Cathedral softball advances, 4 St. Cloud-area teams play in section elimination round

Brian Mozey, St. Cloud Times
·5 min read

Five of the six St. Cloud-area softball teams competed in their respective section tournaments on Tuesday. A handful of teams already started their section run on Monday, while some had their first game on Tuesday night.

All of the section tournaments are double elimination, so a team will need to lose twice to be eliminated from the tournament and end the  season. If a team loses once, that team will play in the elimination bracket for a chance to get to the championship game and win twice to reach state.

Cathedral and ROCORI are the only two local teams that will be in the winner's bracket starting Thursday as the Crusaders earned a win on Tuesday night. Sartell, St. Cloud, Albany and Sauk Rapids-Rice will be fighting in the elimination bracket to continue their  softball season.

Here's a breakdown of the different games from around the area on Tuesday.

Section 6-2A

Cathedral continued its dominant start to the section tournament with its second straight shutout in the section tournament. The No. 1 seed Crusaders defeated No. 9 seed Kimball with a 6-0 final score.

Once again, Ella Voit was lights out in the circle pitching a complete game shutout with three hits, zero walks and 10 strikeouts. She also contributed with two hits and Rachel Voit also had two hits in the game.

The Crusaders had zero errors on defense to not allow a run to come across and score. Cathedral will advance to the quarterfinals and play No. 5 Holdingford at 5 p.m. Thursday at Miller Field in the Rivers Edge Park in Waite Park.

Ella Voit of Cathedral celebrates her team's win at the end of the first game of a double header Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at Albany High School.
Ella Voit of Cathedral celebrates her team's win at the end of the first game of a double header Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at Albany High School.

If the Crusaders win on Thursday, the team will advance to the semifinals. If the team loses on Thursday, Cathedral will face off against No. 6 Sauk Centre at 7 p.m. Thursday at Miller Field.

Albany had to fight for a spot in Thursday's matchups after losing 10-2 to No. 5 seed Holdingford in the second round of sections. Holdingford found some open gaps in the field and took advantage of baserunners on the base.

The No. 4 seed Huskies scored a couple runs off of two fielder's choices, but couldn't regain the lead. After the loss, Albany had to regroup quickly for a second game on Thursday night in the opening round of the elimination bracket.

Albany's Joran Carlson swings during her at-bat during the game Tuesday, May 24, 2022, at Rivers Edge Park in Waite Park.
Albany's Joran Carlson swings during her at-bat during the game Tuesday, May 24, 2022, at Rivers Edge Park in Waite Park.

Albany faced off against No. 9 seed Kimball and was able to pull out the 5-0 victory to stay in the section tournament. The Huskies have become a one-and-done team and must win to continue its season.

Albany will battle the loser between No. 2 Pierz and No. 3 Pequot Lakes at 7 p.m. Thursday at Traut Field in the Rivers Edge Park in Waite Park.

Ellie Tragai of Sartell connects for a hit during the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday, May 17, 2022, at Sartell High School.
Ellie Tragai of Sartell connects for a hit during the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday, May 17, 2022, at Sartell High School.

Section 8-4A

Sartell and St. Cloud faced losses on Tuesday and will play in the elimination bracket on Thursday.

The No. 3 seed Sabres hosted No. 6 seed Elk River and the game remained close until the end, but the Elks earned the 3-1 victory. Sartell started off the game with a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Megan Driste scored on a passed ball.

That score remained until the fourth inning when the Elks took advantage of a couple errors. An error by the catcher and the shortstop allowed three runs to score and Elk River took the 3-1 lead.

The Elks kept that lead for the rest of the game as the Sabres tried to apply pressure with scoring opportunities. Danica Sarff pitched a complete game giving up two hits, one earned run, five walks and 10 strikeouts.

St. Cloud's Aubrey Preisler slides into second during the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday, May 17, 2022, at Sartell High School.
St. Cloud's Aubrey Preisler slides into second during the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday, May 17, 2022, at Sartell High School.

Sartell will host No. 7 seed Buffalo at 4:30 p.m. Thursday for the first round of the elimination bracket. The Sabres will need to win every game in the section tournament to continue its season.

The No. 8 seed St. Cloud Crush had a tough task facing off against undefeated No. 1 seed Brainerd on Tuesday. The Warriors came out with a 12-0 win and forcing the Crush to head to the elimination bracket.

St. Cloud will head to No. 5 seed Moorhead at 4:30 p.m. Thursday for the first round and will have the mindset of win-or-go-home for the rest of the section tournament.

Corina Miller of Sauk Rapids waits for the throw at second as Jaiden Tretter slides in safely during the game Thursday, June 3, 2021, at Sartell High School.
Corina Miller of Sauk Rapids waits for the throw at second as Jaiden Tretter slides in safely during the game Thursday, June 3, 2021, at Sartell High School.

Section 8-3A

ROCORI had the night off as the Spartans earned a bye with the No. 1 seed. Sauk Rapids-Rice traveled to Willmar for a first round game and it was a back-and-forth game.

Eventually, the No. 4 seed Cardinals won 14-11 over the No. 5 seed Storm to send Sauk Rapids-Rice to the elimination bracket for Thursday.

Willmar took a four-run lead in the first inning, but Sauk Rapids-Rice came back with five combined runs in the second and third innings. This created a 5-5 tie between the two teams.

Then, the Storm took a quick 9-5 lead after four runs in the fourth, but Willmar came back with nine runs in the bottom of the inning. The Cardinals held a 14-9 lead as the Storm earned two more runs in the fifth inning, but it wasn't enough to regain the lead.

Izzy Mortland went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI's, while Riley Turck went 2-for-4 with one run and two RBI's.

ROCORI junior Jenna Boos bunts the ball Thursday, April 28, 2022, at ROCORI High School in Cold Spring.
ROCORI junior Jenna Boos bunts the ball Thursday, April 28, 2022, at ROCORI High School in Cold Spring.

Sauk Rapids-Rice will look to keep those bats going in the first round of the elimination bracket on Thursday. The Storm will play against the loser between No. 2 seed Little Falls or No. 3 seed Alexandria at 6 p.m. Thursday at Little Falls High School.

ROCORI will play No. 4 seed Willmar at 4 p.m. Thursday at ROCORI High School. The loser will have to play another game at 6 p.m. Thursday in the elimination bracket at ROCORI High School and play No. 6 seed Detroit Lakes.

Brian Mozey is the high school sports reporter for the St. Cloud Times. Reach him at 320-255-8772 or bmozey@stcloudtimes.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrianMozey.

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This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Cathedral softball shuts out Kimball, advances to quarterfinals