NORTH MANKATO, Minn. — It took awhile to get there on Wednesday, but the Hawley softball team reached the Minnesota Class 2A state championship game.
The Nuggets won twice on Wednesday to earn a spot in the state title game against St. Cloud Cathedral. No. 4 seed Cathedral (25-2) and the No. 6 seed Nuggets (27-2) meet at 4 p.m. Friday, June 6, at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.
Hawley claimed its spot with a 2-1, 11-inning semifinals victory over Jackson County Central at Caswell Park.
JCC scored a run in the top of the first inning and Hawley scored a run in the third to tie it on Sella Fleming’s RBI single.
JCC and Hawley pitchers posted zeros after that, but the Nuggets finally ended the game in the bottom of the 11th.
Hawley’s Brooke Geffre drew a leadoff walk — one of nine walks two JCC pitchers issued in the game — and Geffre took second on Hannah Stotts’ ground out. Addison Sanvik followed with a single to left center that scored Geffre.
In the top of the 11th inning, the Nuggets kept it a tie game with a double play to end a JCC threat. With runners on first and second with one out, Hawley got an out at first on a bunt attempt, then threw home for a caught stealing and the third out.
Hawley pitcher Eagan Hastings went all 11 innings, allowing a run on nine hits with two walks and 11 strikeouts. She also had two hits.
In Wednesday’s quarterfinal game, Hawley’s two-out rally in the fifth inning plated three runs and the No. 6 seed Nuggets went on to take a 3-1 win over No. 3 Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial at Caswell Park.
Down 1-0, Hastings got the offense going with a base knock to right field that scored Stotts.
Alexandria Guderjahn didn’t want the game to be tied for long. On the very next at-bat, the Nuggets senior doubled to left to score Hastings and junior Addison Sanvik.
From there, Hastings locked it down in the circle, earning four of her five strikeouts over the final three innings to complete seven innings of work.
Hastings did not allow an earned run and walked three Knights hitters. LCWM’s lone run came via a Hawley error in the fourth inning.
Guderjahn finished 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBIs for the Nuggets while Stotts was 2-for-4.
Hawley finished with seven hits to LCWM’s five. Each team committed one error.
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