Prowlers get playoff win over Rams in rain-shortened game

by Scott DCamp Sports Editor Third-seeded Thief River Falls led second-seeded Roseau 7-4 when play was suspended due to inclement weather with the Rams batting in the bottom of the sixth inning in Monday’s Section 8AA North Subsection semifinal game, which was being played on Field Two at the Multi-Events Center. The other semifinal game, being played on Field One and pitting the top-seeded Hawley Nuggets and fourth-seeded Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton Rebels, was in extra innings when it too was suspended due to heavy rain. The Rebels had just taken a 4-2 lead in the top of eighth when the game suspended. Because the Prowlers took the lead prior to the fifth inning and maintained the lead through five innings, they were declared the winner when play was stopped. By rule, the Prowlers’ at-bat in the top of the sixth does not count and the final score is 7-4 in five innings. The Prowlers were scheduled to face the winner of the DGF-Hawley game once it resumed and played to conclusion Tuesday afternoon. The Prowlers and Rams traded errors and runs early one. The Prowlers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Leadoff hitter Sophia Kraemer singled to right, stole both second and third, and scored on a fielder’s choice when Roseau shortstop Ella Kettering attempted to throw Kraemer out at home after fielding a ground ball off the bat of Braylee Wienen rather than try to throw Wienen out at first. The Rams answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the first. Designated player Olivia Simmonds drew a one-out six-pitch walk and moved to second when number three hitter Payton Remick reached on a fielding error by second base player Sophia Tougas. Both runners moved up a bag on a groundout to third by Chavelle Knochenmus. Kayla Moser drew the second walk of the inning for the Rams to load the bases. Simmonds scored from third as number six-hitter Kylie Bjerk reached on an error by Breanna Myers. Myers redeemed herself on the next play as Roseau’s Launa Ullman grounded out to short to end the inning. The Prowlers regained the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the second. Piper Greene drew a one-out walk, but was quickly replaced on the bases by Olivia Tougas, after Greene was forced out at second on a fielder’s choice. Olivia Tougas moved to second on a four-pitch walk by Sophia Tougas. Olivia Tougas scored from second as Kraemer reached on an error. Sophia Tougas would also score on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Wienen. The Rams attempted to get her at the plate, rather than take the out at first, and Sophia Tougas slid under the tag to make it 3-1. The Prowlers got two quick outs in the bottom of the third, but a quiet inning wasn’t in the cards. The Rams got back-to-back singles from Kettering and Simmonds, and Remick was intentionally walked to load the bases. With the bases loaded, Chavelle Knochenmus hit a ground ball to third that was fielded by third base player Piper Greene but thrown over the head of Kora Sorter at first. Both Kettering and Simmonds would score on the error, tying the game 3-3. The Prowlers regained the lead with four runs in the top of the third. Liza Bjerklie coaxed a six-pitch walk to lead off the inning. She moved to second on a one-out single by Sorter. With two on and one out, Greene hit a ball to short that was thrown past Roseau first base player Kayla Moser. Bjerklie came around to score on the play, Sorter went from first to third and Greene advanced to second on the error. Sorter scored on an RBI single by Olivia Tougas, with Greene moving to third on the play and Tougas taking second on the throw. Both runners would score on a two-out bunt for a base hit by Kraemer. Kraemer perfectly bunted the ball down the first base line where it stopped moving about halfway between first and home, allowing both runners to score and giving her time to beat the throw to first and take second since no one was covering the bag. The Rams got a leadoff triple from Kylie Bjerk in the bottom of the third but failed to score as Rogalla coaxed back-to-back infield fly balls and flyout to deep center that was snagged by Kraemer to end the inning. The Rams got their leadoff hitter on again in the bottom of the fourth as a light rain began to fall. Simmonds