Silver Bay, Two Harbors softball teams lose steam in playoff run

After winning a quarterfinal game against Mesabi East on the day of graduation, Silver Bay lost two of three games at Cohasset in the Section 7A double elimination semifinals Tuesday to finish in third place in the section.

In the first game of the semi-finals, they lost 8-5 to undefeated and two-time defending section champion Cherry.

Following that they defeated South Ridge 20-17 in a contest that was anything but a pitching duel.

In the final game they fell 12-4 to Carlton to finish the season at 17-8.

The Mariners jumped out to a 2-0 lead over Cherry after one inning of play when Brittany Duresky doubled in two runs.

Cherry scored once in the second to cut the lead in half and four times in the fourth to take the lead for good. They added three in the fifth for some insurance, which they would need.

The Mariners scored three times in their final at bat and had the bases loaded when the final out of the game was made.

Duresky was 2-for-4 with four RBIs in the game and Taylor Guzzo scored twice. Marina Carter and Katie Smedstad each added an RBI. Tanner Ersbo, Breann Gruenhagen and Kacey Herring, the 6-7-8 batters for the Tigers, each had two hits and Shaina Novak, the ninth batter, had three RBIs.

The Mariners took a 5-1 lead over South Ridge after the top of the second only to see the Panthers reply with six runs of their own. After the Mariners went ahead 9-7 in the third, the Panthers made it 12-9 and then 16-9 after four.

The Mariners cut it to 17-12 after five and scored eight times via one hit in the sixth to take the lead for good at 20-17.

The Mariners pitchers gave up nine walks and 17 more came from the Panther pitchers.

Carter, Rebecca Dilley and Phoenix Lillis each had two hits for the Mariners. Shay Viola and Carter each scored four times. Carter finished with five RBIs, Smedstad had four and Rebecca Dilley had three.

Every Panther batter had at least one hit. Alyssa Johnson had two with one going out for a homer and Krystal Karppinen, Danielle Jakubek and Kaitlyn Psick each two more hits.

In the finale, the first four Mariners batters reached base and scored for a 4-0 lead after one inning of play but that would be it for the Mariners in the game. The Bulldogs got one back in the second and another in the fourth. They scored three times in the sixth to take the lead and blew it open with seven in the seventh.

Lillis went 3-for- 3 for the Mariners with Carter and Duresky each adding two hits. Brooke Camps, Megan Nelson and Megan Bodin each finished with two hits for the Bulldogs.

Taylor Guzzo was the pitcher of record in all three games. Marina Carter started versus South Ridge and finished up the other two. Shaina Novak went the distance for Cherry, Kourtney Karppinen took the loss for South Ridge in relief and Grace Macor went the distance for Carlton.

Friday, May 25

Silver Bay 5, Mesabi East 1

WP: Taylor Guzzo 7IP, 1ER, 6H, 3K, 0BB. LP: Ashley Moisio 7IP, 4ER, 10H, 2K, 0BB. SB: Katie Smedstad 2x3, 2R, RBI; Brittany Duresky 2x4 (2B), RBI. ME: A. Moisio 3x4 (2B, 3B); Anna Johnson 2x3.

Tuesday, May 29

Cherry 8, Silver Bay 5

WP: Shaina Novak 7IP, 7H, 5R, 0BB, 8K. LP: Taylor Guzzo 5IP, 4H, 8R, 2BB, 3K. C: Tanner Ersbo 2H; Breann Gruenhagen 2H; Kacey Herring 3x3 (2B); SB: Brittany Duresky 2H (2B).

Silver Bay 20, South Ridge 17

WP: Taylor Guzzo 5.1IP, 10R, 13H, 3BB, 1K. LP: Kendra Dallmann 5.1IP, 16R, 7H, 11BB, 2HB, 4K. SB: Marina Carter 2x5 (2B); Rebecca Dilley 2x3. SR: Alyssa Johnson 2x5 (2B, HR); Krystal Karppinen 3x6; Laurel Morris 4x4 (2B); Danielle Jakubek 2x3 (2B); Kaitlynn Psick 2x4; Kourtney Karppinen 2x5 (3B).

Carlton 12, Silver Bay 4

WP: Grace Macor 7IP, 8H, 4R, 4BB, 2K. LP: Taylor Guzzo 7IP, 10H, 4BB, 3K. C: Brooke Camps 3H (2B); Megan Nelson 2H (2B); Megan Bodin 2H. SB: Brittany Duresky 2H.

Agates softball

The Agates’ season came to an end with a loss against Proctor in the 2nd round of playoffs. “I am not sure what happened,” Coach Julie Benson said. “We just didn’t have any offense. Then we added to our frustration with errors in the field. Proctor was ready to play and took advantage of every opportunity given to them.”

The Lady Agates finished the season with an overall record of 17-5. This is the most wins for a season in the program’s history. The team had an average BA of .303 with 26 doubles, 5 triples, and 5 home runs. (2 of them being grand slams by Hailey Clark and Courtney Kimball) Madison Olson pitched 117 innings with 233 strikeouts. Courtney Kimball pitched 23 innings with 40 strikeouts. Offensively, top players included Savannah Juenemann with an BA of .432, 32 H, 22 R, 2 2B, 1 TB, 2 HR, and 28 RBIs; Sasha Fjeran with a BA of .406, 28 H, 30 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 13 RBI, and 13 Stolen Bases; Jenny Grignon with a BA of .356, 26 H, 23 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 22 RBI, and 16 Stolen Bases; and Courtney Kimball with a BA of .342, 25 H, 18 R, 8 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, and 30 RBI.

Friday, May 25

Proctor 9, Two Harbors 0

WP: Steph Torgeson 5K, 0H, 1BB. P (12-10): Melinda Nelson 3H; Reilly Fawcett 3H; Annikka Steel 2H.

Tags: two harbors, silver bay, sports, preps