File photo by Ari Selvey Nicollet’s Brielle Osborne delivers a pitch during a Section 2A Softball Tournament game Tuesday against Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s at Nicollet High School.

PREP SOFTBALL

NICOLLET 1, USC 0 (8 INNINGS)

Seventh-seeded Nicollet upset second-seeded and fourth-ranked United South Central 1-0 in a Section 2A Softball Tournament game on Thursday.

“I just kept telling the girls, ‘Give me one run here and we can do this,'” Nicollet head coach Marc Bode said. “Some good solid at-bats, put it in play and see what happens. Finally we got a good barrel on one and got it over the right fielder’s head.”

Brielle Osborne earned the shutout win for the Raiders, striking out eight and allowing two hits and seven walks in eight innings.

“Brielle pitched her butt off,” Bode said. “She pitched really well. She located well, she worked ahead in the count and just stayed aggressive all day. She pitched her best game of the year without a doubt at the right time.”

Nicollet had just two hits of their own from Taylor Wilking and Lydia Martens, but Wilkings’ triple in the eighth set her up to take home on a passed ball for the lone score of the game.

“It’s a young team,” Bode said. “I kept telling them, ‘The longer you stay in this game, the more pressure it puts on them. You guys can relax and just play ball.’ They just set off that one, and one inning after another after another after another the energy stayed up and we got more confident. We kept hitting her [USC pitcher Mariah Anderson], we just kept hitting it to people. They just had confidence that they could do it.”

Nicollet (15-8) plays third-seeded New Ulm Cathedral Saturday at 10 a.m. at Caswell Park in North Mankato in the section quarterfinals.

JORDAN 17, NEW ULM 4

NORTH MANKATO — Fourth-seeded New Ulm fell 17-4 to fifth-seeded Jordan in the first round of the Section 2AAA Softball Tournament Thursday at Caswell Park.

Megan Brudelie took the loss for New Ulm, striking out eight and allowing five runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings. At the plate, Lilly Poehler had a hit and two runs scored, while Brudelie and Maddi Olson each had a hit.

New Ulm plays third-seeded Mankato West at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Caswell Park.

CLEVELAND 12, SLEEPY EYE 2 (5 INNINGS)

CLEVELAND — Fourth-seeded Cleveland defeated fifth-seeded Sleepy Eye 12-2 in five innings in a Section 2A Softball Tournament game on Thursday.

Taylor Berkner took the loss for Sleepy Eye, allowing 10 earned runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts. At the plate, Berkner had a hit and an RBI, while Mia Walter had her first career home run.

Sleepy Eye (15-7) plays eighth-seeded Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton at 10 a.m. Saturday at Caswell Park.

PREP BASEBALL

MADELIA 16, NICOLLET 0 (5 INNINGS)

MADELIA — Top-seeded Madelia downed 16th-seeded Nicollet 16-0 in five innings in the opening round of the Section 2A Baseball Tournament on Thursday.

Tony Zalesky and Dalton Tatro had a split no-hitter in the game. Zalesky earned the win in two innings, striking out five, while Tatro pitched three innings with two strikeouts. At the plate, Zaleski was 3 for 4 with an RBI and three runs scored, while Miah Garza had two hits and three RBIs. Brayden Grev had a hit and two RBIs, and Tate Becker had three RBIs.

Jacob Volby took the loss for Nicollet, striking out one and allowing six earned runs on five hits in two innings. Volby was also the lone baserunner for the Raiders after drawing a walk.

Madelia (22-2) advances to host eighth-seeded Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey on Tuesday, while Nicollet finishes its season with a 1-18 record.

SPRINGFIELD 12, HLO/F 0 (5 INNINGS)

SPRINGFIELD — Second-seeded Springfield rolled 15th-seeded Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 12-0 in five innings in the opening round of the Section 2A Baseball Tournament on Thursday.

Madden Lendt earned the win for Springfield, striking out seven in three innings. He and Eli Heglund combined for a split no-hitter, with Henglund striking out three in two innings. At the plate for the Tigers, Aiden Moriarty was 3 for 4 with a home run, two doubles, four RBIs and two runs scored, while Nick Mueller was 2 for 2 with two RBIs. Adiel Trevino added two hits.

Springfield (18-4) hosts the winner of seventh-seeded Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s and 10th-seeded BOLD on Tuesday. The winner was not available at the time of printing.

WASECA 3, MVL 1

WASECA — Eighth-seeded Waseca topped ninth-seeded Minnesota Valley Lutheran 3-1 in the opening round of the Section 2A Baseball Tournament on Thursday.

Kurt Trahms took the loss for MVL, striking out three and allowing two earned runs on three hits in six innings. MVL had no hits at the plate, but Connor Bode had the lone run scored.

