Thoele proceeded to strike out the side and didn’t allow a run after that in three innings of work, giving the Wolverines a chance to rally back against the Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Firebirds. After putting the ball in play and capitalizing on a few errors in the seventh, the Wolverines completed a comeback from six runs down to win 8-7 Friday in a nonconference softball game.

Thoele struck out six and allowed no hits and three walks, all coming in the sixth, which she escaped with a groundout.

While GFW defeated Sibley East 6-5 on May 1 in Gaylord thanks in part to errors, the shoe was on the other foot this time around. After getting three runs in the fifth to trail 7-4, only one of those runs earned due to an error, the Wolverines started the top of the seventh by seeing birthday girl Abby Weber get two free bases after a throwing error. Two more errors allowed Thoele and Autumn Gaffney to reach and Weber to score. A base hit by Kamryn Dose into center loaded the bases for Hadley Willmsen, who singled to left to bring in another run and make it 7-6.

After a wild pitch scored Autumn Gaffney later on, an Avery Bauer single scored the go-ahead run.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop first baseman Anna Davis catches a throw for an out during a nonconference softball game against Sibley East on Friday in Winthrop.

“We struggled with it earlier in the season, putting the ball in play, and that’s kind of been a focus for this exact reason, to make them make a play,” Nienaber said. “It’s happened to us far too many times, so that’s been a real focus that I’ve definitely seen improve in the second half of the season, just getting the ball in play.”

Bauer finished the game 1 for 3 with that go-ahead hit and she also took a walk.

“She’s an eighth-grader who didn’t the start the season and a few weeks in got moved up,” Nienaber said of Bauer. “It’s fun to see all the players have success, but when the young ones start to have success and you see how much they enjoy it, you see how bright the future can be.”

Willmsen, another eighth-grader, went 2 for 4 with a triple and her RBI in the seventh. Sibley East’s lone senior Autumn Gaffney was also 2 for 4 at the plate, while Dose was 2 for 4 and Paige Gaffney was 1 for 3 with an RBI double.

The Firebirds took some more pitches and battled off some in the bottom of the seventh, but two popouts and a strikeout ended the game.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Sibley East senior Autumn Gaffney begins to run home during Friday’s nonconference game against Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop in Winthrop.

Thoele took over for Dose, who pitched the first four innings. Dose allowed five earned runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out three.

GFW was led at the plate by Ella Nachreiner, who was 3 for 3 with a pair of RBI doubles and a walk, while Megan Hacker was 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI and a walk.

Ellison Fitzpatrick took the loss in the circle, allowing seven runs, two earned, on nine hits and one walk. She struck out four.

GFW had a quick 2-0 lead in the first after Hacker’s one-out double was followed by a single from Megan Hamre. A base runner interference was called on Hamre for an out, but that allowed Addison Donnay to reach first and Hacker to score for a 1-0 lead. Ella Nachreiner’s RBI double to left made it 2-0.

The Wolverines got a run back in the second after Willmsen’s leadoff triple was followed with an RBI groundout by Alexis Dietrich.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop’s Kenadee Fizpatrick watches a hit of hers during a nonconference softball game against Sibley East on Friday in Winthrop.

The Firebirds tied it in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single from Micahl Nachreiner that scored Madalyn Hartmann, who reached on an error, stole second and took third on a throwing error.

An RBI double from Ella Nachreiner and an RBI single from Ellie Weber made it 5-1 GFW in the third. In the fourth, Kenadee Fitzpatrick reached on a leadoff, infield single and later scored on an RBI single from Hacker. A fielder’s choice and an error allowed Hacker to score moments later for a 7-1 GFW lead.

The Wolverines started their comeback in the fifth, getting three runs on an RBI double from Paige Gaffney, a wild pitch that scored Weber and a RBI groundout from Thoele.

Nienaber said switching from Dose to Thoele during a game like Friday was the first time he did that this season. He said he’s wanted to pitch both players in a game for a while and with both players having sore arms the past couple of days, Friday was a good time to try it out.

Nienaber also said Thoele coming in and striking out the side took pressure off the Wolverines’ defense and gave them some time to rebound.

“She threw a real good game against GFW … that was a week ago today, and our defense kind of let us down on a few occasions,” Nienaber said. “So I’m guessing when they saw her come in [today], they probably weren’t real excited.”

Sibley East moved to 3-10 with the win and travels to St. Clair to take on St. Clair/Mankato Loyola on Tuesday in nonconference action.

GFW fell to 4-12 with the loss and hosts a softball jamboree on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. with a game against Mayer Lutheran. The Firebirds will then play at 2 p.m. against Braham.