Forest Lake softball beats Eden Prairie 5-1, will face Rogers in state semifinals

The Forest Lake softball team opened up the first round of the Class AAAA state tournament with a triumphant 5-1 win over the Eden Prairie Eagles on Wednesday, June 5, at Caswell Park in North Mankato. The Rangers’ defense was stellar throughout the afternoon by surrendering just three hits–as was senior star pitcher Hannah Tong–who ultimately helped carry the team on her back with nine strikeouts and an impressive catch off an Eagle line drive in the top of the fifth inning to help seal the deal for Forest Lake.

The Rangers’ bats got going as early as the bottom of the first, where Avery Muellner grounded out to rake in the first run of the day, before Ava Stenglein singled, resulting in two runs scored to give the girls a quick 3-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth, Eden Prairie was knocking on the door with the bases loaded while trailing at a 3-1 score, but Tong threw the Rangers out of trouble by recording back-to-back outs to maintain the two run lead. Forest Lake found home plate twice more, extending the lead to 5-1.

The Eagles couldn’t jumpstart any more offense, as the Rangers found themselves moving on to the semifinals round of the Class AAAA bracket. With the win, the squad will face off with No. 3 seeded Rogers on Thursday, June 6, at 2 p.m. -- as Forest Lake is once again one game away from the 4A title game. A win in that contest would put the Rangers back in the championship game, where they will await the result of a matchup between No. 1 seeded Rosemount and No. 4 seeded New Prague.