College Softball: Raiders fall 1 game shy of national tournament

After splitting two games on the opening day of the Region 13B Tournament, the Central Lakes College Raiders put themselves in a difficult spot.

The Raiders had to win three consecutive games to capture the region championship Friday.

They fell one game shy of their goal.

Top-seeded CLC opened Friday with a 9-5 win over No. 3 Northland. The Raiders then beat No. 2 Itasca 10-6 before the Vikings ended CLC's season by a 6-4 margin at the Findorff Athletic Complex in Brainerd.

"We were in the same exact position last year against the same team," CLC coach Ray Austin said. "We were a lot deeper this year so we were better set up for it. That's just a good team over there. Hats off to (Itasca coach) Kyle (Erickson) and his kids.

"We battled. It was a 2-run (final) game. We won the first one (vs. Itasca), we had some momentum, we kicked the ball around a little bit which never helps."

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Region 13B tournament

• The key: Itasca scored in every inning but two in the final game
• Overall: CLC finishes 28-7
• Next: Itasca in NJCAA Division III National Tournament, Rochester, Minn., May 17-19.
• For photo gallery go to https://bit.ly/2rBt4Tb

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Shortstop Lisa Kossan went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the final game. Katelyn Waytashek delivered a 2-run single in the Raiders' first inning. Kossan was the only Raider with more than one hit.

"We left a lot of kids on base (8)," Austin said. "We just couldn't get that one big hit. The first game we got those hits. The second game we didn't. That's a testament to their pitcher (Anna Peterson). She threw a lot of innings this year and this weekend. She deserves to be (region) MVP."

CLC finishes the season 28-7. It was the only unbeaten team (8-0) in regular-season division play. Ironically, the Raiders beat Itasca four times during the regular season.

"We had an amazing offensive year," Austin said. "Andrea (Waggoner) was leading the nation in home runs (17) and was right up there in RBIs (67). Lisa Kossan was way up there in average (.536). She hit a bunch of home runs from the leadoff spot and had a bunch of RBIs. She's a kid that every coach wants. Kay Smude was a 2-year player for us. She always had a lot of power.

"Then we had some surprising stuff. (Katelyn) Waytashek last year wasn't one of our better players. She had an incredible breakout year. She was all-conference. Kids like Lindsay Hendrickson, from being a kid that was DHed for in high school to being an everyday player here.

"It's just a great group of kids. They really worked hard every day. People gave me credit. I just say I did all my coaching in the gym. Now they do all the work, they really do."

Kossan, Waggoner and Brooke Jerger were named to the all-tournament team. CLC's Kayla Larson was one of the state's top pitchers, ranking in the top four in ERA (3.17) and strikeouts (60).

"We were all a real aggressive bunch," Larson said. "We came out swinging. We were a huge offensive team. We got in the swing of things, then we got our defense down and we just missed (nationals) by a little bit."

Championship Game Itasca 6 10 2 Central Lakes 4 8 3 WP: Peters. LP: Larson.

CLC 10, Itasca 6

Waggoner finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs and Sam Schimpp was 3-4 with three RBIs. Jerger went 2-3 with an RBI.

Larson pitched a complete game. She struck out nine, walked three and allowed nine hits. In the last four innings, she allowed no runs and three hits with just one walk.

Game Six Itasca 6 9 1 Central Lakes 10 10 3 WP: Kayla Larson. LP: Anna Peters. 2B: CLC-Sam Schimpp.

CLC 9, Northland 5

Jerger and Waggoner each had three hits and Paige Johnson and Kossan each had two. Jerger was the winning pitcher.

Game Five Northland 5 6 2 Central Lakes 9 13 1 WP: Brooke Jerger. 3B: CLC-Lisa Kossan.