SECTION 3A SOFTBALL: Flying Dutchmen advance in 3A with 7-6 win over Dragons and 5-1 win over Panthers

EDGERTON — After staving off a potential upset bid by the seventh-seeded Adrian Area Dragons in the first playoff game of Tuesday’s Section 3A South fast-pitch softball action, the host and No. 2 seed Edgerton/Southwest Christian Flying Dutchmen soared into the double elimination portion of the tournament with a 5-1 victory over the Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Panthers in the day’s final game.

“It’s relieving, since we are not in single elimination anymore,” E/SWC senior pitcher Breana Van Dyke said following Tuesday’s wins. “We know we have some tough games coming up on Saturday, but I think we are capable of winning if we have the right bats and no-error games.”

Van Dyke, who picked up both pitching wins during the day for the hosts, was lights out in the finale as she tossed a two-hitter and gave up one unearned run, while striking out 11 and walking two.

“Breana settled in a little bit and the biggest difference was that she worked ahead in the second game,” E/SWC head coach Andrew Fleischman said. “She’s a great pitcher and it was tough with the wind, but she adjusted to that well. Instead of getting behind 2-0, she was getting strike one and that’s the most important pitch.”

On the extremely windy day, Van Dyke recorded over half of the defensive outs by herself, while receiving solid defense behind her on balls in play. She also recorded the games only multiple hit performance by going 2-for-3 with an RBI double in the bottom of the first inning that provided the game’s initial score.

The Flying Dutchmen plated three more runs in the second inning as Ciara Everett (1-for-3) doubled home Brittani Roskamp (1-for-3), followed by Amanda Schaap (1-for-1) plating Everett with a triple and Sarah Post (1-for-4) scoring Schaap with an RBI groundout for a 4-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Van Dyke was in control as she K’ed seven of the first nine batters through three innings. She retired the side in order in the first, fifth and seventh innings.

“We couldn’t get anything going offensively, as Van Dyke pretty well controlled the game,” T-M-B head coach Paul Skoglund said. “We certainly want to tip our hat to the Flying Dutchmen and wish them the best of luck going forward in the tournament.”

The only hits the Panthers managed were a two-out single by Kate Johnston in third and a two-out triple by Alexis Buysse, who scored T-M-B’s only run when E/SWC committed it’s lone error to make it 5-1.

The Flying Dutchmen’s fifth run came when Tanner Gunnink (1-for-3) singled home Tara DeKam (1-for-3).

Jenny Welu (six strikeouts) took the loss for T-M-B, which finishes its season at 15-6.

With the wins, the Flying Dutchmen improve to 17-3 overall. E/SWC plays Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Saturday in Slayton at 1 p.m.

R H E

T-M-B 000 001 0 – 1 2 1

E/SWC 130 010 X – 5 8 1

E/SWC 7, Adrian Area 6

EDGERTON – To get to Tuesday’s finale, the Flying Dutchmen had to score four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to treat the home crowd to a thrilling come-from-behind victory, while ending the Adrian Dragons’ season with a heart-breaking loss.

The opener’s game-winning run came when Lindsey Van Dyke (1-for-2) hustled out an infield single with two outs and Tianna Top, who was on second base, scampered around third and raced home to end the game, leaving the Dragons in agony.

“I told her [Top] after a foul ball that she was scoring no matter what,” Fleischman said. “A ball on the infield, we were going to try to score. We had pinch ran for our first baseman [Gunnink] earlier and she would’ve been done for the game [since she had already been pinch ran for and re-entered the game]. If we had a chance to win the game in that at-bat, then that was what we needed to try and do.

“We like to be aggressive. One of our biggest assets is that we’re a very fast team with a lot of fast girls. To utilize that, we need to be a little aggressive and Tianna did a great job, she never hesitated and ran right through the bag to check them on a close play where they were a little bit unsure. It worked out for us.”

The play definitely did work in Flying Dutchmen’s favor and caught the Dragons off-guard.

Lindsey Van Dyke reached first base just before Jessi Meyer’s throw from short was caught by Adrian first baseman Kayla Lonneman and before the Dragons could register that the inning wasn’t over, the game was.

Top, who was pinch running for Roskamp (two-RBI double to tie the game at 6-6), was thrilled with the game’s ending and echoed what Coach Fleischman had told her prior to crossing home.

“Fleischman told me right away that if it was hit that I was going, I was going to get home,” Top said. “When the ball was hit, I just ran home and did what I needed to do.”

E/SWC needed that and then some as it entered the final half inning with a three-run deficit after taking an early 3-0 lead in the second inning before Adrian rattled off six runs, setting up the late game theatrics.

“I was really proud of the way the girls kept playing,” Fleischman said. “The game’s not over until there are 21 outs, whether we are ahead or behind. Things didn’t look good for us and they got 20 of them, but we just kept battling. A couple of big two-out hits and we were able to come out with a win.”

Everett (1-for-3) opened the game’s scoring with a two-run single to center that plated Sydney Esselink (pinch running for Gunnink, who had singled to open the second inning) and Lindsey Van Dyke (walk). Everett scored on an error to make it 3-0 in favor of the hosts early.

