The Big Lake softball team won two playoff games before being eliminated on the third day of section play by St. Francis. 

The team’s run over the last week saw them play in some high-stress games. Three of their four games came down to the final play of the game, and two went to extra innings. 

In the opening round against Zimmerman, the Hornets walked off the Thunder 2-1 to advance. Tessa Fjone was outstanding for the Hornets in the circle. She pitched all seven innings, giving up just one hit, and allowing zero earned runs. 

The game saw only four total hits between the two teams but still featured plenty of drama. Big Lake took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Addy Chaffee scored Katie Chaffee on a fielder’s choice. The Thunder scored their lone run in the sixth inning on a Hornet error. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, Alyssa Windorski and Katie Chaffee led off the inning with back to back singles. Desi Dudek advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt. One batter later, Addy Chaffee flew out to right field, but the ball was just deep enough to score Windorski from third. That run gave the Hornets a 2-1 victory and sent them to the next round of the playoffs. 

The next game saw the Hornets matchup against the top-seeded Delano Tigers. The Tigers lived up to their seed with a 14-5 win over Big Lake. Ava Prosser went 2-4 with a homerun and two RBI. Windorski went 2-3 with two doubles. And Addy Chaffee went 2-3 with a homerun.  

The third game was another thriller, with Big Lake winning 4-3 over Princeton in nine innings. The two teams were tied 2-2 after three innings, and it stayed that way until the ninth. 

In the top of the ninth, Princeton’s leadoff batter reached on an error. That runner would come home to score two batters later off a Tiger double. That was all they could manage, and Big Lake came up to bat trailing 3-2, needing a run to keep their season alive. 

Katie Chaffee started the inning with a walk, and Dudek brought her home three pitches later with a double to the gap. Dudek advanced to third on the throw home. Back-to-back strikeouts made it look like the game would be heading to the 10th. But Fjone provided the winning hit with a line drive up the middle giving the Hornets a 4-3 victory. 

Big Lake and St. Francis were tied 2-2 after four innings, and neither team was able to take the lead until the bottom half of the seventh. St. Francis came to bat in the home half of the inning needing just one run to advance, but Big Lake had held them to just one run after the first inning. The Saints led off with a double and bunted to advance the runner to third. The next batter hit a fly ball to center for the second out, but the Hornet’s throw was just late as the Saints scored to advance with a 3-2 win. 

The Hornets end the season with an 11-11 record overall and a 5-7 record in conference play.