The Becker Bulldog girls softball season came to an unexpected, abrupt end Thursday with two losses at home in Section play.

 

Sections proved to be a huge challenge for Jason Baune’s team this year as they began tournament play Tuesday at home against the Willmar Cardinals.

 

Tuesday, Becker hosted we Willmar in the first round of the Section 5AAA quarterfinals.  Becker (14-6) came in as the #2 seed behind Rocori (19-1) with Willmar seeded #7.

 

The Cardinals got on the board first with an unearned run in the top of the first.  

 

Becker took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third when Tina Martell led off with a double and scored on a Sydney Lamott single.  After Corrie Weise singled, Brianna Corey hit a double to plate Lamott and Weise.

 

The Cardinals answered with a run in the fourth and another in the fifth to knot the score a 3-3.

 

In the bottom of the sixth, Brinley Zoller singled to score Brianna Corey with the final run to give the Bulldogs the 4-3 win.

 

Corey got the win on the mound, going all seven innings, allowing three runs on nine hits.  She was also 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs.

 

Thursday, Becker hosted Monticello in a semifinal game that turned into a pitcher's duel.  

 

The Magic got on the board in the top of the first when their clean-up hitter hit a two-run home run that hit the top of the fence and bounced over.  Those would be the only runs they would score off Corrie Weise, as she allowed just two more hits over the next six innings while retiring the final 18 batters she faced.  

 

In the bottom of the fifth, Weise led off with a double and scored on a single by Megan Hoppe to move the score to 2-1.  Unfortunately, that would be the only run the Bulldogs would score as they stranded 10 runners on base.

 

Weise was the tough luck loser.  She went all seven innings and allowed only four hits.  She didn't walk a batter and struck out 13.  She was also 2-for-2 with a walk and hit by pitch.  Martell also picked up two hits in the game.

 

With the loss, Becker had to bounce back and play Big Lake immediately after the loss to Monticello in an elimination game.  

 

With Corey toeing the rubber, the Hornets struck early with three unearned runs in the top of the first as the Bulldogs had trouble fielding the ball.  

 

Becker got a run back in the bottom of the inning as Lamott drilled a triple over the right fielder's head and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ellie Schwartz.  

 

 

In the bottom of the inning, Becker added a run when Hoppe drove in Kaylyn Wiehle, who had doubled.  That made the score 5-2.  

 

In the bottom of the fifth, Becker used a couple hits, a walk, an error and some aggressive base running to plate three runs and tie the score at 5-5.  

 

Things unraveled in the top of the seventh as the Hornets were able to load the bases with nobody out.  A couple of walks combined with two hits allowed Big Lake to score six runs to break the hearts of the Bulldogs as they tried,b ut failed to score in the latter half of the inning.

 

Corey took the loss, pitching the first 3-2/3 innings.  Weise pitched the final 3-1/3.  Lamott was 2-for-4 and scored twice.

 

The two losses bring an end to the Bulldogs’ season with a recored of 15-8.  They did finish as co-champions of the Granite Ridge Conference (along with Cathedral), with a record of 8-1 in the conference.  

 

Thursday’s games were the final games for the team’s six seniors —  Brianna Corey, Sydney Lamott, Kayla Mittelstaedt, Tina Martell, Brinley Zoller. 

 

“They will be missed as they were great softball players and leaders,” said Baune.