Z-M Ends PEM’s Season on KFIL

In another elimination game, the Plainview-Elgin-Millville Bulldogs ran into the Zumbrota-Mazeppa Cougars. Z-M scored first and scored last to take the 6-2 win.

Zumbrota-Mazeppa's Natalie Majerus doubled with one out in the first. With two out, Brianna Albers deliverd the base hit to plate the first run of the game. The next three innings only saw two Cougars baserunners, with one stranded on base, and one caught stealing. Hayley Dessner had four strikeouts from the circle through 4 innings.

In the bottom of the 3rd, Mallory Newcomb got the first Bulldgos hit,  Samantha Hinrichs reached on an error while advanced Newcomb to third base, then Taylor Nelson couldn't get out of the way of a pitch. The hit batter loaded them up for Paige Gudmundson. Paige got a base hit to hit it up. It was 1-1, and it stayed that way after a double play and a strikeout. The first two PEM batters in the 4th were retired on strikes, and the side was retired in order in the 4th and the 5th.

Zumbrota-Mazeppa got a leadoff base hit in the 5th. Rylee Schliep's runner Avery Steffen came in to score on a Lyndsey Quam base hit. Then a walk and a long at-bat to Tara Matuska. After Matuska kept on fouling off about four 0-2 pitches, on one chance to get a runner our front, the Buldogs took it. Nat Majerus was a long way between first and second, but with a baserunner in front, she wouldn't be able to go anywhere. So Mallory Newcomb fired back to the circle to Hayley Dessner. Seeing Lyndsey Quam now getting close to third, Dessner fired to third, Heidi Wolf applied the tag, and the side was retired with minimal damage.

Matuska returned to the batters' box and was the leadoff baserunner in the 6th. After the base hit went off the left fielder's legs just a little bit, Matuska hustled into second. After a wild pitch, Matuska was on third. Bri Albers delivered the sacrifice fly to make the score 3-1.

Plainview-Elgin-Millville got a two-out hit from Hayley Dessner in the 6th for their first baserunner since the 3rd. Katyln Bade went out there as the courtesy runner, and advanced to second on Lauren Boyum's infield hit fielded at short. So with two on, two out, Maria Stock delivered the hit to score Bade and make it a one run game. After Matuska got another strikeout, we had that 3-2 score heading into the 7th.

In the top of the 7th, the first three Z-M batter reached. A walk, an error on a sacrifice bunt play put runners at second and third on for Lyndsey Quam. Lyndsey delivered the base hit up the middle to plate two runs and make the score 5-2. Quam then stole second, and reached third on a wild pitch. Two batters later, with one out, Tara Matuska worked at least a 10-pitch walk. The ball got away for a second, I looked up, Matuska was trying for second, and Quam was coming down the line at third to score another run! On the live ball, the score was 6-2, before the next two Cougars batters were retired.

Mallory Newcomb got on with a leadoff walk in the bottom half of the inning, but the next three were retied by Matuska, and the final was 6-2. Plainview-Elgin-Millville was eliminated from the tournament, Zumbrota-Mazeppa advanced to play a game on KVGO Tuesday evening.