AC Fastpitch takes home state championship

It was a big month for Armstrong Cooper Fastpitch Association, which had all five of its 14U or HS softball teams qualify for the state tournament last weekend at various places throughout the metro. The 14U Royal, Navy, and Red teams qualified for state along with the HS Red team. The HS Navy team also qualified but did not participate due to player availability.

HS Red

The Armstrong Cooper HS Red team began an action-packed weekend at the state tournament with a nail-biting 3-2 win over the Zumbrota-Mazeppa Sting at Ham Lake’s Lions Park.

AC got the fun started in the top of the second with an RBI double from Lucy Ramirez bringing Syndey Primmer and Julia Girod home to take a 2-0 lead. AC kept the Sting off the scoresheet for four total innings, the result of strong pitching from Peyton Erickson and strong connections in the field between Primmer (first base), Gabby Berns (second base), Lexi Madson (shortstop), and Kendall Carscadden (third base). Emma Chavez and Bri Dumas also provided key catches in the outfield.

Despite brief bright moments from Carscadden, Primmer and Kadence Joseph at bat, AC struggled to find a third run and faced two runs from ZM in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game up at 2-2. Madson hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth to bring Nina Olson-Patterson home and retake the lead. The lead was brief but vital as it took AC past a tough first round and ahead into the state tournament.

The rest of Saturday was smoother sailing for the HS Red team, with the AC girls beating Soderville Wright 8-0 and Waite Park McLean 7-3 to qualify for the second day of the winner’s bracket.

HS Red began Sunday with another tight win, this time 3-2 over Cold Spring. This placed them in the final, where they beat loser’s bracket winners MN Twisters Black 5-1 to clinch the 18U HSO Tier 1 state championship.

14U teams

14U Navy was the most successful of the Armstrong Cooper 14U teams at state last week, kicking the week off with a 7-6 win over Apple Valley Fusion Yellow in the first round. Navy picked up a second win in the second round, beating Waseca 8-4, then ended the day with a 9-3 win over Worthington Polz. This qualified Navy for the second day of the winner’s bracket.

The Navy team faced its first major obstacle at the start of Sunday, losing 8-6 to St. Anthony Blue. This moved the team to the losers’ bracket, where they quickly earned a place in the final with an 11-4 win over Litchfield. This provided a rematch against St. Anthony, who they beat 10-5 in game one, before falling 7-2 in game two to conclude a hard-fought state campaign.

14U Red team battled hard in its first-round loss to River Falls Gold, eventually losing 3-1. Kendall Carscadden The team then took part in a high-scoring thriller, eventually falling 9-5 to STMA Gold to conclude a season to remember.

There was no shortage of runs for 14U Royal, despite ending the week with two losses. Royal lost 9-4 to Mahtomedi in the first round and then fell short in an 11-9 battle with New Ulm Red in the loser’s bracket.