1-2, RBI; Kendra Klimek - 2-3, R; Tahira Schaffran - 1-3

B-E PITCHING - Taylin Kramer - W - 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 9 SO

A 18-strikeout performance by Kaitlyn Geschwill led Osakis to 5-0 win over Osakis on Friday.

“This pitcher was the best we have seen this year,” Osakis head coach John Stigman said. “We could not get good looks or swings on her. Defensively we did a good job keeping them from scoring, but we could not get any offensive threats going. We have improved tremendously since our first game in early April. We have seen growth, especially in the last three weeks. We did not have many practices, given our schedule was jam-packed. That probably worked to our advantage. We have no seniors, we knew going in that this was going to be a more than a season process. Next week we get to put our growth to the test as we get into section play.”

Osakis had two hits, one by Charlee Thieschafer and the other by Josee Hartshorn.

The Silverstreaks are the No. 10 seed (6-14, 4-7 Section 6AA) in Section 6AA and face the No. 7 seed Pillager (12-8, 3-1 Section 6AA) at 4:30 p.m. on Monday and the winner plays in Waite Park on Tuesday against the No. 2 seed Albany (17-2, 10-2 Section 6AA) or the No. 15 seed Milaca (1-16, 1-9 Section 6AA) at 5 p.m.

Pequot Lakes - 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 - 5 7 0

Osakis - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 2 5 

OSAKIS OFFENSE - Charlee Thieschafer - 1-3; Josee Harstshorn - 1-3

OSAKIS PITCHING - Madison Neumann - 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 ER, BB, 2 SO; Zoie Wright - 2 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, SO

The Parkers Prairie Panthers (12-8, 5-5 Section 6A) are the No. 4 seed in Section 6A-East and face Bertha-Hewitt-Verndale (10-10, 3-6 Section 6A) on Tuesday.

The winner plays top-seeded Upsala (18-2, 10-0 Section 6A) or the No. 8 seed Long Prairie-Grey Eagle (4-13, 1-9 Section 6A) at 3 p.m. in New York Mills on Thursday, while the loser of both games play each other in an elimination game at 4:30 p.m.

Ashby (2-14, 2-13 Section 6A) is the No. 6 seed in the Section 6A-West and faces the No. 3 seed Rothsay (9-9, 4-8 Section 6A) at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

The winner plays at Minnewaska against either the No. 2 seed Wheaton-Herman-Norcross (12-5, 11-5 Section 6A) or the No. 7 seed Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (0-10, 0-10 Section 6A) at 3 p.m. Thursday, while the loser plays an elimination game at 4:30 p.m.

West Central Area (12-5, 4-2 Section 3AA) is the No. 2 seed in the Section 3AA-North and hosts the No. 7 seed Minnewaska (2-13, 1-6 Section 3AA) at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

The winner plays either the No. 3 seed Dassel-Cokato (7-10, 5-0 Section 6AA) or the No. 6 seed New London-Spicer (5-13, 2-4 Section 6AA) at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, while the loser plays an elimination game in Marshall at 1 p.m. on Saturday.