State softball roundup: Carter Raymond dazzles again to lead Randolph to 2A title
Randolph 3, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial 0
Carter Raymond tossed her second consecutive shutout in as many days to lead Randolph to a Class 2A state championship.
The star junior hurler allowed just four hits in the title game victory over the No. 2 seed, one day after tossing a one-hitter in a semifinal win over St. Agnes.
She finished the state tournament with 17 consecutive scoreless innings tossed. Raymond struck out 28 batters in 21 innings pitched in North Mankato this week.
Allie Gillette delivered the key offensive blow for the top-seeded Rockets (27-1), connecting on a two-run double down the left-field line in the third inning to put Randolph up 2-0. Kylee Carey supplied an RBI single in the seventh for an insurance run.
Julia Montgomery had two hits for second-seeded Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial (23-3). The title is Randolph’s second, with the first coming in 2021 in Class A.
Rogers 3, New Prague 0
Making just its second state tournament appearance in program history — and first since 2005 — Rogers now has a Class 4A state title.
Kamryn Messer led the third-seeded Royals (22-3) with two hits, but it was Olivia Ohme who put the Royals on the board in the second with an RBI double. Seven different Rogers players collected hits in the title game, as the Royals scored runs in the second, fifth and seventh frames.
That was more than enough offense for AnnaBelle Waldoch. The eighth-grader was dominant in the circle, tossing a three-hit shutout that featured seven strikeouts.
Jordyn Marsh had 10 strikeouts for fourth-seeded New Prague (21-4), who was also making its first title game appearance.
New Ulm Cathedral 10, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 4
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley’s Cinderella run from unseeded team to the state final in just the program’s second state tournament appearance — and first since 2004 — finally succumbed in the Class A final to the dominant bats of the top seed.
Jenna Hotovec went 4 for 5 at the plate for New Ulm Cathedral (26-2), while Alexa Hornick and Abbey Hillesheim each had three runs batted in. Ava Schmid drove in two runs while scoring two of her own.
Hillesheim hit a three-run homer in the second, part of a four-run frame after Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley (20-5) claimed a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Jayde Altermatt threw a complete game for New Ulm Cathedral.
Related Articles
State softball: Mankato East rallies past Cretin-Derham Hall in seventh for Class 3A title
State softball: Randolph edges St. Agnes in 2A semis in epic pitching duel between Raymond, Proper
State softball: Pair of late-game homers push Cretin-Derham Hall into first state final since 1991
State softball: Rosemount generates a bevy of hits, but not enough runs in semifinal loss to New Prague
State softball: First-inning charge leads Rogers to upset win over Forest Lake