MANKATO, Minn. – Day two of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) softball tournament commenced Friday, and the first game of the day featured the Yellowjackets and Bethany Lutheran duke it out in postseason action.
 
Superior's offense got going early in the game, scoring two runs in their first appearance at the plate. The host Vikings countered with a pair of runs in their half of the third and later capitalized on a Yellowjacket error to plate the eventual winning run to win 3-2.
 
Game One Notes

• The Yellowjackets wasted no time scoring first, beginning with a leadoff walk from Peyton Bennett (Harrisburg, S.D./Harrisburg). After stealing second, Lily Hanson (Cloquet, Minn./Esko) drove her in with an RBI single.
• Later in the inning Baylee O'Donnell (Mendota Heights, Minn./Richfield) roped a double to left center plating Hanson, giving UWS a 2-0 lead.
• BLC responded in their half of the third inning, beginning with a one-out walk. A sacrifice bunt ultimately moved the runner into scoring position and another walk led to a two-RBI double down the left field line to tie the game at 2-2.
• The Vikings plated a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. After Bethany Lutheran loaded the bases with one out, the Yellowjackets gunned down the runner at home but an errant throw to first base resulted in the third run of the game for BLC.
• Superior looked to counter in the top of the sixth after a leadoff walk but grounded into an early double play. Ellie Macal (Winona, Minn./Cotter) sent a ball down the left field line for a two-out double and O'Donnell singled to right field, putting runners on the corners with two outs.
• MyKenzie Leccia (Somerset, Wis./Somerset) sent a hot shot to third base, but quick reactions from the third baseman saw her come up with the grab and thwarted the 'Jackets' attempt at leveling the score.
• In their final inning at the plate, the Yellowjackets garnered a leadoff double to left center off the bat of Carly Stuckmayer (Delano, Minn./Delano). She would be stranded, however, as a pair of lineouts and a strikeout would end the game, giving Bethany Lutheran the 3-2 victory.
• O'Donnell led the Yellowjacket offense once again, going 2-3 with an RBI. Hanson was credited with the other RBI in the contest.
• Bella Garley (Albuquerque, N.M./Porter (Tex.)) pitched the final two innings and was tabbed with the loss in the circle after relieving Yellowjacket starter Abby Mitchell (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton). Garley's record moves to 14-7.

 
The Cougars of Minnesota Morris and the Eagles of Northwestern faced off in the loser's bracket, which saw Northwestern come out with an 8-1 win, setting up a game with the Yellowjackets in a win-or-go-home contest.
 
Game Two Notes

• The Eagles collected a run after two hits and a Yellowjacket error in the opening inning, all coming with two outs, to grab an early 1-0 lead.
• Northwestern took advantage of Yellowjacket miscues in the second inning, scoring two runs off a hit and two Superior errors.
• In the bottom of the second, back-to-back singles off the bats of Leccia and Stuckmayer led off the inning. After a long at-bat, Garley sent a ball deep into center field for a game-tying three run shot.
• Later in the inning Hanson fought off an inside pitch for an RBI single past the diving first baseman, scoring Karen Balabon (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) who reached via base on balls to lead 4-3.
• UNW countered in the fifth inning, regaining the lead at 5-4 after putting up a total of four hits and two runs.
• In the sixth Northwestern had the bases loaded with nobody out and picked up another run off a groundball to the right side. The next Eagles hitter was plunked to reload the bases, and later a two-RBI single increased their lead to 8-4.
• Stuckmayer began the Yellowjacket sixth with a seed up the middle before Samantha Swartz (Antigo, Wis./Antigo) collected a single of her own. Balabon legged out an infield single to the shortstop to load the bases with nobody out.
• Hanson brought in two with a single up the middle to bring the Yellowjacket deficit down to two at 8-6 before Thomson notched a single of her own to bring in another, ending the sixth down one at 8-7.
• During the last inning the Yellowjackets went down 1-2-3, falling to the Eagles 8-7.
• Garley suffers the loss in game two of the day, dropping her record to 14-8.
• Hanson went 3-4 with three RBIs to pace the offensive output. Garley also collected three RBIs at the plate.

 
The Yellowjackets end the 2025 campaign with an overall record of 31-12.
  Read Full Article