Rush City Wins Split Double Header, Takes Conference Crown

The Tigers played two games on Wednesday, the first vs Mora and the second vs Ogilvie.

The Tigers had a chance to once again capture the conference crown, but would need to win both games. Having already played two games to start the week, they would need to push through some fatigue.

The Tigers got off to a fast start in the game against Mora, scoring 4 runs in the first two innings. Their defense was also outstanding, allowing no runs and only 1 hits through 5 innings of play. Starting pitcher Kendal Pillar was seemingly having her way in the circle. But as mentioned their offense started hot, but was quickly cooled by the Mora defense. The Mustangs defense as well as their pitcher Aubrey Athey deserve a lot of credit. They didn't hang their heads after being down 4-0 after two innings. Instead they came back and tried to attack. And although the first 5 innings weren't going so well offensively, they stuck to it and eventually broke through. In the 6th inning, their leadoff batter would reach on a error, but they didn't care how they got a baserunner. At that point of the game they only had three batters reach base, two via walk and hit by pitch and one via a hit. She was able to steal 2nd and now had a runner in scoring position with nobody out. But Pillar came back to strikeout the next two batters. Mora was not finished though, and Rhiannon Ashworth came through with a RBI triple to get her team on the board and also in position to cut the lead in half. Unfortunately for them, the next batter struck out, but they now had a renewed sense of confidence going into the final inning. The defense did its job, only allowing one hit and quickly getting the three outs needed. Could their offense carry momentum from the last inning or would the Tiger defense close it out? Well it was Pillar and company that would seal the deal and come away with a 4-1 win.

Pitching

Mora:

Aubrey Athey 7 innings, 8 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 4K's

Rush City:

Kendal Pillar 7 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 18K's

The next game the Tigers played Ogilvie. Ogilvie came in having lost to Mille Lacs 11-1 just a short time ago.

Much like the first game the Tigers defense played well and their offense was able to score in the 1st inning to take a 1-0 lead. But sadly, their offense was quiet for some time. This allowed Ogilvie to start to find some momentum. In the 4th, the Lions would get a small 2 out rally going starting with a Lydia MacieJ triple. With Ali Beck at the plate, they were destined to tie. The Lions would tie the game at 1 but not with a hit, a rare mistake by the Tigers defense allowed MacieJ to force an error and she glided across home plate. Beck would reach on a base hit but was thrown out trying to steal 2nd. But now the Lions had new life and a chance to carry momentum into the next inning. They weren't able to muster a hit and it was back to defense. The 5th inning seemed like the Tigers had something to prove. They scored 7 runs on 6 hits while also forcing an error, they collected three RBI doubles as part of the explosive inning taking a now 8-1 leading into the 6th. Their defense once again held the Lions off the board. Their offense looked to copy and paste the 5th in the 6th. They lead off with a double and after the next batter struck out, Addisyn Antonson helped add onto the lead with an RBI groundout to extend their lead 9-1 ending the 6th.

The Lions refused to go away quietly, with one out in the 7th, they were able to score two runs on passed balls and looked like they could start a comeback. After a strikeout those hopes were dampened but not completely. A hit by pitch put runners on the corners and a chance to cut the lead down to 5. But the Tiger pitcher Natalie Rood was able to strikeout the final batter to preserve the victory 9-3.

While Braham did beat Hinckley-Finlayson, Rush City are the Great River Conference Champions due to one more conference win than Braham.

Pitching

Rush City:

Kendal Pillar 5 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 8 K's

Natalie Rood 2 innings, 1 hit, 2 runs, 2 walks, 6 K's

Ogilvie:

Josie Bitz 6 innings, 8 hits, 9 runs, 6 walks, 5 K's