reached on an error but was stranded at third after groundouts by Remick and Knochenmus, and a popout in foul territory by Moser. The Rams cut into the Prowler lead with a run on two hits in the bottom of the fifth. Bjerk singled to lead off the inning and scored on a one-out single up the middle by Makena Hedlund. After scoring seven runs in the first three innings, the Prowlers were held to just four base runners and just two hits over the next three innings. With the rain getting heavier and the field condition worsening, the decision was made to suspend the game in the bottom of the sixth inning with the Prowlers leading 7-4, and the Rams batting, with a runner on first and no outs. Scoring - Game suspend 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E TRF...... 1 2 4 0 0 0 X - 7 6 4 RHS..... 1 2 0 0 1 0 X - 4 5 2 Batting Thief River Falls AB R H RBI BB SO Sophia Kraemer 4 1 3 3 0 0 Braylee Wienen 4 0 0 2 0 0 Carlie Rogalla 3 0 0 0 1 0 Liza Bjerklie 2 0 1 0 2 0 Brianna Myers 4 0 0 0 0 3 Kora Sorter 4 1 1 0 0 0 Piper Greene 3 1 0 1 1 0 Olivia Tougas 2 2 1 1 1 0 Sophia Tougas 2 1 0 0 1 2 Ellie McDermott 0 1 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 28 7 6 7 6 5 Highlights - SB: Sophia Kraemer (2), Carlie Rogalla. Roseau AB R H RBI BB SO Ella Kettering 4 1 1 0 0 0 Olivia Simmons 2 2 1 0 2 0 Payton Remick 2 0 0 0 1 0 C. Knochenmus 3 0 0 2 0 0 Kayla Moser 2 0 0 0 1 0 Kylie Bjerk 3 1 2 1 0 0 Launa Ullman 2 0 0 0 0 0 Makena Hedlund 3 0 1 1 0 0 Ana Wensloff 2 0 0 0 1 0 Lilly Erickson 0 0 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 23 4 5 4 5 0 Highlights - 3B: Kylie Bjerk; SACB: Launa Ullman. Pitching Thief River Falls IP H R ER BB SO Carlie Rogalla 5 5 4 1 5 0 Roseau IP H R ER BB SO Ana Wensloff 6 6 7 3 6 5 Section 8AA Softball • Seeds - North: 1. Hawley 18-2; 2. Roseau 15-4; 3. Thief River falls 12-7; 4. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 18-3; 5. East Grand Forks 8-9; 6. Warroad 5-13; 7. Crookston 2-14; South: 1. Wadena-Deer Creek 18-2; 2. Menahga 17-4; 3. Park Rapids Area 14-7; 4. Barnesville 12-7; 5. Breckenridge 7-11; 6. Ottertail Central 5-14; 7. Perham 1-18. • Play-in games - Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 6, East Grand Forks 2; Roseau 15, Crookston 0; Thief River Falls 9, Warroad 3; Barnesville 5, Breckenridge/ Wahpeton 4; Menahga 12, Perham 0; Park Rapids Area 12, Ottertail Central 1. • Monday, May 27 - North semifinals at Thief River Falls - Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 4, Hawley 2 (btm 8); Thief River Falls 7, Roseau 4 (F/5); • Tuesday May 28 - Semifinal games resume noon, North Championship and elimination game following. • Thursday, May 23 - South semifinals, 4 p.m. at Menahga - Wadena-Deer Creek 6, Barnesville 3; Menahga 9, Park Rapids Area 4. • Thursday, May 23 - South championship - Menahga 13, Wadena-Deer Creek 12; elimination game - Barnesville 9, Park Rapids Area 7. • Wednesday, May 29 - Section 8AA second round elimination games 2 p.m., elimination quarterfinal 3:30 p.m.; semifinal 3:30 p.m. • Thursday, May 30 - Section 8AA elimination semifinal noon; championship game one 2 p.m.; championship game two (if necessary) 4 p.m. Section 8A Softball • Monday, May 20, Play-in games - Northern Freeze 5, Ada-Borup-West 4; Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal 16, Fertile-Beltrami 8. • Monday, May 20, second round games - Badger/Greenbush-Middle River 22, Northern Freeze 0; East Polk 3, Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal 2. • Tuesday, May 21 - Play-in games - Mahnomen/Waubun 13, Bagley 3 (at Red Lake Falls); Lake Park-Audubon 10, Lake of the Woods 0; Sacred Heart 10, West Marshall 0 (at Lake Park-Audubon). • Tuesday, May 21 - Second round - Red Lake Falls 9, Mahnomen/Waubun 0; Sacred Heart 8, Lake Park/Audubon 3. • Thursday, May 23, quarterfinals at high seed - Red Lake Falls 8, Sacred Heart 3; Badger/Greenbush-Middle River 5, East Polk 1. • Elimination games, Thursday, May 23 - Mahnomen/Waubun 15, Lake Park-Audubon 5 (at BGMR); Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal 11, Northern Freeze 5 (at Red Lake Falls); East Polk 6, Mahnomen/Waubun 3 (at BGMR); Sacred Heart 12, Norman County Eas/Ulen-Hitterdal 8 (at Red Lake Falls). • Semifinal and elimination games, Tuesday, May 28 at Red Lake Falls 4 p.m., 6 p.m. • Championship game, Thursday, May 30 TBD.