NORTH MANKATO — Defending Class A state softball champion completed a six-game journey through the Section 2A tournament Thursday by sweeping top-seeded Martin County West 3-1 in eight innings and 7-1 at Caswell Park.
“We struggled a little bit in the first game but then we got our bats going,” Rebels’ coach TJ Schmidtke said. “Alivia Bruegger hit that two-rum bomb in the first game and it carried over to the second game. We ran the bases pretty well and stayed aggressive. Putting up seven runs with Mariah (Anderson) in the circle you won’t lose many games. It was unbelievable to see this team stick together after dropping a 1-0 game to Nicollet.
“They kept battling in the toughest section in the state.”
Anderson, Minnesota’s all-time strikeout leader, and MCW junior right-hander Maddie Carlson dueled through much of the first contest before Bruegger, a sophomore first baseman, belted a two-run shot over the left fence with two outs in the top of the eighth. Anderson, who struck out 12, walked four and hit a batter in winning a four-hitter, fanned two hitters in working a 1-2-3 eighth frame.
“It was a crazy night but we were able to piece things together,” Bruegger said. “Maddie is a great pitcher, but we jumped on her in the second game and hits kept coming. We were able to put it together with unbelievable teamwork. Mariah carried us so far and it was amazing. I was struggling at the beginning of the game but after three at bats there was a runner on base so I just wanted to put in play and see what happens.
“You don’t always have to have a swing-for-the-fences mentality but rather put the ball in play and good things will happen. This team is so supportive of Mariah, but also of everyone else. We piece things together and the seniors are huge leaders and even the underclassmen have stepped it up as well.”
USC (23-4) scored a run in the top of first in Game 1 when Anderson bounced a single through the hole and scored on freshman catcher Grace Walton’s RBI double down the left-field line. The Mavericks (24-3) tied things with a run in the sixth behind freshman shortstop Rowan Faber’s double into the left-center field gap and scored on sophomore center fielder Lilly Schultz’s bouncer through the hole. Faber and Schultz collected two hits apiece for MCW.
In Game 2, the Mavericks struck for a run in the bottom of the first when Faber drew a lead-off walk and eventually scored on an infield error. Walton’s single, a sacrifice bunt by Izzy Bird and freshman center fielder Briella Obermeyer’s bouncer up the middle tied things in the fourth.
Anderson was clean the rest of the way as the Rebels used a pair of three-run innings – fifth and seventh — to break things open. Bruegger banged a two-run single off the center field fence in the fifth and Bird lined an RBI single into left field. Bird continued her solid game by ripping an RBI single in the seventh in front of Olivia Bird’s two-run bullet up the middle.
“It was amazing watching us score all those runs,” Anderson, who fired a two-hitter while fanning 10 and walking two, said. “We used our loss for motivation to come back and win all those games. We really focused and dialed in after losing that first game. We all support each other and we know how to have fun. We played them early in the season and lost, so they’ve been our main competition the past few years.”