Staff photo by Ari Selvey Nicollet's Chloe Kachelmeier slides for home during a nonconference softball game against Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart on Saturday at Nicollet High School.

NICOLLET — Nicollet came away with a pair of strong wins in a home softball invitational on Saturday, defeating Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 7-3 and Central Public 12-4.

“It’s a cold, wet day, and they showed up and played really good defense, which has been a little bit of a downfall to us,” Nicollet head coach Marc Bode said. “Everybody showed up and made some really spectacular plays in my opinion. I’m really proud of them for coming in and battling when the elements are not very fun.”

With the wins, Nicollet improves to 4-1 on the season and will play at Madelia on Tuesday.

Brielle Osborne earned the win for Nicollet against BLHS, striking out three while allowing three runs on three hits in a complete game. At the plate, Taylor Wilking was 2 for 3 with a triple and two runs scored, while Chloe Kachelmeier was 1 for 4 with two RBIs. Breah Hendrickson and Jazmyn Goettlicher each added a hit and an RBI.

The Raiders staged a comeback in Game 1, with BLHS’s Sadie Kirtz knocking a two-run homer in the first inning to open the scoring. The Mustangs added another run in the second to make it a 3-0 game.

But Nicollet came out strong in the bottom of the second, with Wilking opening the frame with a triple then coming home on an error put into play by Aubrey Hulke. A double by Kachelmeier brought home Lydia Martens and Osborne, and the Raiders took the lead on a ball put into play by Zoie Rengstorf to score Kamryn Truebenbach.

“Our energy definitely went up,” Kachelmeier said. “We persevered, the bats started to hit, our fielding got much better in the game.”

Nicollet picked up the scoring again in the fifth, with Goettlicher doubling to drive home Rengstorf. A sacrifice bunt by Martens plated Goettlicher for a 6-3 lead, then Hendrickson singled to score Wilking for a 7-3 advantage. While the Raiders didn’t put any more runs on the scoreboard, the defense stood strong, not allowing a run for the final five innings of the game.

“I think a good portion of it is Brielle’s pitching,” Kachelmeier said. “She really set the game up and she really helped us win. We just really wanted to win.”

Osborne also got the complete-game win in Game 2, striking out two and allowing four runs, one earned, on five hits. At the plate, Goettlicher had a home run, while Rengstorf was 3 for 4 with four RBIs and a run scored. Osboner had two hits and three runs scored, and Hulke had a hit and two RBIs.

Nicollet started things off quickly against Central Public, notching eight runs in the first inning.

“We’re a really young team, so to come out of the gates and hang eight on a double-A school that we don’t really know anything about is big,” Bode said. “We can relax a little bit, but at the same time, we can’t relax, we need to keep going, because eventually they’re going to hit. We stayed on the gas, kept playing really good defense, and I’m really proud of them for that.”

Rengstorf started things off with a single to drive home Kachelmeier, then Goettlicher and Wilking loaded the bases with a walk and a hit by pitch. Hulke singled to bring home two runs, then Martens singled to make it a 4-0 game. Truebenbach made it to first on a bunt and notched an RBI in the process, then Rengstorf collected her second hit of the inning to bring home two more runs. Truebenbach wrapped up the inning by scoring on a wild pitch for an 8-0 lead.

Central got a pair of runs back in the top of the third, and Nicollet responded by adding a run of its own with a triple from Kachelmeier to bring home Osborne for a 9-2 lead. Central made it 9-3 in the fourth, but Goettlicher started off the bottom of the frame with a solo homer over the centerfield fence for a 10-3 advantage. Nicollet added two more runs in the fifth, with Kachelmeier grounding out but scoring a run and Rengsdorf bunting for a single and an RBI, and while Central collected one final run in the top of the sixth, it wasn’t enough as Nicollet held on for the strong win.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey
Nicollet’s Chloe Kachelmeier slides for home during a nonconference softball game against Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart on Saturday at Nicollet High School.