Winona Sweeps Rockets
The John Marshall softball team closed out the regular season on Thursday with a doubleheader against Winona, which came in ranked No. 5 in the state in Class AAA.
That ranking is likely to improve, as the Winhawks swept the twinbill in convincing fashion.
In the first game, Winona's Annika Anderson tossed a five-inning no-hitter. She faced the minimum 15 batters, striking out 10 and yielding just one walk. At the plate, Anderson was 3-for-4 with a whopping six RBIs.
"It was one of those games where things just snowballed and we were never in the game," said JM head coach Thang Nguyen.
In the nightcap, the Rockets had far more luck against Anderson. JM scored four runs off of her in the first inning to grab a 4-1 lead, then made it 5-1 in the third.
But it all fell apart in the fifth inning, as the Winhawks pushed six runs across and eventually claimed an 8-5 win. Once again, it was Anderson who delivered the big hit, a bases-loaded triple.
"Now our focus shifts to the postseason, and we will look to have a few good practices and get ourselves fresh for section play next week," Nguyen said.
JM finishes the regular season with a record of 13-6, 7-4 Big 9, and will likely host a Section 1AAAA first round playoff game on Tuesday.
Winona finishes the season with a record of 14-5. The Winhawks are the defending AAA state champions and are a likely No. 1 seed in the Section 1AAA playoffs, which begin next week.
Winona 11, John Marshall 0
(First game)
Winona#330#23#—#11#15#0
John Marshall#000#00#—#0#0#2
Winona: Annika Anderson 3-for-4, 2B, 6 RBI; Selena Lor 3-for-4, 3 R. Pitchers: Annika Anderson 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K.
John Marshall: Pitchers: Abby Miles 5 IP, 15 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
Winona 8, John Marshall 5
(Second game)
Winona#100#061#0#—#8#12#5
John Marshall#401#000#0#—#5#5#4
Winona: Lauryn Hamernik 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Annika Anderson 3-for-4, 3B, 3 RBI; Selena Lor 1-for-4, 3 R. Pitchers: Annika Anderson 7 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K.
John Marshall: Gina Pula 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, R; Sammy Guetter 1-for-1, 2B; Olivia Evans 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, 1 R; Kaitlyn Ward 1-for-4, RBI, R. Pitchers: Emma Bartholomew 7 IP, 12 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.
