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| ‘We’re going to state!’ |
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| Wednesday, 04 June 2008 | |
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Glen Strandberg Sports Editor To really appreciate what’s earned, there needs to be a little struggle involved — a little drama mixed in with a little doubt, all while overcoming a serious challenge. After a 5-3 victory over Chisago Lakes in Game 2 of the championship round, the Forest Lake softball team will head to North Mankato as the Section 7AAA representatives with a thorough understanding of drama, an enormous eraser to scrub away doubt, and a new-found confidence that could launch them to their preseason goal of finishing third or better at this week’s state tournament. Actually reaching that destination will not be easy, but neither was getting out of the section. It took a Sammy Holien single in the bottom of the seventh inning to drive in the game’s only run in a 1-0 win over Duluth Denfeld for the Rangers to even get out of the semis, and then they had to regroup after Chisago Lakes took Game 1 of the finals, 2-1. “This was a huge win for us and now we will have to be beat twice by the same team in order to not go to the state tournament,” head coach Angie Ryan noted after defeating Denfeld. “This game means a lot in the advancement of our team.” The advancement of her team was put on hold, May 28, when Forest Lake’s offense stalled against Chisago Lakes in what could have secured the Rangers state berth. Win and they were in. A loss meant the Rangers would have to try again on Thursday. In the first round of what would become a two-round battle, Chisago threatened in the top of the third inning, but Alyssa Dunrud relieved Cheree Franklin and the two Lakes would go all the way to the sixth with the score locked at 0-0 (Dunrud also had the help of a Holien to Skogen to Franklin double play to get out of the third). In that sixth inning, with one runner on base, Chisago’s Ariel Novak belted a Dunrud pitch over the left field fence, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. Soon after, the Rangers offense finally had something to say, but its voice was quickly silenced by a perfect play at third base. After Franklin knocked a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to make the afternoon a bit more interesting, Lexi Alm stepped up with two outs. The sophomore drilled one past the center fielder, which as Alm made her way toward second, it appeared she was destined for a triple. When Alm was about two steps beyond second base, however, the Chisago defense gave the play a whole new look. In no time the ball was being relayed over to third, and a spot-on throw nailed a sliding Alm for the game’s final out. Seeing her squad collect only six hits in the entire contest, Ryan said she was hoping to make something happen by waving Alm around second. She also admitted that Chisago Lake’s defense reacted a lot faster than she expected. For Ryan and the Rangers, the loss meant they would have to return to St. Francis and face Chisago again on May 29. “It was a new day!” as Ryan put it. Forest Lake came close to generating a run in the first inning, but as that opportunity didn’t materialize, a 90-minute rain delay did. It wasn’t until the bottom of the fourth that Forest Lake would score, when Krystal Plouff brought home Kathy Crudo and Mikki Modjeski (courtesy running for Skogen) with a two-out single. One inning later, Dunrud would lead off with a single, and a homer by Holien would make the score 4-0. Skogen would follow with an RBI double, bringing Crudo all the way around from first, to give the Rangers what felt like a healthy 5-0 advantage. “After the rain started really coming down in the top of the seventh, Chisago made us nervous with a walk and four singles to score three runs,” Ryan said. “Dunrud then struck out the next two batters and the last out was a pop out to Kathy Crudo.” Of Forest Lake’s 11 hits, Holien was 2-for-4, with two RBI; Crudo was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and a walk; Skogen was 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI; Plouff was 1-for-3 with two RBI; while Dunrud was the ace, striking out six batters and giving up just four hits. “We’re so excited to be going to the state tournament!” Ryan exclaimed. “I’m so proud of these athletes — they absolutely deserve this, and (they) have worked harder than most to be in this position!” Forest Lake’s (17-8) next challenge begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 5, when the Rangers face Mankato West (24-1) at Caswell Park. Social Bookmarking ...       |
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