It was a cursed match up from the get go and errors got the best of the Blue Earth Area softball team.

The Buccaneers hosted the St. James Saints on Tuesday night. The teams stayed close in score until the last inning when the Bucs eventually fell behind and lost, 9-7.

“We committed four errors in the seventh, which resulted in four more runs on the board for St. James,” the Buc’s coach, Abby Bloomquist, says. “That’s what got us.”

Bloomquist adds that the team has a history with the Saints, which has resulted in games ending similarly to the way they did Tuesday night.

“It’s been haunting us for two seasons, which involves us holding the lead the entire game then losing it in the last inning,”?she explains.

The girls’ defensive play was up to par and evenly matched with their opponents.

“If you compared our offense you would assume that Blue Earth came out the victor,”?she says.

Chelsea Owen went 3 for 4 at the plate. She hit two doubles and had four RBIs.

Whitney Pirsig crossed home plate twice, and was 2 for 4 batting.

Bethany Olson also scored a run for the Bucs, hitting a double and going 1 for 4.

Janessa Jahnke was 1 for 4 at the plate. She hit a double, had one run and had one RBI.

Ashton Hendricksen took her turn at the plate going 1 for 3. She brought one run in and scored a run.

Kylie Ahl was 1 for 4 and had one run and one RBI.

Megan Wirtjes was 0 for 1 but got on base with a walk and scored a run.

Other batters for the Bucs include Audrey McDonald (1-4) and Abby Nimz (1-2).

Nimz was the starter on the mound. She pitched through the first part of the fifth. She faced 20 batters and gave up six hits, five strikeouts and one walk.

Wirtjes came in for the remainder of the game and took the loss. She faced 15 batters and gave up three hits, one strikeout and one walk.

“We played a good game that remained neck in neck until the last inning,” Bloomquist says. “We’re planning to break the curse when we face them again on May 16.”

The BEA?softball team’s loss against St. James puts them at a 1-5 overall record this season and an 0-4 record in the South Central Conference.

The Bucs played on Friday in St. Peter. Results will be printed in the next issue of the Faribault County Register.

St. Peter 7, BEA 2

The Blue Earth Area softball team hosted the St. Peter Saints last Monday for some conference competition.

The Saints took the lead early on in the game which looked as if it might end up in a shut out.

However, the Bucs managed to sneak in two runs in the bottom of the sixth, ending the game with a 7-2 loss.

“Although we didn’t come out on top tonight like we’d hoped, we are seeing definite progress,”?Buc coach Abby Bloomquist says.

According to the coach, the girls played well but had a couple of errors that threw off their game.

“The errors we did have came at crucial times in the game,”?she adds.

Megan Wirtjes was the ace for the Bucs, pitching all seven innings. She gave up 11 hits on 36 batters with two walks.

“She and Janessa Jahnke both have continued to do a great job adjusting to hitters,”?Bloomquist says.

Bethany Olson was one of the Bucs to score a run. She was 0 for 2 at bat but got on base off two walks.

Ashton Hendricksen also scored for BEA and was 2 for 2 hitting.

Also in the batting line for the Bucs was Jahnke (1-3), Whitney Pirsig (1-3), Chelsea Owen (1-3) and Kylie Ahl (1-4).

“We’re getting good at bats,”?the coach adds. “And, we played seven strong innings.”

Bloomquist remembers that the first game the team played against St. Peter last year ended in a heartbreaker.

“We were blown out 13-1 last year. So, the fact that we stuck with this team and played well is a sign of our growth,”?she says. “I can’t wait for another crack at this team.”

BEA 4, USC 1

The Blue Earth Area softball team was finally able to play some ball last Friday with a doubleheader.

The Buccaneers started off with a game against the United South Central Rebels where they tallied their first win of the season, 4-1.

“It was nice to put one in the win column tonight,”?Buc coach Abby Bloomquist says. “Although we ended up successful, I?think we could’ve had more runs on the board.”

BEA?scored the first run of the game in the top half of the third inning. They followed up with an additional three runs in the top of the fourth.

USC scored their lone run in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Abby Nimz pitched seven innings for the Bucs allowing 7 hits from 29 batters and had 11 strikeouts. Nimz also took her turn at bat and was 1 for 3. Bethany Olson scored a run for BEA?and was 2 for 4 at the plate.

Also in the batting line up for the Bucs was Ashton Hendricksen (2-4), Kylie Ahl (2-4), Janessa Jahnke (2-4), Monica Krieger (2-4), Chelsea Owen (2-4), Audrey McDonald (1-3) and Whitney Pirsig (1-3).

“I’m pleased with the outcome and it got us warmed up for Waseca,” Bloomquist adds.

Waseca 4, BEA 1

As part of the doubleheader last Friday, the Bucs played against the Waseca Bluejays in game two.

Hoping to continue their momentum from their previous game, BEA was disappointed when they were defeated by their opponents, 4-1.

The Bluejays started off by loading the bases and scoring three runs in the bottom of the first.

“After they plated those runs the girls really turned on the defense,”?Bloomquist says.

The Bucs only allowed their opponents to score one more run for the remainder of the game.

BEA tallied one run of their own in the top of the fifth, scored by Evie Leland. She was 0-2 but made it on base with a walk.

Bethany Olson was the hitter to bring Leland home for the score. Olson was 2 for 4, hitting one triple.

Janessa Jahnke was 2 for 3 batting and hit a double.

Other batters for BEA included Ashton Hendricksen (2-4), Audrey McDonald (1-4), Whitney Pirsig (1-3) and Monica Krieger (1-3).