Class B state softball quarterfinal roundup: Beavers rally for walk-off win over Avon
· Yahoo Sports
Jun. 4—ABERDEEN — A play at the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning was the difference in a Class B quarterfinal thriller between No. 4 seed Hanson and No. 5 Avon on Thursday at the Players Softball Complex.
Having rallied from five runs down in the final frame to tie the game, Hanson's Delaney Jarding sprinted from second base to home plate on a batted ball that was bobbled but didn't leave the infield dirt with two outs.
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The gamble paid off, as Jarding was ruled to have barely beaten a tag in a close play at the plate, giving the Beavers a dramatic 11-10 walk-off win. Jozlynn Tegethoff provided the game-winning hit for Hanson, which had trailed 7-0 in the fourth inning and 10-5 in the seventh. All 11 of the Beavers' runs were scored in either the fourth or seventh frames.
Jarding, Neecee Suber, Jacey Schoenrock and Rylee Furgeson all recorded two hits and scored two runs apiece for Hanson, which had 10 hits total. Furgeson and Marah Doyle each dive in two runs. Schoenrock hurled all seven innings in the circle, finishing with five strikeouts, four walks and seven earned runs allowed.
Kaydence Metzger had three hits and drove in one run for Avon, though she was also tagged with the pitching loss, yielding three walks and six earned runs with five strikeouts. Rowan Brandt, Rilyn Thury, Brielle Voigt, Pria Sesler and Kensley DeVries all added two hits toward the Pirates' total of 14 hits, as Sesler had three runs batted in and Voigt tacked on a pair. Both teams had four errors.
Hanson (19-4) advanced to state softball semifinals for the first time, as a meeting with No. 1 seed Castlewood awaits at 2 p.m. Friday. Avon (16-8) will play No. 8 Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy in the consolation bracket at 10 a.m. Friday.
A late surge carried top-seeded Castlewood past 8-seed Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy in the Class B tournament opener on Thursday.
FMFA, which was the No. 14 seed entering the SoDak 16, held a 3-2 lead entering the bottom of the fifth inning, but there the Warriors came alive for four runs to swing the contest in their favor.
Claire Loofbourrow accounted for all three Phoenix runs, coming around to score once and driving in Aubree Tschetter twice. Tschetter reached safely three times, including twice via walk, and stole three bases. Harli Ross pitched five innings in her start, striking out seven against just one walk but surrendering six runs (four earned).
For Castlewood, Cydni Kudrna, Kayla Goens and Natalie Akin all had two hits, and Goens drove in three runs. Sophia Kudrna pushed across a pair of runs. Claire Horn went the distance for the pitching win, recording 11 strikeouts while yielding three walks, five hits and one earned run.
The Warriors out-hit FMFA 9-5, and each team had four errors.
Castlewood (19-4) will play Hanson in the semifinals at 2 p.m. Friday, while FMFA (11-8) plays No. 5 Avon in the consolation bracket at 10 a.m. Friday.
Making its state softball tournament debut, second-seeded McCook Central/Montrose had little trouble, dispatching No. 7 seed Redfield via a five-inning run-rule decision.
The Fighting Cougars scored five runs apiece in the second and third innings and added three in the fourth. MCM racked up 12 hits and six walks in the shortened contest, as Landry Andal and Braylee Meyer each had three hits and scored three runs. Zaidee Huls had two hits, drew a walk, plated a run and scored twice while also maintaining a shutout in the circle.
MCM (21-2) faces Gayville-Volin at 4 p.m. Friday for a place in Saturday's title game. Redfield (10-8) will play Florence/Henry in the consolation bracket at noon Friday.
The lone lower-seeded team to emerge from the Class B quarterfinals with a win did so in the last contest of the day, as No. 6 Gayville-Volin knocked off No. 3 Florence/Henry.
Gayville-Volin kept the Florence/Henry off the scoreboard until there were two outs in the seventh inning and limited the Falcons to three hits in the contest.
Paisley Dimmer posted three hits by herself and drove in one run for the Raiders, while Kendra Beeck and Ali Westrum each added two hits and one RBI. Jolie Westrum earned the pitching win in a complete game effort where the only run she allowed was unearned.
Taylor Vavruska had two of the Falcons' three hits and scored the lone run.
Gayville-Volin (15-5) looks for another upset in the semifinals against No. 2 MCM at 2 p.m. Friday. Florence/Henry (15-5) will play Redfield in the consolation bracket at noon Friday.