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Chisago Lakes 1, Spring Lake Park 0

Mackenzie Turk's single to right with one out in the second inning drove in the only run of the game and Rachel Nelson allowed just one hit and struck out seven as the Wildcats beat conference opponent Spring Lake Park 1-0 last Wednesday, May 14 at Spring Lake Park.

Lisa Schommer led off the second inning with a single to right-center. Ashley Oehme's single to right to move Schommer to third. Oehme stole second to put runners at first and second with no outs. The next batter struck out. Turk's hit scored Schommer, but Oehme was thrown out at the plate as she also tried to score on Turk's single. Turk was the last Wildcat batter to reach base for the game.

The Wildcats used a little luck to squelch the Panther's only serious scoring threat. In the fourth inning, the Panther leadoff hitter reached on an error and moved to second on a wild pitch. The next batter singled - the Panther's only hit of the game - to put runners at first and third with no outs. The next batter popped up to second base for the first out. The fourth batter of the inning hit a ball up the middle. It glanced off Nelson's glove and bounced to shortstop Ariel Novak. Novak fired it home and catcher Tracy Schneider tagged out the Panther runner for the second out of the inning. Nelson struck out the next batter to end the Panther threat. In fact, she retired the final Panther batters of the game, as well, on her way to fifth shutout of the season.

"Mackenzie Turk showed that if you get your bat on the ball, something good can happen for you," said Wildcat head coach Herb Jangor. Rachel shut them down and Ariel played outstanding defense. We did just enough against one of the better pitchers in the state, Sarah Dupaul, to win this one. We had quality at bats in this game, showing confidence in our swings and attacking the pitching better."

St. Francis 3, Chisago Lakes 2

A Wildcat error and a mental mistake in the bottom of the seventh inning allowed St. Francis to score two runs to come from behind to beat the Wildcats 3-2 last Thursday, May 15 at Chisago Lakes.

Wildcat Shannon Monson led off the game with a single up the middle and stole second. Amanda Houle reached first on an error, moving Monson to third. Houle stole second to put runners on second and third with no outs. The next two batters popped out, but Lisa Schommer's single scored Monson to put the Wildcats up 1-0.

The Panthers scored in the bottom of the fourth to tie the score at 1-1. In the top of the sixth, Mallory Schneider walked and Schommer singled to put runners at first and second with no outs. After the next batter struck out, Schneider was thrown out trying to steal third. Schommer reached second on the play. Mallory Schneider's double up the middle scored Schommer to put the Wildcats up 2-1.

In the bottom of the seventh, the first Panther batter grounded out. But the next batter reached on an error. After a walk put runners on first and second, the next Panther batter attempted a sacrifice bunt. But the Wildcats threw to the wrong base and all runners were safe. The Wildcats moved the infield in to cut off the tying run at the plate. The next batter dropped a bloop hit over the drawn-in infield, scoring two runs to give the Panthers a 3-2 win.

"This was déjà vu," said Jangor, referring to the seventh-inning meltdown that cost the Wildcats their other game against St. Francis earlier this season. "They're an opportunistic team. When presented with breaks like we gave them, they take advantage of them. You can't give them an extra out or two. We played six great innings today, but couldn't finish the job. For some reason, we weren't meant to beat them in the regular season. I mean, they even edged us out 3.85 to 3.82 in the all conference academic championship. But if things fall the right way, we'll get another shot or two at them in the section tournament."

Chisago Lakes 7, Columbia Heights 2

Lisa Schommer homered and drove in four runs to lead the Wildcats to a 7-2 win over Columbia Heights last Friday, May 16 at Chisago Lakes.

In the bottom of the first inning, Amanda Houle singled with one out. Ariel Novak doubled to drive in Houle. With two outs, Schommer hit a no-doubt hoe run to straightaway center to put the increase the Wildcat lead to 3-0. The Wildcats added a run in the second as Jill Sontag singled with one out and moved to second on a passed ball. Angie Gauvin sacrificed her to third. Sontag scored on the second passed ball of the inning to make the score 4-0 Wildcats.

The Wildcats added three more runs in the fourth. With one out, Novak walked and went to second on Tracy Schneider's single. Both runners scored on Schommer's triple to deep right center. Ashley Oehme drove in Schommer, and the Wildcats led 7-0. The Hylanders picked up two runs in the sixth, making the final scone Chisago Lakes 7, Columbia Heights 2.

Rachel Nelson struck out eight, scattered seven hits and allowed two runs, one earned, to pick up her eleventh win of the season.

"Novak and Schommer really got after it in the first inning," said Jangor. "And I knew Schommer's homer was gone as soon as she hit it. Wow! Rachel pitched well for the third day in a row. She was pretty sharp except for the sixth inning, but she buckled down after that to get the win. It was really nice to see the kids hit the ball well and win on Senior Night. We ended a good regular season on a nice note."

SECTION 7AAA PREVIEW

In the Section 7AAA Tournament, the Wildcats (12-8 overall, 9-5 and 4th place in the conference) will face the winner of yesterday's Duluth Denfeld-Princeton game next Saturday, May 31 at 11 a.m. at Wheeler Field in Duluth. They'll likely play Denfeld because Princeton is 0-18 this season and shows few signs of breaking out of their funk. If the Wildcats win their first game, they'll play the winner of the St. Francis vs. North Branch or Cambridge game at 1 p.m. The tournament is double elimination, and if the Wildcats make it through three games on Saturday with one loss or less, they'll play one to three more games on Wednesday. "We have a realistic chance to make it to the state tournament this season," said Jangor. "We're playing as well as anybody in the section right now. We need to get by Denfeld first. We had a lot of fun this year, and I think our second season will be more fun than our first season.

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