Rilee Michaelson was untouchable on the mound by following a no-hitter with a one-hitter as the Park Rapids fastpitch softball team swept a Mid-State Conference doubleheader at Crosby-Ironton on Tuesday, April 23.
Park Rapids won the first game 17-0 in four innings and followed with a 10-0 victory in five innings in the nightcap.
In the opener, the Panthers scored twice in the first, six times in the second, eight times in the third and once in the fourth as this game was called after four innings because of the 15-run rule.
The Panthers needed only one hit to build an 8-0 lead after the second inning behind Natalie Kinkel's lead-off single, nine walks and two errors.
Park Rapids pounded out six hits in the third inning as three walks, singles by Kendra Coborn and Kaisa Coborn, a two-run double by Kylee Pachel, an RBI double by Shailyn Pachel, and RBI singles by Kinkel and Kaisa Coborn pushed the lead to 16-0.
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A double by Kylee Pachel and an RBI single by Shailyn Pachel concluded the scoring in the fourth.
Kinkel, Kaisa Coborn, Kylee Pachel and Shailyn Pachel had two hits apiece to pace the Panthers' 10-hit attack. Michaelson allowed six baserunners as two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases in the first, a walk and a hit batter put two runners on base in the second, and an error accounted for the other baserunner in the fourth. Michaelson struck out eight batters.
Michaelson was even more dominant in the second game, allowing only a lead-off single to Mya DeCent in the second. DeCent was thrown out trying to steal third as Michaelson faced the minimum of 15 batters, striking out nine.
Offensively, the Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first behind a single by Kinkel, a walk and two errors. Kylee Pachel's two-run home run, Abby Morris' RBI single and another error made it 7-0 in the third. Doubles by Michaelson and Kaisa Coborn and a single by Kylee Pachel produced two more runs in the fourth before two errors led to the game-ending run in the fifth.
Kylee Pachel went 2 for 3 as the Panthers finished with seven hits. Park Rapids' defense made only one error in the doubleheader.
The win lifted Park Rapids to 2-0 in the conference and 3-0 overall while the Rangers fell to 0-2 in Mid-State play and 0-3 overall.
GAME 1
Park Rapids 268 1...17 10 1
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Crosby-Ironton 000 0...0 0 4
Park Rapids hitting: Kinkel (2-3, 3r, 2rbi), Ke. Coborn (1-3, 2r, 1rbi), Ka. Coborn (2-2, 3r, 3rbi), Michaelson (0-2, 1r, 1rbi), K. Pachel (2-3, 2r, 2rbi), S. pachel (2-3, 1r, 2rbi), Weaver (1-1, 1r, 1rbi), Morris (0-4, 2r, 1rbi), Ulvin (0-2, 2r). 2B: K. Pachel 2, S. Pachel 1. SB: Ke. Coborn 1, K. Pachel 1.
Park Rapids pitching: W-Michaelson (4ip, 0r, 0h, 3bb, 2hbp, 8k).
GAME 2
Crosby-Ironton 000 00...0 1 7
Park Rapids 304 21...10 7 0
Park Rapids hitting: Kinkel (1-3, 1r), Ke. Coborn (0-4), Michaelson (1-2, 2r), Ka. Coborn (1-2, 3r, 1rbi), K. Pachel (2-3, 1r, 2rbi), S. Pachel (0-2, 1r), Weaver (1-2, 1r), Morris (1-3, 1rbi), Bera (0-2), Ulvin (0-1, 1r). 2B: Michaelson 1, Ka. Coborn 1. HR: K. Pachel 1. SB: Kinkel 1, S. Pachel 2, Ulvin 1.
Park Rapids pitching: W-Michaelson (5ip, 0r, 1h, 0bb, 9k).
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Panthers rated No. 6
Park Rapids shared the No. 6 ranking in the first state Class AA poll.
The Panthers received 29 points to share the No. 6 spot with Winona Cotter. Maple Lake (72 points), Pipestone Area (58), Rochester Lourdes (52), Zumbrota-Mazeppa (43) and Chatfield (33) topped the list.
Rounding out the top 10 were Esko (26), Thief River Falls (26) and St. Peter (25). In addition to Park Rapids and Thief River Falls, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (No. 13 with 12 points) and Hawley (tied for No. 17 with 3 points) represented Section 8AA in the initial rankings.
