Hermantown’s Thun Helps Irish To Third Place Nationally

Aug 2, 2012

Dwight Cadwell-NSO

Hermantown Junior Katie Thun continued with her softball success this summer as she helped lead the Minnesota Irish Gold 18 & U softball team to a third place finish in the USSSA Fastpitch World Series in Overland Park Kansas last week.

Thun was named the tournament’s Defensive MVP and she had an outstanding week of pitching for the Irish. The Irish finished third overall among 52 teams that played in the tournament.

The tournament opened when the Irish knocked off the Kansas Attitude by a score of 10-1 to open pool play. The Irish fell to 1-1 in pool play when they lost to Club Black of Iowa by a score of 6-2. The Irish closed pool play on a winning note beating the Missouri All-Stars by a score of 6-2.

The double elimination tournament began Thursday afternoon with the Irish reeling off four straight wins to advance in the tournament to the final four of remaining teams. The Irish defeated the Wichita Blasters by a score of 5-4. The next victory was a 13-1 win over the Diamond Skilz of Missouri.

Friday saw the Irish pick up two more wins a 4-3 over the Nebraska All Stars and a 5-1 win over the Club Elite Classic of Jefferson City Missouri. The Minnesota Renegades ended the Irish’s’ five game win streak with a 4-3 win over the Irish. In the losers bracket the Irish rebounded from the loss with a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Impact.

The Nebraska Swingers ended the Irish hope of a National Championship with a 1-0 victory, giving the Irish a third place finish. The Swingers went on to defeat the Renegades in two straight games to capture the 2012 championship.

The Irish play out of Rosemount Minnesota and feature players from throughout the state including the Northland Sports Online’s 2012 player of the year in Katie Thun. The Irish will add the third place trophy to their trophy case, putting it alongside their second place trophy from the Minnesota state tournament. The Irish were runners up to the Arctic Blast in the tourney which took place in June.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at dwight@northlandsportsonline.com