Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm senior Amber Lee claps at second base after hitting a double in the Big South Conference title game against Luverne on Saturday at New Ulm High School.
NEW ULM — The Big South Conference belongs to the New Ulm Eagles.
Despite Luverne's comeback attempt in the middle innings, the Eagles fought back with five points to beat the Cardinals 10-4 in the Big South Conference Softball Championship at New Ulm High School on Saturday afternoon.
Eagles pitcher Ramsey Hopp was picked up by his teammates' offensive line and calmed down despite allowing a total of four runs, three in the fourth inning and one in the fifth.
She ended up striking out all of Luverne's last seven batters, striking out 14 while allowing seven hits and two walks for a complete game victory.
Eagles head coach Christy Andersen Ruth congratulated her four seniors during the final home game of the season with a meeting at second base before striking them out with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. Catcher Natalie Bianchi, left fielder Amber Lee, pitcher/first baseman Abby Rathman, and senior right fielder Gracie Limbo all played key roles in leading New Ulm, ranked No. 2 in the state in Class AAA, to the conference title. I accomplished it.
The Eagles begin the 2AAA playoffs with a bye as the No. 1 seed and will first face the winner of the play-in tournament at 10 a.m. Saturday at Caswell Park in North Mankato. The play-in tournament will feature No. 4 Marshall, No. 7 Worthington, No. 5 St. Peter and No. 6 Albert Lea. Mankato East earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament and will play No. 3 seed Mankato West at 10 a.m. Saturday at Caswell Park.
Lee led the Eagles to a winning turn at bat, going 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
“I think a big factor is knowing that my teammates are behind me and that they will be rooting for me no matter what.” Mr. Lee said. “They give me the confidence to go out there and believe that I can always hit.”
Lee's only hit on Saturday was in the fifth inning, when he hit a ball deep to right for a sacrifice fly, allowing pinch runner Addison Hage to score from third base and take a 6-4 lead.
For New Ulm, sophomore Lauren Schmiesing also had three hits on the day, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. The Eagles got hits from eight different players in the win.
New Ulm took an early 4-0 lead in the first inning, when starting pitcher Gracie Nuss gave up four earned runs on four hits and an error, and in the sixth inning, they allowed five earned runs on 12 hits and three walks. Ta. She struck out one.
In that first inning, Maddie Bakker hit a double that hit the center field fence, then a groundout put Hopp at bat. After Bakker hit a triple, Hopp reached on a throwing error and Bakker scored for a 1-0 lead.
Following the popout, Bianchi, who was picked by Hage, walked, and then Schmiesing hit a double. Lee hit an infield hit and Rathman hit a schmiezing hit to center field for a 4-0 lead.
After Lee hit a Schmiesing double, the Eagles added another run in the third inning. Luverne scored three runs in the fourth inning to take a 5-3 lead after Torie Selye's RBI single and Amira Cowell's two-run double.
The Cardinals then scored another point in the fifth inning on Ella Reisdorfer's RBI homer up the middle.
After getting one run back in the bottom of the fifth inning with Lee's sac fly, the Eagles' offense revitalized with six hits in the sixth inning. Berkeley Wilfert led off with a single and stole second and third. Backer was called on his first out after his attempted bunt hit the ball wide of the frame and hit his leg.
Kenzie Enter then singled in Wilfahrt before Hopp reached for an infield single. Luverne grounded out and was one out away from escaping the first inning, but Bianchi's two-run single to right-center field gave New Ulm a 9-5 lead.
“That’s really big for us.” Bianchi said this about winning the conference title. “We knew we had to work. We couldn't let them pass us by.”
After Schmiesing singled to pinch runner Hage, Lee hit a single, his sixth hit of the inning.
Although Lee is batting at the No. 7 spot, the Eagles' lineup is not lacking in quality hitters.
“I'm okay with where I'm at right now because I know the batters ahead of me can hit just as well as the batters below me.” Mr. Lee said. “I think the lineup is very even and very balanced. Anyone in the lineup can get a hit.”
New Ulm fell to 17-3 on the year, and Luverne fell to 16-5.
Editor's note: A detailed article appears in Tuesday's issue of the Journal and is updated online Tuesday.
