Softball
Algona softball narrowly missed upsetting state #1 Mount Vernon, losing 5-2 in last night’s Class 3A – Region 3 final. Algona grabbed a 1-0 first inning lead after two outs and nobody on base, as Lillian Etherington reached on an error, Ryan Haynes was hit by a pitch, and Moriah Knapp delivered a two out RBI single to give the Bulldogs a lead they’d carry through most of the game.
Haynes worked around several baserunners until the 5th, when a couple Bulldog errors were followed by Maia Bentley launching a 3 run homer and Addison Gookin following with a solo blast to give Mount Vernon a 4-1 lead.
The Mustangs added an insurance run in the bottom of the 6th, and although Algona fought back for one run in the 7th on an Ashley Cantu RBI, the Bulldogs could not come all the way back, ending the season 11-17, while Mount Vernon heads to next week’s state tournament.
Algona Head Coach Todd VanOtterloo says his team competed hard.
VanOtterloo says the Bulldogs left it all out on the field Tuesday night.
Algona says goodbye to just one senior, Kenzie Carrigan.
Baseball
Bishop Garrigan’s baseball season is over after a 2-0 loss last night to Newman Catholic in the Class 1A – Substate 2 title game last night, sending the Knights to state for the 14th time in the past 15 years.
In a game controlled by pitching, Newman Catholic’s Doug Taylor was about as dominant as possible, going the full 7 innings, allowing just two Golden Bear hits while striking out 10 batters and walking just one. Cal Birkey led off the game with a double for Bishop Garrigan, and Taylor didn’t allow another base runner for 20 straight hitters after that until Drew Lappe walked and Jacob Leerar singled with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. Taylor would recover to strike Merron out looking on a full count with runners at first and second base to end the game.
The Knights scored one run off of Hollis Bode in the 2nd. After the Golden Bears dropped a foul popup that would have been the third out of the inning, Taylor was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in the first run. Bode would be relieved by Merron, who stranded the bases loaded and kept the Knights off the scoreboard again until the fourth inning. In the fourth, it was a two out, line drive single to left by Nash Holmgaard making the score 2-0 and accounting for the final margin.
Merron would keep Bishop Garrigan in the game with 4.1 innings of 1 run ball, as the Knights stranded 10 runners total on base throughout the night against Bode and Merron combined, but it would not be enough as Newman Catholic picked up their 20th win in a row. Bishop Garrigan ends the season with a record of 19-13.
