Owatonna Maximizes Opportunities in Playoff Opener, Beats Mayo

Owatonna's first two runs Tuesday came from runners who reached base on dropped third strikes. Their third run came on a play in which Rochester Mayo committed an error. The Huskies rolled to a 7-1 victory at Morehouse Park in Owatonna in a Section 1-4A quarterfinal to begin the playoffs.

The bats got going too with a five-hit, three-run fifth inning, which included a two-run single by Mehsa Krause. Zoie Roush added an RBI triple in the sixth, right after Parris Hovden tripled.

Kendra Bogen reached on a dropped third strike in the first inning and scored on a long fly ball off the bat of Hovden that was dropped by the centerfielder. Samantha Bogen led off the second by reaching on a dropped third strike and scored on a throwing error.

Owatonna coach Jeremy Moran said, "The team that makes the most mistakes usually loses. We just had to make sure we capitalized on them...We made them make mistakes and we made them pay. Part of that is aggressive base running. They're not tentative. They know when to go."

Kennedy Hodgman set down the first eight Mayo batters she faced. She fanned six and didn't walk anyone. OHS worked out of a pair of two-on situations in the third and fourth innings without giving up a run. The Huskies committed just one error. Mayo had four.

"We came out strong defensively...When we did have an error, we made plays afterward to get out of jams...Offensively, we had hits from a lot of different people tonight and even when we didn't get hits we were hitting ball hard and we were making them make plays and causing them to make errors," said Moran.

"She (Hodgman) played really well...When they did get baserunners on, she didn't let it rattle her. She kept attacking. She kept throwing strikes...Not giving them extra runners [no walks] which is key, keeps the pressure off our defense...Her rise ball was working pretty good tonight. They were chasing that early."

The Huskies play Lakeville South Thursday, May 26 at 3:30 pm at Todd Park in Austin. The Cougars eliminated OHS from the tournament last year.

Softball playoffs
Section 1-4A
No. 1 Farmington 10, No. 8 Rochester JM 0
No. 5 Lakeville North 2, No. 4 Northfield 0
No. 3 Owatonna 7, No. 6 Rochester Mayo 1
No. 2 Lakeville South 11, No. 7 Rochester Century 1
Second round, winners' bracket, Thursday, May 26
Owatonna vs South
Farmington vs North
Elimination bracket
Rochester John Marshall vs Northfield
Rochester Mayo vs Rochester Century

Section 1-3A
No. 4 Red Wing 4, No. 5 Stewartville 2
No. 3 Kasson-Mantorville 10, No. 6 Faribault 0
No. 2 Byron 10, No. 7 Austin 9
Section round, winners' bracket, Thursday, May 26 at Todd Park
No. 1 Winona vs Red Wing
Kasson-Mantorville vs Byron
Elimination bracket
Faribault vs Austin
Stewartville vs winner