The Dragons countered in the third when Rachel Kontz (1-for-4) tripled home Sam Croat and Heidi Nolte (1-for-3) to cut the lead to 3-2. Kontz then scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 3-3.

Adrian took the lead with two runs in the third when it capitalized on two E/SWC’s errors and two walks to score Courtney Vaske (1-for-4) and Meyer for a 5-3 score.

Danielle DeBeer (1-for-2) worked a two-out walk in the sixth, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch before scoring to extend the Dragon lead to 6-3 on a Nolte double.

While the Dragons were scoring runs, Kontz was keeping the Flying Dutchmen from getting any more runs, although she had base runners reach in each frame. Kontz limited the damage by striking out eight batters and only allowed five hits prior to the seventh inning.

However, E/SWC doubled its hit production in the seventh, started by a single up the middle by Post, who moved to third on an error and scored on a single by Jessica Menning (3-for-4).

“It was just disappointing,” Kontz said. “It felt like we had it. We were going really well, but stuff happens.”

Following a Breana Van Dyke single, Gunnink grounded into a fielder’s choice and her pinch runner, Savanah Tinklenberg, stole second base. Roskamp drove both home when she knocked her double into right to tie the game.

“I didn’t have any control over where it went,” Roskamp said. “But I said that it was all or nothing now, since I’m a senior and it could’ve been my last game. I just gave it all I had and left it out on the field.”

While Roskamp and her Flying Dutchmen teammates extended their season, the Dragons ended with a 4-14 record in that final frame.

“I thought we put ourselves in a good position to win the ballgame, leading 6-3 going to bottom of the seventh,” Adrian head coach Dean Schnaible said. “But we didn’t get the first out there and that’s always a big out.

“Rachel Kontz pitched a very good ballgame and we played really good defense until late in the game. That’s kind of been typical of our season all year long. We play quite well and then we have one or two innings where we don’t.

“We didn’t get the job done, but I’m still proud of the girls. You couldn’t ask for much more.”

R H E

Adrian 003 201 0 — 6 4 4

E/SWC 030 000 4 — 7 10 3

T-M-B 8, Windom 7

EDGERTON — Kate Johnston belted a bases-clearing double to highlight a five-run bottom of the third inning for Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Tuesday afternoon, helping the third-seeded Panthers earn an 8-7 victory over the sixth-seeded Windom Eagles in the Section 3A South high school fastpitch softball tournament.

T-M-B, which later lost 5-1 to Edgerton/Southwest Christian and finishes its season with a record of 15-6, held off a late-inning rally from Windom to move on to the next round. The Eagles, who end their season at 4-15, scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh and had the potential tying run on third base to end the game.

Sutton Dewanz (4-for-4) and Meegan Hanson (2-for-3) each smacked a two-run single in the top of the first for the Eagles, while Abby Hayenga (2-for-4) and Gina Hauge (2-for-3) both singled and scored in the frame to help Windom jump out to a quick 4-0 lead.

T-M-B countered with three runs in the bottom half, as Jenna Stoneberg (2-for-4) cracked a two-run single to drive in Johnston (walk) and Jenny Welu (safe on an error). Stoneberg later scored when a fly ball off the bat of Galiya Bitton was misplayed in right field to trim the gap to 4-3.

Windom’s Sami Petersen and T-M-B’s Alexis Buysse collected singles in the second inning, but neither team scored. Welu (four strikeouts, no walks) and the Eagles’ Hannah Redmond (two strikeouts, six walks) each hurled the first of their four scoreless frames apiece in matching complete-game performances in the circle.

Windom took a 5-3 lead in the third, as Dewanz reached on an infield single and scored all the way from first on an RBI double to right-center by Hanson.

The Panthers, though, responded with five runs to claim an 8-5 lead in the bottom half. Back-to-back singles from Ashley Daniels and Bitton, plus a walk to Alyssa Campbell, loaded the bases with one out.

Two batters later, Johnston split the gap in left-center with a two-out double — plating Daniels, Bitton and Campbell to give T-M-B its first lead of the game at 6-5. A pair of Eagles’ errors followed, allowing the Panthers to score two more runs and extend the margin to 8-5.

Neither team scored during the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, as Welu and Redmond each got into a groove — combining to hurl a trio of 1-2-3 frames in that span.

Windom assembled a rally in the top of the seventh, beginning when Peterson reached on an error to start the frame. Hayenga followed with an infield single, and after a wild pitch moved the runners up, Jamie Symens made it 8-6 with an RBI groundout.

Hauge’s RBI sacrifice fly came next, cutting T-M-B’s lead to 8-7. Dewanz then laced her fourth base hit of the game — a two-out single up the middle — before advancing to second on a wild pitch and then stealing third base representing the potential tying run.

However, Welu fanned the next batter to preserve the victory for T-M-B — which won despite leaving 11 runners on base.

R H E

Win. 401 000 2 — 7 11 7

T-M-B 305 000 X — 8 7 3

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