Hermantown Girls Headed BackTo State

Wes Vork-NSO

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June 2

Dwight Cadwell-NSO.

COHASSETT- It was a four run fifth inning that would be the only difference in the section 7AA girls softball game between the Cloquet Lumberjacks and the Hermantown Hawks. The four runs scored were the only runs for either team as the Hawks defended their sectional crown and defeated the Lumberjacks by a score of 4-0.

In a close tight battle with both teams struggling to find some offense, it was Shawna Johnson of the Hawks who led off the bottom of the fifth inning by taking a 1-2 pitch to centerfield for a solo home run which turned out to be the game winner. “I have been struggling a bit with my batting so to have that happen was the most amazing thing ever. Unlike some of my teammates like Katie [Thun] and Sarah [Stansfield], I’m not a homerun hitter. That was the first ever of my entire softball career.”

Following the homerun it was Lindsay Kolquist who was hit by a pitch, and then a walk to Ashley Irwin left the Hawks with two runners on base and nobody out. Macy Francisco laid down a nice sacrifice bunt which moved the runner’s ahead one base. Mackenzie Herzig then followed with a triple to the right center field gap which scored two more runs and put the Hawks ahead 3-0. Herzig then scored on a single from Celine Francisco and the Hawks ended the inning with a 4-0 lead which never changed again in the game.

Even though the round tripper proved to be the difference in the game, Johnson believed the other three runs were more important because it gave the Hawks a little breathing room and let them a bit different game. “We couldn’t have done it without those other three runs. It is totally different when it’s a 1 run game.” Johnson explained.

“We couldn’t manage to get any timely hits” Head Coach Ron Tondryk told Northland Sports Online. “We had some chances but could never come up with the hit when we needed it.” Tondryk added “Thun pitched a heck of a game, and when you have a pitcher like that you need to take advantage when you can.” The Hawks out-hit Cloquet by a margin of 6-5 but could never get the hit when chances were provided.

Head Coach Tom Bang of Hermantown stated “Katie had better command of the strike zone today, so balls were not hit as hard.” Bang added “We made the routine plays and we won using the 2-2-2 formula.” Further explaining that 2 walks, 2 hits, and 2 key defensive plays can often lead to a win. Bang mentioned that the Hawks defense also played a big part in the win. “Shawna made a nice catch on a bunt attempt and a relay throw-out at third base kept Cloquet from extending innings.”

The Lumberjacks best chance to score came in the fourth inning when back to back singles were squashed when Hermantown threw out the Cloquet base runner at third to end a Lumberjack threat. Cloquet also had runners at first and second in the fifth inning with one out, but Thun stepped up big, striking out the next two batters and ending another Lumberjack threat.

The Hawks return to the state tournament with the youngest team in recent memory after losing three first team all-state players from last year’s state runners-up team. This season’s team does feature three players who started on that team; Mackenzie Herzig, Celine Francisco, and pitcher Katie Thun, who played left field at the time. “Our experience will help, we were only freshman so obviously we were really young last year, but we know what to expect and what’s expected of us.” Thun explained.

The Hawks will be back at the state tournament for the fourth straight year, they finished second last season and won the class AA title in 2009. This is the tenth appearance since 2000, and will be the 18th overall for Hermantown. Head Coach Tom Bang enters the state softball tournament with 568 career wins. The Hawks will face St. Paul Johnson next Thursday at Caswell Park in North Mankato.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at dwight@northlandsportsonline.com