Cotter Softball Bows Out of Sectionals; Winhawk Softball Coasts to Semi-Final

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(KWMN)- The High School Softball sectional tournaments continued yesterday, as Cotter Softball bows out early than some may have expected, and the Winhawks rolled into the semifinals.

Cotter

The Cotter Rambler softball team found themselves in the section quarterfinals against the top team in the section in St. Charles. The Ramblers fell in that matchup, 6-2. It was a little more of the same from this Rambler team, as Madison Hazelton did work in the circle, only allowing two earned runs, but it was the unearned runs that caused problems. Savvy Repinski came in for relief of Hazelton and she too only allowed one earned run. A problem all year long was errors for the Rambler defense, something that head coach, Pat Bowlin, mentioned to the Winona Spors Network prior to sectionals starting. St. Charles ended up scoring three unearned runs, which was plenty to get the victory.

The loss catapulted the Ramblers into the loser’s bracket where they faced La Crescent-Hokah. In a pitcher’s duel, Hazelton dazzled again, striking out 12 in seven innings, but it wasn’t enough. A late offensive surge in the top of the seventh gave the Lancers two runs. The Ramblers did their best to answer in the bottom frame, but only found one run, losing the game 2-1, and ending the season. Another wonderful regular season for the Ramblers, but they couldn’t find the postseason success to match it. For head coach Pat Bowlin, he ends the season at a deadlock tie with Minnesota High School coaching legend Bob Mertz as the two coaches with the most all time wins in High School softball, according to the Star Tribune.

Winona Senior High School

The Winhawk softball team got a late start to their section play, as they received a first-round bye. They were met in the second round by Stewartville High School. The Winhawks dominated the tigers of Stewartville, coasting to a 17-3 victory. The win advanced the Winhawks to the Section semifinals where they’ll face the Byron Bears, the #2 seed in the section. Way back on April 10th these two teams met, with the Winhawks winning 4-0. For what it’s worth, that was a much smaller margin of victory than the Winhawks saw most of the season, so the Bears are nothing to play around with, and the Winhawks will have to stay focused to ensure the victory. Winner will head to the section championship game, with the loser headed to the loser’s bracket. It is likely that these two teams will face off with each other yet again in the section championship game, regardless of who wins the semifinal matchup. The semifinal matchup is slated for Wednesday, May 31 at 4:00 p.m. at Austin Todd Park.