Softball roundup: B-E, Osakis eliminated from playoffs; WCA and Parkers Prairie still alive

The Brandon-Evansville Chargers, the No. 7 seed in Section 6A-East, had the jump early on the No. 2 seed Browerville-Eagle Valley in Tuesday’s playoff game as they led 3-0 after the top of the fifth inning.

Browerville-Eagle Valley (16-5) exploded in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring 10 runs as they went on to win 11-4 to advance to the next round of the playoffs while B-E’s season ended.

“We knew coming into this game we were going to have to play an exceptional game in all areas to keep our season going,” B-E head coach Kasi Sieling said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t do that and play a complete game. We started strong and were leading, going into the bottom of the fifth after working out of a bases-loaded situation in the fourth. In the fifth inning, we just couldn’t make the plays to get outs. Browerville did a nice job of putting the ball in play and putting the pressure on us to make plays, and we gave them too many extra chances.”

In the circle for the Chargers, Kylee Dingwall and Taylin Kramer both threw three strikeouts.

“Taylin threw a great game, and Kylee did a nice job of stepping in to get us out of that inning and finish the game,” Sieling said. “The girls battled until the very last out, which is all we can ask of our players.”

B-E ends the season with a 12-8 record.

“Even though this wasn’t how we wanted our season to end, these girls have much to be proud of. This has been a tough spring in many ways, and they were able to win a share of the Little Eight Conference and make great memories together as a team,” Sieling said. “To our seniors, Taylin, Sydney [Schaefer], Sophie [Koep], Kendra [Klimek], and Kayla [Bitzan-Anderson], we can never thank them enough for the time, work and dedication they have put into our program. These young women are all amazing people and will go on and do great things in their lives, and I’m looking forward to seeing all they do.”

Brandon-Evansville - 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 - 4 8 8

Browerville-Eagle Valley - 0 0 0 0 10 1 X - 11 9 3

B-E OFFENSE - Maddie Stich - 2-4, RBI; Taylin Kramer - 2-3, RBI, BB; Kylee Dingwall - 1-4, R; Kendra Klimek - 1-3, 2 RBI; Haddy Baune - 1-3, 2 R

B-E PITCHING - Taylin Kramer - 4.1 IP, 8 H, 10 R, 0 ER, BB, 3 SO; Kylee Dingwall - 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO

Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press

The 7th-seed Pillager Huskies knocked the 10th-seeded Osakis out of the Section 6AA playoffs with a 7-1 on Monday.

"We faced a really good pitcher who had a pitcher's strike zone," Osakis head coach John Stigman said. "It was hard for us to get any baserunners. She pitched in the zone, did not give us many free passes, and we struggled to get good contact on her. When we did get good contact, we seemed to hit it right at them. Defensively we played a good game; they managed to get a couple of timely hits with runners on the open the game up."

Briana Blais pitched a complete game for Pillager and struck out eight.

The Silverstreaks had three hits in the game, two from Kyla Thole and one by Kylee Lebrun. Lebrun threw four strikeouts in the game, while Brooklyn Dropik added one.

Osakis finishes the season at 6-15.

"It is really hard to be disappointed with our team," Stigma said. "We have made great strides this year. We knew going in that this was a rebuilding year. We were replacing seven starters from last year, including an entire pitching staff. From where we started to where we ended, we saw tremendous improvement. Even when we were struggling, these players never gave up. In the last two and a half weeks of the season, we grew and put things together. We bring everyone back next year and are looking to make bigger strides. We're proud of this group for what they have done and looking forward to where they are going."

Osakis - 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 1 3 3

Pillager - 0 1 2 3 0 1 X - 7 12 1

OSAKIS OFFENSE - Kyla Thole - 2-3, R, RBI; Kylee Lebrun - 1-2

OSAKIS PITCHING - Kylee Lebrun - 5.1 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO; Brooklyn Dropik - 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO

Section 6A -

The Parkers Prairie Panthers (13-8) are the No. 4 seed in Section 6A East and defeated the No. 5 seed Bertha-Hewitt-Verndale (10-11) on Tuesday, 10-5.

Parkers Prairie plays the No. 1 seed in the east, Upsala (19-2), in New York Mills on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Upsala fought off an upset bid by the No. 8 seed Long Prairie-Grey Eagle (4-13) and eeked out a 4-3 win to advance to face Parkers Prairie on Thursday at 4 p.m. The winner of that game and the Browerville/Swanville game will play a game at 5:30 p.m., while the losers will play simultaneously in an elimination game.

The Ashby Arrows (2-15) were the No. 6 seed in the west subsection and ended their season with an 11-1 loss to Rothsay on Tuesday.

Section 3AA -

The West Central Area Knights (13-6) are the No. 2 seed in the north subsection and began the playoffs with a 12-0 win over the Minnewaska Lakers (2-14) on Tuesday, eliminating Minnewaska from the playoffs.

The Knights played a second game on Tuesday against Dassel-Cokato (9-10), the No. 3 seed in the section.

Dassel-Cokato won 9-3 and put WCA in the elimination bracket.

WCA plays an elimination game against Windom Area (8-14) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Marshall. The winner of that game plays another elimination game at 3 p.m.