MVL finishes its season with an 8-13 record.

ALBERT LEA 4, NEW ULM 1

ALBERT LEA — Albert Lea defeated New Ulm 4-1 in a nonconference baseball game on Thursday.

Colin Fostner took the loss for New Ulm, striking out two and allowing two unearned runs on one hit in 1 1/3 innings. At the plate, Zach Hubbard, Mitchell Hopp and Kyle Albrecht each had a hit, with Hopp adding a run scored.

New Ulm (12-8) awaits playoff seeding for its next game.

CLEVELAND 12, GFW 3

CLEVELAND — Sixth-seeded Cleveland defeated 11th-seeded Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 12-3 in the opening round of the Section 2A Baseball Tournament on Thursday.

Kaden Rieke took the loss for GFW, striking out one and allowing six runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innings. At the plate, Rieke had two hits and two runs scored, while Luke Bastian had a double and an RBI. Koufax Rose added two RBIs.

GFW ends its season with a 7-13 record.

PREP GOLF

NEW ULM BOYS ADVANCES TO SECOND DAY OF SECTIONS

OAKDALE — New Ulm placed third in the first day of the Section 3AA Boys Golf Tournament on Thursday.

Marshall won the meet with a 298, followed by New London-Spicer (308), New Ulm (309), Minnewaska Area (325), and Paynesville Area (333). Minnesota Valley Lutheran placed 16th (382).

Individually, Mason Buegler led the Eagles with a 73, tying for third. Colton Anderson shot a 76 placing sixth, Brant Munson shot a 78, Brayden Wendinger shot an 82 and Ethan Schmidt shot an 86.

MVL was led by Philip Lukasek with an 84 to also advance to the second day, while Owen Birkholz shot a 90.

WEDNESDAY

PREP GOLF

BROWN LEADS FIRST DAY OF 3A TOURNEY

WORTHINGTON — Red Rock Central’s Jorga Brown led the girls in the first day of the Section 3A Golf Tournament on Wednesday, shooting an 84 to advance to the second day of the tourney.

On the girls side, Murray County Central (388), Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (402), Minneota (430) and Lakeview (435) advanced as a team, as did the next eight individuals, with the cutoff being 106 strokes. Also from RRC, Josie Timm shot a 117, while Abby Evans shot a 132. Paige Wondercheck shot at 133, while Celia Vogel shot a 168. For Wabasso, Heidi Foy shot a 110, while Carlee Jenniges shot a 114. Josie Wiese and Madelyn Fogelson each shot a 126, Alexis Jensen shot a 127 and Brooklynn Beadell shot a 128.

On the boys side, RRC’s Finn Batalden tied for second with a 78, while Wabasso’s Brayden Guetter shot a 91, with both advancing to the second day of the tournament. Minneota (340), Lakeview (341), Canby (352), Hills-Beaver Creek (363) and Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian (363) all qualified as a team on the boys side, along with the next 10 individuals, with the cutoff being 93 strokes. For RRC, Max Erickson shot a 104, while Aiden Prechell shot a 108. Brekken Determan shot a 109, Jackson Radmaker shot a 114 and Henry Stavens shot a 123. For the Wabasso boys, Paxten Guetter shot a 106, Chase Lensing shot a 115, Avery Eis shot a 122 and Bradyn Weidemann shot a 130.

The second day of the tournament begins on Wednesday, May 27 at Worthington Golf Club.

LATE TUESDAY

PREP BASEBALL

NICOLLET 10, ALDEN-CONGER 4

ALDEN — Nicollet picked up its first win in nearly five years with a 10-4 victory over Alden-Conger in a Valley Division baseball game on Tuesday.

Kade Forbrook earned the win for the Raiders, striking out six while allowing two earned runs on three hits and three walks in four innings. Landyn Erickson pitched two innings, allowing no hits with four strikeouts and two walks. At the plate, AJ Kramer was 3 for 5 with three RBIs, six steals and one runs scored, while Jordan Laven was 2 for 3 with an RBI and three runs scored. Avery McKiney had a hit and two runs scored.

WABASSO 9, CMC 3

PRINSBURG — Wabasso defeated Central Minnesota Christian 9-3 in a nonconference baseball game on Tuesday.

Jack Burns was the winning pitcher, striking out three and allowing three unearned runs on two hits and one walk in 5 2/3 innings. At the plate for Wabasso, Zach Skoblik had three hits with a double and four RBIs, while Jayden Remiger had tow hits with a double, an RBI and two runs scored.

Sixth-seeded Wabasso (8-11) plays third-seeded Russell-Tyler-Ruthton in the Section 3A, South Subsection Baseball Tournament Saturday in Adrian at 1 p.m. The winner will play again at 3:30 p.m.