The season came to an end for the Blue Earth Area softball team when they were defeated by the St. James Saints 9-5 in an elimination game played at Caswell Park, in Mankato, on Saturday, May 28.

The No. 9-seeded Bucs had opened the Section 2AA tournament with a 5-2 victory over the No. 8-seeded Tri-City United Titans on May 23, before falling to the top-seeded New Ulm Eagles by a 15-0 score on May 26.

St. James, the No.-4 seed, had defeated BEA 10-0 during the regular season game played on May 3.

This time around the Bucs were able to score against the Saints and took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. But, they did it without getting a hit.

Claire Sullivan was hit by a pitch to start the inning before the St. James pitcher struck out the next two BEA batters. The next three batters for the Bucs, Lily Olson, Berkley Hagedorn and Kylee Johnson, all walked to force in Sullivan with the first run of the game.

With Olson now at third base, the Saints’ pitcher threw a wild pitch allowing Olson to hustle home with the Bucs’ second run of the game.

St. James scored once in the bottom half of the second inning to reduce BEA’s lead to 2-1.

After holding the Bucs scoreless in the top of the third inning, the Saints scored three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-2 lead.

BEA got one run back in the top of the fourth inning when Olson walked again, stole second base, went to third on a Saints’ error and scored when Hagedorn hit into a ground out. Olson’s run pulled the Bucs to within one run of the Saints at 4-3.

However, St. James added three more runs to their total in the bottom of the fourth inning to go on top 7-3.

BEA kept fighting back and added two more runs in the top of the sixth inning. A walk to Ashlyn Klinkner, singles by Olson and Kylee Johnson combined with an error by St. James cut the Saints’ lead to 7-5.

The Bucs would surrender two more runs to the Saints in the bottom of the sixth to make the final score 9-5.

BEA had six hits in the game, including two by Reagan Machacek. Sullivan, Taylor Klabunde, Olson and Johnson each had one hit for the Bucs.

Kylee Eckmann went the distance on the mound for the Maroon and Gold and surrendered nine runs, five earned, on 10 hits. She struck out five and walked two.