Heartbreaking Loss For Rockets
The John Marshall Rockets, the ninth seed in Section 1AAA in softball, saw its season end in heart-breaking fashion on Wednesday.
JM carried a 9-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning against No. 8 Northfield.
But then things fell apart. Northfield got back into the game with six runs, helped by two JM errors, three walks and a hit batter in the bottom of the sixth. Northfield completed the rally in the bottom of the seventh, scoring three runs on four hits to rally for a 10-9 win, putting an end to JM's season.
"Tough way to lose a ballgame, but give Northfield a lot of credit for taking back all the momentum and getting the big hits to win the game," said JM coach Thang Nguyen. "We made too many mistakes, and that doesn't win games in the postseason."
Offense wasn't a problem for JM. Megan Karp hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning, and Abby Gee followed with a solo shot to cap the six-run inning.
Karp, Lexy Anderson and Nicole Stokes all had two hits for JM in the play-in game.
Northfield made the most of the opportunity it earned with the win. Later in the day, the Raiders stunned top-seeded Mayo 2-1.
SECTION 1AAA
Northfield 10, John Marshall 9
John Marshall#003#006#0#—#9#10#3
Northfield#000#016#3#—#10#12#1
No. 9 John Marshall: Nicole Stokes 2-for-3; Emily Bowron 1-for-3; Abby Gee 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R; Lexy Andersen 2-for-3, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 1 R; Megan Karp 2-for-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R; Addie Black 1-for-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI. Pitchers: Taryn Adams 0 IP, 2 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB; Mel Boisen 6 1/3 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
No. 8 Northfield: Katherine Arneson 3-for-5, 3 RBI, 1 R; Nell Gehrke 2-for-5; Sierra Barck 1-for-1, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB. Pitchers: Sierra Barck (WP) 7 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K.
