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The Wildcat softball team, who jumped from sixth to third in the state in Class AAA in the latest rankings by the Minnesota High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association, are headed to the Section 7AAA championship game after shutting out third-seeded Rock Ridge 3-0 Tuesday May 27 at Hermantown.  Rock Ridge beat Hermantown later on Tuesday in the elimination bracket final, so the Wildcats will face Rock Ridge for the section championship today at 3 p.m. at North Branch High School.  If the Wildcats win, they will head to the state tournament, to be held June 3-5 at Caswell Park in North Mankato.  Their opening game would be Tuesday, June 3 at 12:30 p.m., and their schedule after that will depend on whether they win or lose their opening game.  The Class AAA championship game will be played at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, June 6 at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium on the University of Minnesota Campus.

CL 10, Duluth Denfeld 0

The top-seeded Wildcats opened the Section 7AAA playoffs with a 10-0 shutout win over the eighth-seeded Duluth Denfeld Hunters on Tuesday, May 20 at Chisago Lakes High School.  Anna Zaruba pitched all five innings for the Wildcats.  She allowed two hits, walked none, and struck out seven.

Annika Malchow and Annika Smith each singled to drive in a run in a four-run first inning for the Wildcats.  In the second, Zaruba singled to right with two outs.  Seanna Ritter came in to courtesy run for her, and Melana Larson followed with a two-run homer to center to make it 6-0 Wildcats.  In the bottom of the third, Smith and Chloe Ruza singled with one out.  After Jess Dittel-Hoefler grounded into a fielder’s choice, Jesa Leritz reached on an error, with Smith scoring to make it 7-0.  Zaruba then drilled a 2-1 pitch over the center field wall for a three-run homer to make the score 10-0.  The Hunters went down 1-2-3 in the top of the fourth.  Zaruba finished the game with a flourish, needing just ten pitches to strike out all three Denfeld batters in the top of the fifth.

CL 4, Hermantown 3

After the Wildcats took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the third against the fourth-seeded Hermantown Hawks in the second game of the section playoffs, Anna Zaruba showed why she is a force to be reckoned with.  She retired 12 of the final 14 baters she faced, striking out eight of the last nine batters as the Wildcats hung on for a 4-3 win at Braun Park in Cloquet Thursday, May 22.

In the bottom of the first inning, Jesa Leritz singled with one out, went to second when Zaruba reached on an error and scored on Meana Larson’s single to left to give the Wildcats an early 1-0 lead.  In the top of the third, the first Hawk batter reached on an error.  Two outs later, Zaruba issued a rare walk.  A single drove in one run, followed by a double that scored two, and Hermantown led 3-1.  The next batter grounded out to end the inning.

The speedy Jess Dittel-Hoefler reached on an error to open the bottom of the third.  After a sacrifice bunt by Leritz, Zaruba singled to put runners on first and third.  Larson lined a single to center to score Leritz and cut the Hawk lead to 3-2.  Annika Malchow grounded out to short, moving the runners to second and third.  Rylan Sheppeck reached on an error by the second baseman with both runners scoring on the play to give the Wildcats a 4-3 lead.  The Wildcats managed just two more baserunners after that, but it didn’t matter because of Zaruba’s late inning dominance.  For the game, she allowed  three unearned runs on six hits, walked two, and struck out 12.  The will sent the Wildcats to the Section 7AAA semifinals in the championship bracket.

Chisago Lakes 3, Rock Ridge 0

Anna Zaruba allowed just one hit and struck out 12 in the semifinal game against the third-seeded Rock Ridge Wolverines, leading the Wildcats to a 3-0 win and sending them to today’s section championship game.  The game was played on Tuesday May 27 at Hermantown High School.

The Wildcats opened the scoring in the bottom of the third.  Jess Dittel-Hoefler lined a single to center with one out.  One out later, she stole second and scored on a single by Zaruba to put the Wildcats up 1-0.  Annika Malchow singled to lead off the bottom of the fourth, and Molly Luoma came in to pinch run for her.  Rylan Sheppeck reached on a bunt single.   Aubrey Perry doubled to center to score Luoma.  Annika Smith tried a squeeze bunt, but Sheppeck was thrown out at home for the first out of the inning.  Perry advanced to third, and Smith went all the way to second on the play.  Jess Dittel-Hoefler was intentionally walked.  Jesa Leritz hit a ground ball that should have ended the inning, but the second baseman made an error, allowing Perry to score to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.

Zaruba allowed just four baserunners in the game, including one who reached on an error.

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