The Becker Lady Bulldog softball team hosted their 26th annual Becker Invitational Saturday with a field of eight strong teams.  

 

Becker finished fourth.

 

 

In Becker’s opening game, the Bulldogs played a nail-biter with Cambridge-Isanti before coming away with a 3-2 victory.  

 

Becker got on the board with a run in the bottom of the first after Corrie Weise walked and scored on an Emma Eickhoff sacrifice fly.  

 

The Bluejackets answered with a run in the top of the third and took a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth. But Weise answered with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning to tie it at two.  

 

After a scoreless top of the seventh, Cadence Koste hit a pinch-hit, two-out double.  Brooke Hendrickson came in to run for Koste and Krista Paulsen delivered with a double to right-center to score Hendrickson with the winning run.  

 

Eickhoff got the win, going all seven innings, allowing three hits and striking out 10.

 

 

In the semifinals, Becker took on Blaine and the Bengals got on the board quickly with a run in the top of the first, then added three more in the top of the third to go up 4-0.  

 

Becker battled back when Weise doubled in the bottom of the inning and came around to score on an Eickhoff single to make it 4-1. That was all the offense the Bulldogs could muster  as Blaine tacked on another un later and held on for the 5-1 win.  

 

Weise took the loss, giving up eight hits while striking out eight.

 

 

The loss moved Becker to the third place game were they took on a very good STMA team.  It was the definition of a pitcher's duel as the game was over in 59 minutes and neither team mounted much of a threat until the Knights got a walk and a single in the fourth to take the 1-0 lead.  

 

They added an insurance run on two singles in the top of the seventh to make the final 2-0.  

 

The Bulldogs were unable to get a hit in the game while the Knights had just three.  

 

Weise was the hard luck loser despite going all seven innings and allowing just three hits and striking out five.

 

Defending state champion Maple Lake won the tournament with a 4-1 victory over Blaine in the championship game.

 

 

Becker moved right back into conference action Monday as they hosted Cathedral in a battle for the lead in the conference.  

 

Once again, it was a fast-paced game with very little offense. 

 

The first hit of the game came in the bottom of the fifth when Koste singled. Neither team scored a run until the top of the seventh when Cathedral led off with a double.  It appeared the runner would be stranded when Weise struck out the next two batters, but a passed ball allowed the runner to score and give the Crusaders a 1-0 lead.  

 

The Bulldogs were unable to mount a threat in the bottom of the inning and fell into second place in the conference.  

 

Koste and Paulson had the lone hits for Becker, while Weise was again the tough luck losing pitcher despite allowing only one hit and striking out 15 Crusaders.

 

 

The Bulldogs were back at home Thursday as their game scheduled to be played in Foley had to be moved due to unplayable fields in Benton County.

 

Being the guests on the scoreboard suited the Bulldogs well as they jumped on top with two runs in the top of the first as Koste and Paulson both scored.  

 

The Bulldogs added a run in the top of the fourth when Jaida Johnson singled and scored on a Weise double to make it 3-0.  

 

The Falcons got on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth and the score remained 3-1 until the top of the seventh when the Bulldog bats exploded for five runs.  Weise led off the inning with a solo blast to left-center field.  After a Paulson single, Eickhoff followed with a two-run homer to left to push the score to 6-1.  

 

Later in the inning, Cammie Varney drove in the game's final two runs with a double down the left field line to make the final 8-1.  

 

Eickhoff got the win on the mound, going five innings, allowing six hits and striking out nine.  Weise got the save as she entered a 3-1 game and mowed down the Falcons in order for the final two innings. 

 

Weise, Paulson, and Varney each had two hits on the day.

 

 

Friday, Becker host Monticello (full report on game will appear in next week’s Citizen-Tribune). Saturday, the girls head out on a road trip to play state-ranked Chisago Lakes at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning, then get back on the bus and travel to defending state runner-up North Branch for a noon game.

 

Next week is Becker’s final week of the regular season and it will be a busy one.  Monday, they host Zimmerman at 4 p.m.  Tuesday will be Parent's Night and Strikeout Cancer Night as they host Milaca at 5 p.m.  

 

“We will be playing the game to support former Bulldog softball dad, Dan Hermann, in his fight with blood cancer,” said Head Coach Jason Baune.  

 

Thursday, Becker travels to Albany for their final conference game and Friday they close out the regular season hosting Princeton on Senior Night.  Friday's game will begin at 4 p.m.