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Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor
A clear indication that the 2008 Forest Lake softball team has major ambition was on display April 23 in St. Paul.
The Rangers beat Cretin-Derham Hall 4-2, but Forest Lake head coach Angie Ryan sounded as if her squad was ushered onto the bus by way of a 15-0 defeat.
“This was the worst game we’ve played so far this year. I was not at all happy with our performance this afternoon,” she shared. “We need to play much better in order to achieve the goals we set at the beginning of the season.”
The girls moved on down to Hastings on Thursday, but the lovely spring weather put the game on hold with the score tied 2-2 in the top of the seventh inning.
 It was in the first, however, where the Rangers took an early lead, after Sammy Holien landed on second with a two-out double.
When Jessica Skogen drilled the ball right back at the Raiders’ pitcher, a bobble and a low throw to first base found Skogen safe, and allowed the alert Holien to come all the way home to make it 1-0.
DOUBLE THE FUN: During last week’s matchup at Hastings, Sammy Holien’s pair of doubles and two runs scored helped Forest Lake carry a 2-2 tie into a suspended game that will be finished in mid-May.
Hastings evened the score in the bottom of the inning, and then a solo home run in the third gave them the lead.
The Rangers didn’t get going again until the sixth, when Holien hit her second double of the day and was moved over by a Skogen bunt.
A hard hit to shortstop by Lexi Alm gave Holien the opportunity to tie the score at 2-2.
The final chapters of this contest will be written on May 15 when Hastings visits Forest Lake.
“It’s obviously disappointing to have this game suspended as it is, but we feel confident that we’ll be able to take this one at our place on senior night under the lights,” Ryan said.
“Sammy’s hitting great and Alyssa (Dunrud) has pitched really well thus far. I’m happy with the level of play our team is showing after such a poor game yesterday.”
Oh yeah, yesterday. Which is a disgruntled reference to the team’s victory over Cretin. Winless Cretin.
In what has quickly become a common occurrence, Forest Lake scored in the first inning. This time when Kelly Kent was able to cross home plate after the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders were unable to turn a double play on a Skogen hit.
Cretin responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning, but the Rangers would answer in the top of the second, third and fourth.
Cheree Franklin started it off with a single, and eventually scored on a Dunrud bunt that was mishandled by the Cretin defense.
Holien made it 3-2 in the third, and Franklin got the final run in the fourth.
Kathy Crudo and Kent finished with two hits a piece, on a day the girls would have eight as a team total.
Franklin and Skogen were the battery for the Rangers, as Franklin (2-0) would strike out nine and give up just four hits.
The win moved Forest Lake to 5-2 on the year, but Ryan was less than thrilled with what she saw.
“Cheree pitched pretty well and I thought Kelly Kent and Ashleigh Matheson had good games, (but) other than that...”
The tour of the Suburban East Conference continues this week, as the Rangers are at Park on Wednesday, Woodbury on Thursday, and Stillwater on Friday.
Box Score
Rangers 111 100 0—4 8 3
Cretin 200 042 x—2 4 6
Franklin and Skogen; Sekevicch and Ryan. W—Franklin (2-0). L—Sekevicch (0-3).
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