The Lady Eagles boarded the buses on Saturday early in the morning for a 9 am start to the Wildcat Classic tournament at the West Central Valley high school.
In their first game of the tournament, the 7-4 Eagles faced off against the 1-7 Crusaders from Coon Rapids-Bayard in what turned out to be a thrilling showdown. The Crusaders scored twice in the top of the first, but the Eagles dominated with an explosive six-run rally! Chloe Steil, Tarissa Middleton, Celeste Figueroa and Brooklyn Osborn all singled, and then Olivia Conaway and Crystal Flores both doubled, setting the Crusaders back on their heels after the vicious onslaught.
In the third inning, the Eagles added three more runs to their tally. Lily Locke ignited the spark by delivering a powerful single. The bases soon filled up as Osborn, Conaway, and Flores each walked, allowing one run to cross the plate. Addy Jeske then stepped up to the plate, connecting with the ball and propelling another run home with a solid single. The team's determination remained unyielding as Chloe Steil demonstrated her keen instincts, walking to bring in the third run of the inning.
In the fourth inning, the Eagles maintained their grip on the game. Locke delivered a resounding double and swiftly scored on an Osborn groundout. The final two runs of the game were not far behind. Jeske singled and then, displaying exceptional speed and skill, stole second base. Then Braxton Steil smashed a single, allowing Jeske to cross home plate. Locke again found herself center stage, and hammered out a double that allowed Steil to speed around the bases and past home base.
Throughout the six inning contest, Brooklyn Osborn's pitching was a force to be reckoned with as she held her opponents to just seven hits, she struck out six players, and allowed only one walk.
The opening match closed out with the Eagles taking the win, 12-5.
Then it was on to the championship game at 1:00 pm for the now 7-5 Eagles, to face the 7-6 West Central Valley Wildcats.
Addy Jeske got the game going with a double, but wound up stranded on third. And the game stayed tied up at zero until the bottom of the third, when the Wildcats scored on a 2 out error, taking the lead one to none. But on the way there the Eagles defense turned a triple play in the second inning. With runners on first and third and no outs, the Wildcats struck a line drive that was snatched right up by Celeste Figueroa at first base, who gave the Wildcats their first out of the inning. Figueroa also put a stop to the Wildcat trying to steal second, stepping on first with ease for the Wildcats second out. Then, the Wildcat on third went for the home plate, but once again Figueroa wasn't having it, throwing the ball home to Chloe Steil, who tagged the runner in the middle of sliding home, sending them out dirty.
In the top of the fourth, Braxton Steil made a hard push for the home plate. Starting with a single, Steil then stole second, but was unfortunately tossed out in a foiled attempt to steal third.
In the bottom of the fifth West Central Valley broke the game open, scoring 4 in a series that began with their first batter getting on base with an error, before the Wildcats notched three more hits in a row, plus a sac fly, bringing the tally to 5-0 in their favor.
The Eagles may have been down after the crushing Wildcat rally in the fifth, but they weren't out. In the top of the seventh, Tarissa Middleton smacked out a single for the Eagles' third hit of the game. Nevertheless, the Wildcats had it won, five to none.
In the final analysis, the tournament showed that the Eagles are progressing strongly and playing much better ball than last year. At the two week mark in 2022, the Eagles were 0-7, this year they're 6-5. And, in recognition of their fantastic performances in the tournament, three Eagles made the All Tournament Team, Braxton Steil, Brooklyn Osborn, and Celeste Figueroa.
