MANKATO, Minn. – After earning a share of the regular season Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) last week, the Yellowjacket softball team hit the road Thursday to compete in the postseason conference tournament.
 
Despite being named co-champions last week with Bethany Lutheran the head-to-head tiebreaker fell in favor of the Vikings, as they earned the right to host the conference tournament in 2025.
 
The 'Jackets picked up the No. 2 seed and faced off against the third-seeded Eagles from Northwestern in the opening game of the tournament. UNW struck first after capitalizing on a pair of Yellowjacket errors in the third, but Superior responded with a two-spot in the bottom half. Both squads exchanged runs in the following frame as the 'Jackets held a 3-2 advantage after the fourth.
 
UNW hit a solo home run to center field to level the scoring, ultimately forcing extra innings. A leadoff double off the bat of Baylee O'Donnell (Mendota Hights, Minn./Richfield) gave Superior a spark in the bottom half of the eighth inning. After Camille Wikstrom (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown) came into pinch run for O'Donnell, MyKenzie Leccia (Somerset, Wis./Somerset) moved her over with a flyout to right field. An Eagles miscue costed Northwestern late in the game, as the Yellowjackets emerged victorious with a 4-3 win in eight innings.
 
Game Notes

• The game began with an early pitching duel, as Yellowjacket starter Abby Mitchell (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) and Northwestern's Ireland Strubbe each put up
• In the top of the second inning the Eagles got a pair of runners on base, followed by a successful sacrifice bunt to have runners on second and third. This wouldn't phase Mitchell, however, as she pitched a pair of back-to-back groundballs to escape the inning.
• During the top of the third inning, UNW collected a two-out infield single, which was followed by a pair of Yellowjacket errors that scored the first run of the ballgame.
• Superior responded with a two-out rally of their own, as Zoe Thomson (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) logged an RBI double to right center to plate Lily Hanson (Cloquet, Minn./Esko), who singled through the left side with two outs.
• Later Ellie Macal (Winona, Minn./Cotter) singled to right center to plate Thomson, giving UW-Superior a 2-1 lead
• A sacrifice fly evened the scoring in the top of the fourth at 2-2.
• Leccia began the bottom of the fourth by reaching on an Eagles error. She advanced into scoring position and was moved over to third after a single off the bat of Garley. Peyton Bennett (Harrisburg, S.D./Harrisburg) later reached on a fielder's choice that drove in Leccia, giving Superior a 3-2 lead.
• The top of the sixth inning featured a two-out solo shot to center field, evening the score at 3-3.
• Both teams were unable to score after the seventh inning came around, resulting in free softball at Thomas Field.
• O'Donnell's double to right field sparked the 'Jackets in extra frames, and after being relieved by Wikstrom on the basepaths, would come around to score after an Eagles error at third base pushed across the winning run.
• O'Donnell went 2-3 on the day, leading the Yellowjackets in the hits category.
• Garley picked up the win in the circle after relieving Abby Mitchell (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton). Her record moves to 14-6 on the year after allowing just one run to come across in four innings.

 
The Yellowjackets will face off against the winner of top-seeded Bethany Lutheran and No. 4 Minnesota Morris tomorrow morning, with a first pitch set for 11 a.m. at Thomas Field in Mankato.
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