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PARK RAPIDS – Chloe Tretbar hit a solo home run and allowed two runs in six innings on the mound in sparking the Park Rapids fastpitch softball team to a 9-2 victory over Warroad to open the Section 8AA North tournament at the Area High School field on May 24.
After the No. 5-seeded Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the first, Park Rapids countered in the bottom of the inning when Abby Morris reached on an error and scored on Tori Weaver’s sacrifice fly. Tretbar’s solo homer made it 2-1.
In the third, Kasen Girtz doubled, advanced to third on Allison Offerdahl’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Natalie Harvey’s bunt for a 3-1 lead.
Warroad cut the gap to 3-2 in the third before the No. 4-seeded Panthers scored twice in the bottom of that inning. Morris reached on an error and Nora Cederstrom singled to set up an RBI single by Weaver and a sacrifice fly by Tretbar for a 5-2 advantage.
The Panthers concluded the scoring in the fifth. Morris singled and stole second and Cederstrom walked. RBI singles by Weaver and Offerdahl along with walks to Tretbar and Girtz, a passed ball and a sacrifice fly by Kilea Persons sealed the win.
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Warroad had runners thrown out at the plate in the third and sixth innings and a runner trying to steal second in the third while leaving seven runners on base.
The Panthers had eight hits with Weaver going 2 for 3 with three RBI and Morris, Cederstrom and Tretbar combining to score seven runs. Tretbar pitched the first six innings for the win, allowing one earned run on three hits and five walks. Offerdahl pitched the seventh.
Park Rapids improved to 10-9 to advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament while Warroad ended the season with a 7-11 record.
In the other Section 8AA North openers, No. 1 Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton blanked No. 8 Red Lake 15-0, No. 2 Thief River Falls eliminated No. 7 Crookston 11-1 and No. 3 Roseau defeated No. 6 East Grand Forks 14-1.
In the Section 8AA South openers, No. 1 Frazee shut out No. 8 Ottertail Central 12-0, No. 2 Hawley topped No. 7 Perham 9-1, No. 3 Barnesville defeated No. 6 Wadena-Deer Creek 6-1 and No. 4 Breckenridge blanked No. 5 Fergus Falls 6-0.
“Our game against Warroad was one of the best games we’ve played all season. We put together a string of good hits, however it was our defense that really sealed the game for us. We were able to execute our bunting game better than we have all season. It truly was a team effort,” said Park Rapids head coach Marion Goeden. “We need to limit the amount of free bases we give our opponent and we need to be smart, yet aggressive, on the bases. This team has been so close to putting it all together in many games this season. It always feels good to beat Warroad. Wouldn’t it be great if we were peaking at playoff time?”
Warroad 101 000 0…2 7 2
Park Rapids 212 040 x…9 8 1
W–Tretbar, 7-7. L–Corteau.
Park Rapids hitting: Morris (1 for 4, 3r), N. Cederstrom (1-3, 2r), Weaver (2-3, 1r, 3rbi), Tretbar (1-3, 2r, 2rbi), Persons (0-2, 1rbi), Girtz (1-2, 1r), Offerdahl (1-2, 1rbi), Harvey (0-1, 1rbi), Yliniemi (0-2), Roberts (0-1). 2B: Girtz 1. HR: Tretbar 1. SB: Morris 3, Weaver 2, N. Cederstrom 1, Tretbar 1, Offerdahl 1, Harvey 2.
Park Rapids pitching: Tretbar (6ip, 2r, 1er, 3h, 5bb, 2k); Offerdahl (1ip, 0r, 2h, 0bb, 1k).
Panthers split at Frazee
FRAZEE – After stranding 11 runners on base in a 7-4 loss to Frazee, the Panthers rebounded by taking advantage of 11 walks for a 15-3 six-inning win over Wadena-Deer Creek in a pair of games against Section 8AA opponents on May 20.
The Panthers had 12 hits, but left seven runners in scoring position against Frazee.
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Park Rapids scored single runs in four separate innings. The Panthers scored in the second on a walk to Persons and singles by Harvey and Allie Rowland; in the fourth on a walk to Offerdahl and an error; in the fifth on Weaver’s triple and Tretbar’s single; and in the sixth on a walk to Cederstrom and Weaver’s triple.
Tretbar took the loss, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and three walks over six innings. Weaver (3 for 4). Morris (2 for 4) and Tretbar (2 for 4) led the Panthers’ offense. Frazee improved to 14-4.
Against W-DC in the regular season finale, the Panthers jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in coasting to the win.
A double by Morris, five walks and an error led to three runs in the first while an error, two walks, Weaver’s two-run double and Persons’ RBI single made it 7-0 in the second.
A bunt single by Avery Cederstrom, Morris’ two-run triple and Weaver’s RBI double highlighted a five-run fourth inning before a single by Morris, a two-run triple by Weaver and a sacrifice fly by Tretbar concluded the scoring in the sixth.
Morris (3 for 5, four runs, two RBI), Weaver (3 for 4, two runs, five RBI), Persons (2 for 4) and Nora Cederstrom (three runs) led the Panthers’ offense, which finished with nine hits. Offerdahl picked up the win as Park Rapids improved to 2-5 against section teams. W-DC fell to 9-10.
