Four of the eight teams in the Section 7AAA softball tournament were dismissed on Thursday at Braun Park in Cloquet, but fifth-seeded Grand Rapids was not one of them. The Thunderhawks ousted Duluth Denfeld 5-1 in their early game, but the big stunner was an 8-5 defeat of second seed Chisago Lakes that knocked the Wildcats out. Rapids advances in the elimination bracket to meet another upset victim, Hibbing.
After losing to North Branch at home on Wednesday, the Bluejackets had to battle on Thursday. Seventh-seeded Hermantown scored first and tied the game 4-4 in the fifth inning and 7-7 in the sixth, but Emma McDowell induced a run-scoring error in the bottom of the inning, then Grace McDowell clubbed a solo homer for insurance and her fourth RBI of the game. Hibbing then ousted Cloquet 4-1 for a second win on the day.
WIAA Division 1 Superior ousted by New Richmond Superior will not make a third consecutive trip to Goodman Diamond for the WIAA state softball tournament, as the Spartans’ season ended in the cruelest of fashions, a walk-off 4-3 loss to the host New Richmond Tigers in a Division 1 regional final on Thursday, May 23. ADVERTISEMENT After Melania Luostari’s two-out homer in the first inning served as the Spartans’ only hit through six frames, Superior got the rally it needed in the seventh inning. Luostari tripled and Paige ‘Peeps’ Johnson got an infield hit to put runners on.
Luostari beat a throw home on an infield grounder to tie the game and Mattie .