Scarlets rally, escape Cougars

By Jim Rueda
Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO May 14, 2008 01:20 am

— For most of Tuesday’s Big Nine Conference softball game at Thomas Park, Mankato East had crosstown rival Mankato West on the ropes. The Cougars failed to keep their opponents there, however, as West rallied for a 6-5 victory and at least a share of the league title.
“We had them but we let them go,” East coach Joe Madson said. “I thought we played well enough to win, they just made a couple of more plays than we did.”
East took a 4-1 lead in the third inning when it combined two walks, an outfield error and a two-run single by Christa Wolner into the three-run lead. Afterward, West coach Don Krusemark admitted he wasn’t sure if his Scarlets would be able to come back.
“When you’re facing a pitcher the caliber of Laura Vanderhoof you can’t just expect you’re going to score runs,” Krusemark said. “I wasn’t confident we’d score but I hoped that we’d create some opportunities to score — and we did.”
West got one run back in the fourth on an RBI single to left by Rita Hurd. West threatened to push two more runners across the plate that inning, but East’s Rachel Ward made a diving catch on a fly ball tailing away from her in left-center to end the rally.
West added another in the sixth when Ashley Goettl scored on the payoff end of a double steal.
Trailing 4-3 in their final at-bat, West’s Janee Wise led off with a walk, was sacrificed to second, moved to third on a dropped third strike and scored on Alyssa Black’s bouncer up the middle. Goettl followed with a walk and both runners eventually scored on a base hit down the third-base line by Vanessa Lloyd.

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