Despite a valiant effort, the Buccaneer softball team suffered a loss last Tuesday at the hands of the New Ulm Eagles 5-0.

“It is the same story,” Coach Bob Hanson says. “We couldn’t get any key hits when we had people on base.”

In fact, the Bucs struck out eight times with runners in scoring position. The worst case was in the sixth inning when BEA had the bases loaded with no outs. The Bucs’ batters had three strikeouts in a row to end the inning.

Maddie McDonald pitched the whole game, giving up 10 hits, four walks, but striking out six.

“New Ulm got two runs in the first and three in the second, but Maddie was able to shut them down after that,” Hanson says.

BEA had just three hits, all in the sixth when they loaded the bases.

“New Ulm has a 6-0 record and they showed why,” Hanson says.

Bucs take third at

Maple River

The Blue Earth Area Buccaneers softball team took third place in the Maple River Tournament on Saturday, April 18.

The Bucs won two games, and lost one.

Their first outing was against New Life Academy, the defending State Class A champs. BEA prevailed in a pitchers’ duel, 1-0.

“Our outfielders did an outstanding job of running down their long hits,” Coach Bob Hanson says. “In the sixth inning Cali Rauenhorst made a diving catch down the line that was the play of the day.”

Maddie McDonald went the distance for the Bucs, striking out six, walking two.

Leading hitters were Alicia Rorman, Ashley Campbell and Kirsten Johanson, all of whom were 1 for 2. Johanson’s hit was an RBI double.

The game ended in dramatic fashion when New Life had runners at second and third with one out. They tried a bunt, but Campbell threw out the runner at first, and Shelby Pearson fired the ball home for an out at the plate, completing the game ending double play.

The Bucs next ran into a buzzsaw in the form of Stillwater, a Class 3A school.

“They were the tournament champions and were the class of the teams there,” Hanson says. “Every member of the team can hit very well.”

The Bucs fell 12-0.

McDonald took the loss, with five strikeouts and gave up 15 hits.

Ashley Campbell and Bridget Moore were both 1 for 2 to lead BEA.

Next up, the Bucs faced Lester Prairie-Holy Trinity for third place.

Despite LP-HT’s 6-0 season record, the Bucs prevailed in high fashion, winning 10-3.

The Bucs bats came alive with 10 hits. Moore was 3 for 3 and Johanson was 2 for 4 with three RBIs.

Megan Wirtjes was the pitcher for BEA, striking out six, allowing 10 hits and giving up no walks.

The win gave the Bucs the third place finish.

BEA 23, Fairmont 1

The BEA softball bats came alive on Thursday night in Fairmont, as the Bucs downed the Cards 23-1.

Leading the hitting was Alicia Rorman who was 5 for 5 including three doubles. She scored three runs and had three RBIs.

Mary Johnson was 2 for 4 with a big 3-run homer. She had five RBIs.

Bridget Moore was 3 for 5 and Cali Rauenhorst was 3 for 3. Moore scored three runs and had three RBIs, while Rauenhorst scored four runs.

Megan Wirtjes pitched the distance for the Bucs. The eighth grader had nine strikeouts and did not walk a batter. She allowed seven hits.

BEA had 15 hits and only one error. Fairmont scored one run on seven hits, but committed 14 errors.

“We hit much better in this game,” Buc Coach Bob Hanson said. “Everyone was hitting well. That plus Fairmont’s errors helped us score a lot of runs.”

The win puts the Buccaneer’s season record at 4-5.

The team has another busy week coming up. They play at Jackson on Monday in a game that had been postponed earlier due to weather.

On Tuesday they host Waseca and Friday they travel to St. James for two important South Central Conference games.