Blue Devils stay in the chase
Top-seeded Martensdale-St. Marys began its quest to return to the Class 1A state softball championship game with an old-school tilt in the quarterfinals on the Channel Seeds Field Tuesday.
The Blue Devils, who fell in last year’s championship game to North Linn, opened this year’s tournament with a 2-1 win over Edgewood-Colesburg.
“We don’t try to dwell on last year too much, but we do want them to remember how it felt,” said head coach Emily Wood, who is in her third year. “We didn’t like how it felt coming home with that second-place trophy. We keep it in the back of our heads.”
Martensdale-St. Marys, now 29-6, played a rigorous schedule to prepare for the 1A postseason. The Blue Devils finished the season with back-to-back losses to Class 5A, then posted three straight shutouts in regionals to reach state for the 12th time in school history.
“That’s why we play that tough schedule. It helps tremendously,” said Wood. “We know when we get here, every team is good and every team deserves to be here. We want to play those one- and two-run ball games so when the bats aren’t working, we don’t panic.”
Senior Campbell German twirled a gem for the Blue Devils, striking out 13 and allowing just three hits. She kept the Vikings off the scoreboard until the top of the sixth, when they pulled within 2-1.
German settled down and struck out the final four batters of the game for her 16th win of the season.
“I just kind of painted the corners. We worked on a lot of corners, especially outside,” said German. “There was a little pressure being a tight game but our coaches did a good job of stacking our schedule so there were a lot of intense games that we played.
“I think we are better off in those stressful situations.”
German said she and her teammates have thought about last year, but used it as motivation.
“We’ve thought of it, for sure,” she said. “It’s always been our goal since the last loss last year to get back here and see if we can go further. It’s been a driving factor since last summer.”
The Vikings will also have a rematch in the semifinals, facing No. 4 seed St. Edmond. Martensdale-St. Marys topped the Gaels 1-0 in last year’s quarterfinals before beating Wayne 9-0 in the semifinals.
“Campbell was phenomenal (on Tuesday night). She was hitting spots. (Catcher) Sydney (Bears) was working really well to call pitches. She did a great job reading what each hitter needed.
“We just need to get our bats going a little more. We need more back-to-back run production instead of a run here or there.”
Rachel Egleseder was the tough-luck loser for Edgewood-Colesburg (29-11). She allowed just five hits and struck out three batters.
The Vikings move into a consolation game on Wednesday at 12:45 p.m., facing off against Collins-Maxwell.
MARTENSDALE-ST. MARYS 2, EDGEWOOD-COLESBURG 1
E-C 000 001 0 — 1 3 1
M-SM 000 110 x — 2 5 1
WP–Campbell German (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 SO); LP–Rachel Egleseder (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO); LOB–E-C 4, MSM 5; 2B–MSM: Shelby Woods; SB–MSM: Ellie Baker, Aunie Berger, Brynnly German.