Deuel captured their first sanctioned state softball championship with a 3-1 victory on Saturday in Aberdeen at the ‘B’ tournament.
The Cardinals were led by senior pitcher Katrina Hagberg, who notched 15-strikeouts on the mound in the winning effort.
“I didn't know what to expect coming into this, but I knew if we played our game, we'd be just fine,” said Katrina. “It does feel like three years to make it here.”
Deuel got on the board first with a two-runs in the third inning. Aubrey Lanners had an RBI double, which scored Graclyn Nielsen, and then Roxanne Raml hit a single to score Lanners.
Hagberg joined the offensive production in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single that scored Nielsen. This made it a 3-0 game with two innings remaining.
Gayville-Volin did get on the board in the top half of the sixth when Maia Achen hit a single to centerfield that scored Jolie Westrum. This was all that the Pirates could produce offensively however, as the Cardinals would hold on to win.
“That was the best feeling ever, I'm pretty sure. We had a great turn tournament,” told coach Sarah Hagberg. “[Friday] was a tough game. Today was way close than I would have liked it to be, but Katrina in the circle really helped us stay in the game. I mean, it was a fun one.”
The Sarah and Katrina Hagberg mother-daughter duo had a huge payoff this year with the school’s first sanctioned title in the sport. Coach Hagberg mentioned that the journey of coaching her daughter was fun.
“You know, there was probably lots of good and bad parts of it, but she would probably say the same thing. But I couldn't do it without her,” said coach Hagberg. “Because I bounce ideas off of her, because she's the one with the fast-pitch experience, and I'm just kind of the helper that came in to say I would do it. [Katrina] knows way more about the game.”
As the number one seed, you’re expected to be in it at the end of the tournament, but you still have to go out and play to get there. Deuel took down eighth seeded Avon 9-2 in the quarterfinal round but then had a tight win against Alcester-Hudson in the semi’s, 2-1. Saturday’s championship game wasn’t an offensive explosion by any means, but title games are supposed to be close and competitive.
A few key hits with runners in scoring position, and elite pitching from Hagberg, lifted Deuel to capturing the crown.
