ROSEVILLE — It started innocently enough, but a nine-run outburst — all with two outs — boosted Stillwater to a 15-4 victory over Woodbury in the winners bracket finals of the Section 4AAAA tournament on Tuesday, May 28 at the University of Northwestern.
It was the most significant stretch of the 16-hit barrage in just four innings as the second-seeded Ponies (18-5) moved to within one victory of its first state tournament appearance in three seasons.
Woodbury (13-10) advanced with a 3-1 semifinal victory over top-seeded White Bear Lake, but the Royals were unable to slow down a Stillwater team that extended its winning streak to nine. The Ponies have averaged nearly 10 runs per game during that stretch and have outscored their first three section opponents by a combined 37-8.
“One more game to get to state and we have to be beaten twice, so I like our chances,” Ponies coach Angie Ryan said.
Stillwater defeated the Royals 8-2 and 10-4 during the regular season and that wild second-inning stretch put the Ponies on pace quickly in this one.
There was a runner on first with two outs when Stillwater strung together eight hits and three walks to push nine runs across. Every player in the lineup reached base at least once during that stretch and Amber Buchkoski, Mariah Koren, Megan Boser and Autumn Lettner each batted twice without making an out.
“That was kind of crazy,” Ryan said. “With two outs you just keep running.”
Woodbury actually took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second and didn’t go away after the Ponies put up nine in the second. The Royals answered with three runs to chip away at the lead and climb 9-4.
“It was only 9-4 so I felt like this could still be a game, but then in the third we came right back and scored four more,” Ryan said. “Going from 9 to 13 was a really big deal because they got momentum, but we shifted it right back.”
Nine different players notched at least one RBI for the Ponies. Addison Coffey belted three hits, including a double, while Maya Schroeder, Sarah Dollerschell, Buchkoski, Koren and Boser added two hits each.
This game was originally scheduled for KcKnight Fields in North St. Paul, but wet field conditions there led to the game getting moved to Northwestern.
“We warmed up on our turf,” Ryan said. “We hadn’t played on turf since Cretin-Derham Hall in early April, so we did extra warming up and got their early. We looked solid.”
Cece Lamey allowed two hits in three innings for the Ponies, but both were home runs by Woodbury’s Natalie Meeder and Isabella Zebro. Anna Corbid issued one walk, but did not allow a hit in two innings of relief.
Woodbury 0 1 3 0 0 — 4 2 0
Stillwater 0 9 4 2 x — 15 16 0
WP: Cece Lamey 3-ip, 2-h, 4-r, 4-er, 2-bb, 2-so
LP: Kate Rapp 2 1/3-ip, 11-h, 10-r, 10-er, 3-bb, 2-so
Leading hitters: Wo, Natalie Meeder 1x2 (HR, 3 RBI) and Isabella Zebro 1x2 (HR); St, Maya Schroeder 2x4 (2B, RBI), Lilly Grundner 1x3 (RBI), Addison Coffey 3x4 (2B, RBI), Sarah Dollerschell 2x4 (RBI), Ava Volkmann 1x3 (2 RBI), Amber Buchkoski 2x4 (2 RBI), Mariah Koren 2x3 (2 RBI), Megan Boser 2x2 (2B, 2 RBI) and Autumn Lettner 1x2 (2B, 2 RBI).
Stillwater 9, Tartan 1
At North St. Paul, after scoring seven runs in the top of the seventh inning to knock off third-seeded North St. Paul 10-9 in the opening round, Tartan (13-10) was unable to keep pace with the Ponies in a 9-1 semifinal loss on Thursday, May 23 at McKnight Field.
The game was tight through four innings, but Stillwater took charge with six runs in the bottom of the fifth and added three more in the sixth. The Ponies outhit Tartan 13-5.
“We didn’t score until the fifth, but once we got one across we started scoring,” Ponies coach Angie Ryan said. “The same thing happened where we started hitting one after another.”
Sarah Dollerschell finished with two doubles among her four hits while Addison Coffey and Mariah Koren added two hits apiece. Eight different players notched at least one hit.
“We’re strong up and down the lineup,” Ryan said. “We have an advantage over most teams because we’re strong one through nine.”
Cece Lamey threw five shutout innings and allowed just three hits and one walk with eight strikeouts. Anna Corbid allowed two hits, but did not walk a batter in two innings.
Tartan 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 — 1 5 0
Stillwater 0 0 0 0 6 3 x — 9 13 0
WP: Cece Lamey 5-ip, 3-h, 0-r, 0-er, 1-bb, 8-so
LP: Haley Knoblauch 6-ip, 13-h, 9-r, 9-er, 3-bb, 1-so
Leading hitters: Tar, Haley Knoblauch 2x3, Joey Rosenthal 1x2 and Katelyn Hackman 2x3 (HR); St, Maya Schroeder 1x4 (RBI), Lilly Grundner 1x4 (2 RBI), Addison Coffey 2x3 (RBI), Sarah Dollerschell 4x4 (2 2B, 2 RBI), Amber Buchkoski 1x2 (2B, 2 RBI), Mariah Koren 2x3, Autumn Lettner 1x2 (2 runs) and Brianna Murphy 1x1.
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