Saturday at Caswell Park in the elimination bracket of the Section 2AAA Softball Tournament was no different. And while the fourth-seeded Eagles managed to complete one thrilling comeback earlier in the day, they were unable to finish a second as their season came to a close.

After opening Saturday by rallying to knock off the third-seeded Mankato West Scarlets 4-3, the Eagles fell behind late to the fifth-seeded Jordan Jaguars and came up just short of another comeback with a 5-4 loss.

The Eagles finished their season with a 14-8 record, which was somewhat unexpected due to graduating a host of talented players and starters from last season. And after losing senior Lauren Schmiesing, one of the best all-around players on the team, to injury before the playoffs started, the Eagles had another hill to climb in the postseason.

A two-run double by Lily Poehler in the seventh helped the Eagles come back to take down West earlier Saturday, and while they fell short to Jordan to end the season, it was a far cry from what the Eagles experienced in the first game of the playoffs against Jordan, a 17-4 loss this past Thursday.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm catcher Gracie Baker, middle, is greeted by teammates after finishing an inning during a Section 2AAA Softball Tournament elimination bracket game against Jordan on Saturday at Caswell Park in North Mankato.

“This team really came in kind of under the impossible circumstances where they’re replacing some irreplaceable kids from last year’s team,” Eagles head coach Kristi Andersen Loose said. “Seven starters that they have to figure out and seniors coming in without a heck of a lot of playing time. Then our key senior [Lauren] goes down right at section tournament time. Really, they had their back against the wall all season as far as on paper the successes shouldn’t have been what they made them to be.

“I don’t know that magic concoction, but it’s just really special. They played for each other, they played for the right reasons, they came up big when they needed to and they were scrappy and chippy and never really gave up in any game that they played all year. I’m just so proud of them and really am honored to have been part of of such a special season. It could have been so different, but they simply didn’t let it be different.”

In the first game of the day, senior Miley Flor got the start in the circle for the the Eagles and was unfortunately greeted with a leadoff homer from Lilly Considine. West made it 3-0 in the second, sending Andersen Loose to the circle to bring a pitching change with Megan Brudelie taking over. Brudelie walked 11 in the game but she kept West out of the hits column after that for six innings and struck out eight during that time.

The Eagles got two runs in the sixth on an error and a sac fly off the bat of Maddie Olson. In the top of the seventh, Poehler came through with a two-run double to left to score Zoe Uhde and Addelly Cariveau and put the Eagles in front. Uhde reached on an error, while Cariveau reached on a bunt single.

Brudelie walked two in the seventh after striking out the first batter she saw in the inning, but she finished the game by forcing back-to-back groundouts to give the Eagles a rematch with Jordan.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm pitcher Megan Brudelie pitches during a Section 2AAA Softball Tournament elimination bracket game against Mankato West on Saturday at Caswell Park in North Mankato.

Gracie Baker led the Eagles in the win over West by going 3 for 4 with a double and a run scored.

Taylor Fitzloff and Olivia Grack each were 1 for 2 with two walks apiece in the game to lead West. Grack pitched all seven innings and took the loss, allowing eight hits and one walk for four unearned runs while striking out five.

After that thrilling win over the Scarlets, the Eagles moved on to battle the Jaguars, who opened the softball season with a 17-2 win over New Ulm and then defeated the Eagles again by a similar score of 17-4 in the first round of playoffs.

Brudelie got the start in the second game and rolled through most of the game, allowing just one infield single during the first six innings. The Jaguars got to her in the seventh with two outs in the inning, however, as they scored four runs to come back and lead 5-3.

Kacie Schroeder led off the inning with a double, but Brudelie got back-to-back outs on a lineout and a flyout to have the Eagles an out away from the next round of the elimination bracket. With two strikes and two outs in the seventh, four consecutive pitches were taken by Brooke Wacker to give her a walk and keep the Jaguars alive.

That was when the Jaguars’ bats came to life. A single by Izzy Haugen was followed by a two-run double by Bentley Marcyes, which was then followed by another two-run double off the bat of Paige Clark to lead 5-3.

Marcyes ended up leading the Jordan bats, going 2 for 4 with her two-run double leading the way. Wacker got the start for Jordan in the circle and went 2 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and four walks for three earned runs while striking out one. Schroeder got the win in 4 2/3 innings of relief, allowing four hits and three walks for one earned run while striking out two.

New Ulm got a run back in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single to left by Natalie Fischer with one out. Heartbreak followed when Flor appeared to have a sac fly to left to tie it, but the runner from third was deemed to have left early on the tag. That allowed the Jaguars to throw to the third for a belated double play that ended the game.

The Eagles first took a 2-0 lead in the first. A sac bunt by Olson first scored Baker, who led off with a single. A walk to Fischer followed and after Flor was hit by a pitch, a passed ball allowed Brudelie to scamper home from third to give New Ulm a 2-0 lead. Brudelie reached earlier on a walk, took second with eyes glued to Baker at third and went to third on Olson’s sac bunt.

In the third, the Eagles made it 3-0 on an RBI single to center by Flor to score Olson, who led off with a single.

Uhde led the Eagles at the plate against Jordan by going 2 for 3, while Baker finished the game 2 for 4. Brudelie walked three times and scored twice, while Poehler walked twice.

Brudelie went the complete game against the Jaguars, allowing five hits and five walks for four earned runs while striking out seven.

Andersen Loose said Brudelie has shown constant, consistent improvement and grit this season and she was happy to see how she worked paired with Flor.

“She trusted herself and gave herself to the team and gave herself to the coaches and it’s exciting to see what’s to come,” Andersen Loose said. “Her and Miley, they were a really fun balance and played off each other so well. It was a fun combination of pitchers to use back and forth.”

While things didn’t go the way Brudelie or the Eagles hoped for in the seventh, Andersen Loose couldn’t have been happier with what she got out of Brudelie on Saturday.

“I told her she really clutched up today and just had an incredible performance,” Andersen Loose said. “She actually took the day off practice [Friday] because she’s got some muscle fatigue as well we’ll call it, but she just decided to take that day off because we needed her to come in ready to roll today. I don’t think she’s 100% but she did it and she acted like it.”