In Becker’s first game, they took on Anoka, who entered with a record of 21-2 and was riding a 20-game winning streak.  

 

Both teams were held scoreless through two innings, but the Tornadoes got on the board first with a two-run home run in the bottom of the third.  

 

The Bulldogs were able to threaten in the fourth when Marikate Wegeleben walked and Erika schwartz singled with one out. However, both runners were stranded to keep the score at 2-0.  

 

In the bottom of the fifth, Anoka added to their lead with a two-out rally.  An error, walk and two singles led to three more runs and a 5-0 lead.  

 

Becker rallied in the sixth when Cassie Althoff led off with a walk, Wegeleben reached on an error and Schwartz blasted a double to score Althoff. That put runners on second and third with nobody out.  Anoka responded by changing pitchers and Megan Lindenfelser was able to retire the next three batters via strikeouts to end the threat.  

 

A scoreless final inning sent the Bulldogs to the consolation bracket with a 5-1 loss.  

 

Schwartz had Becker’s only two hits of the game.   Haley Harmon took the loss on the mound despite a great performance against one of the strongest lineups in the state.  She allowed five runs, two earned, on seven hits.

 

 

In the consolation semifinals, the Bulldogs took on Orono.  Orono has been a regular at the state tournament the past few years as this was their third straight appearance.  

 

They entered the tournament with a record of 18-3 and were led by all-state pitcher Hannah Bergh. 

 

The Spartans got on the board first with two runs in the top of the first off starter Brianna Corey.  After the first, Corey settled in and held the Spartans scoreless for the next three innings as Becker cut the lead in half with a run in the bottom of the third when Allison Cieslak led off with a single, moved to second on a Payton Williams sacrifice bunt and scored on a Wegeleben single. 

 

In the fifth, the Spartans added to their lead with two unearned runs off Harmon who had come on in relief of Corey to make the score 4-1.   In the fifth, Cieslak reached on an error and Williams followed by drilling a double over the centerfielder's head to put runners on second and third with nobody out.  However, Bergh ended the rally with a strikeout and a couple of soft ground balls.  

 

In the sixth, Becker again put runners on second and third when Sam Lorette walked and Hailey Fitzpatrick followed with a single. Bergh again got out of the jam by inducing two ground balls to put the nail in the coffin. 

 

Cieslak led Becker with two hits.  Corey took the loss, pitching four innings and allowing two runs on five hits.  Harmon pitched three innings in relief and allowed two unearned runs on just one hit and one walk.

 

“Overall, I was very impressed with the way we competed in both games,” said Head Coach Jason Baune.  “A couple of defensive mistakes and a lack of hits with runners on base ended up being our undoing.”  

 

In the Orono game, Becker left 11 runners stranded on base. 

 

“To beat a great team, you have to be able to drive in a few of those runs,” said Baune.  “Having said that, the girls never gave up and fought to the very end.  I'm extremely proud of the season they had and even more proud of the people that they are off the field.  We accomplished a lot finishing with a 21-4 record, an undefeated conference record of 13-0, a section championship and a lot of great memories.”