Home Sports Remsen St. Mary’s Advances to First State Tournament Since 2013

Remsen St. Mary’s Advances to First State Tournament Since 2013

Remsen St. Mary’s upset Akron-Westfield last night by a final score of 6-3 to advance to their first state tournament since 2013.

Runs came early for the Hawks as they opened up with a run in the first. Mya Bunkers led off with a base hit and got all the way around to third for Brittany Johnson to drive her in on a sacrifice fly. Akron-Westfield started their offense in the bottom of the second inning with two runs giving the Westerners their first lead. Natalie Olson drove in two in that inning on a two-out pinch hit base hit.

Then, the floodgates opened for Remsen St. Mary’s. The Hawks scored four runs in the top of the third to take a 5-2 lead. Claire Schroeder came in on a wild pitch to score the first run of the inning. Brittany Johnson drove in another run on a double with one out. The final two of the inning came in to score on a two out bloop single to center off the bat of Sydney Schroeder.

Remsen St. Mary’s Head Coach Monte Harpenau says that the four run inning was unexpected but a big boost for his team the rest of the game.

Akron-Westfield responded with a run in the bottom of the third on an RBI base hit from Hailey Wilken that made it 5-3. Akron-Westfield remained scoreless the rest of the way with only three Westerners reaching base in the final four innings. Remsen St. Mary’s scored one more run in the top of the sixth to take a 6-3 lead and ultimately win by that score.

Coach Harpenau says that the win over Akron-Westfield was a result of a good gameplan on offense and solid defense in the field.

Marina Cronin pitched extremely well late in the game allowing no hits through the final four innings, allowing only three Westerners to reach, and retiring the final eight batters she faced. Most pitchers tend to struggle the deeper they get into games. Coach Harpenau says that is the opposite for Cronin.

The Hawks advance to their first state tournament since 2013 and their fourth all-time with appearances in 1999 and 1986 as well. Coach Harpenau doesn’t want to change a lot before they take the field in Fort Dodge on Monday. He wants his team to enjoy every minute and have fun while they are there.

The Hawks head to the state tournament with a record of 21-4. Akron-Westfield misses the state tournament for only the second time in six years. They finish 2021 with a record of 25-3.

Monday Scores:

Softball:
Class 2A Region 1:

#8 North Union 9 Sioux Central 1

Class 2A Region 2:

#9 Underwood 4 West Monona 2

Class 3A Region 1:

Estherville Lincoln Central 2 #12 Sioux Center 1

Class 3A Region 2:

#6 Atlantic 5 MOC-Floyd Valley 0

Class 5A Region 1:

#2 Fort Dodge 12 Sioux City North 0

Baseball:
Class 1A District 1:

Gehlen Catholic 6 South O’Brien 0
Trinity Christian 5 MMCRU 4
#3 Remsen St. Mary’s 10 Storm Lake St. Mary’s 0
George-Little Rock 14 Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 1

Class 1A District 2:

Newell-Fonda 10 North Union 0
West Bend-Mallard 4 West Hancock 3
Bishop Garrigan 12 G-T/R-A 2
Fort Dodge St. Edmond 15 Harris-Lake Park 0

Class 1A District 15:

#10 Tri-Center 9 IKM-Manning 0
West Harrison 12 Ar-We-Va 2
Logan-Magnolia 9 Boyer Valley 0
Audubon 10 Woodbine 0

Class 1A District 16:

#5 Kingsley-Pierson 15 Whiting 0
Lawton-Bronson 10 River Valley 0
Akron-Westfield 5 Westwood 2
Woodbury Central 16 West Monona 4

Class 2A District 1:

Western Christian 4 Hinton 2
Central Lyon 5 West Sioux 3

Class 2A District 2:

Sibley-Ocheyedan 7 Okoboji 1
Emmetsburg 5 Sheldon 0

Missouri River Activities Conference:

Le Mars 7 Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 4
Spencer 7 Sergeant Bluff-Luton 5
MOC-Floyd Valley 9 Sioux City West 6
Council Bluffs Lewis Central 19 Council Bluffs TJ 1
Denison-Schleswig 6 Sioux City North 3
Indianola 12 Council Bluffs AL 1
Indianola 7 Council Bluffs AL 7