Humboldt 8
Algona 5
The baseball season came to an end for the Algona Bulldogs at the hands of the Humboldt Wildcats for the second year in a row, as the Wildcats rode a five-run fourth inning to an 8-5 win over Algona on Friday in the class 3A – substate 2 first round.
Both teams scored once in the first, while Algona added a run in the second to make the score 2-1, which is where the score remained until the top of the fourth. The Bulldogs had chances for more runs, but struggled to come through with the big hit in the first three innings, including not scoring any after having two runners on with nobody out in the third inning.
In the fourth, Humboldt plated five runs, four of which came with two outs, making the score 6-2 in favor of the Wildcats.
Algona fought back for three runs in the bottom of the frame. Back to back RBI singles by Brooks Kuhlmann and Mason Ulrich would make the score 6-4, and a ball mishandled at second base on an infield grounder by Owen Moe made it 6-5.
Humboldt got a pair of huge insurance runs in the top of the fifth, as Avyon Sutterfield delivered a two out, two run double to bring the score to 8-5.
Algona could not find the bats late, going scoreless over the final three innings and not recording a base hit after the fourth inning.
Valley Davis started the game and allowed 5 runs in 3.1 innings pitched for Humboldt, as he was followed by Grant Goodell, who tossed 2.2 scoreless innings, and Chase Hansen, who punched out two batters in a scoreless 7th to get the save.
Mason Ulrich and Levi Walker both went 2/4 in the loss for Algona, while Griffin Groat was 3/3 and Avyon Sutterfield 2/5 for Humboldt.
Humboldt moves to 21-8, and will take on Waverly-Shell Rock, who beat Nevada 5-2, in the substate 2 semifinals on Monday night. On the other side of the substate two bracket, North Polk blasted Hampton-Dumont-CAL 17-0, and Gilbert blanked Webster City 10-0. Algona finishes their season 20-11.
Newell-Fonda 5
North Union 3
The game got away late from the North Union Warriors softball team on Friday night, as a three-run sixth inning by Newell-Fonda doomed the Warriors in a 5-3 loss in the class 1A – region 6 semifinal round in Fonda.
After neither team scored in the first two innings, North Union got the scoring started in the top of the third, as a two out single by Shallie Walders was followed by an RBI double from Brylie Deim to make the score 1-0.
North Union struck again with two outs in the fourth, as Marissa Nielsen hit an infield single to shortstop that brought home the second run of the game from third base to give North Union a 2-0 lead.
Newell-Fonda got the bats going in the fourth. Jocee Walsh led off the inning with a double on the first pitch of the inning, which was followed by a base hit from Bailey Mandernach on the first pitch she saw to put runners at the corners with nobody out. Later, with the runners and second and third with one out, McKayla Hanson drove a two-run double to right field to tie the game.
The teams held serve in the fifth, before the game slipped away from North Union in the sixth. A one out bloop base hit by Vienna Wingert put runners at the corners with one out, then Hanson delivered her third RBI of the night, with a run-scoring single putting the Mustangs up 3-2. The first error of the night by North Union made the score 4-2, as with runners at second and third, a pitch got past the catcher Walders to the backstop. The runners did not attempt to advance, but Walders sent an errant throw back to pitcher Ainsley Ulrich, allowing the second run of the inning to score. A successful squeeze bunt by Paige Erickson brought home the final run of the inning to make the score 5-2.
North Union battled back in the seventh, as Deim led off with a double and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch and make it 5-3, but Mustang pitcher Ellie Sievers struck out Jacie Johnson with the tying runs on base to end the game.
The Warriors struggled to get the big hit they needed throughout the game, finishing the night by leaving 11 runners stranded on base. Sievers allowed 3 runs on 10 hits and 4 walks in 7 innings, striking out 7 in the win. Ulrich pitched 6 innings, giving up 8 hits and 5 runs, walking 2 and punching out five for North Union.
In the loss, Deim went 3/3, Aslynn Sobolik was 2/2, and Kyla Irmiter 2/3.
Newell-Fonda improves to 23-11, their second straight late inning comeback win of the postseason, and will take on Remsen St. Mary’s in the regional final on Monday night, as Remsen St. Mary’s topped Kingsley-Pierson 9-1 on Friday night. North Union falls to 24-11 to end the season.
