Senior first baseman Hailey Petzel banged out three hits and drove in five runs Wednesday afternoon as Mankato East began its Class AAA state title defense with a 16-2, five-inning triumph over North Branch Area in the opening round of the state tournament at Caswell Park.
Petzel, who also pitched a scoreless final frame with one hit allowed and one strikeout, rocketed a two-run bullet over the left-field fence as the Cougars (18- 6) erupted for 10 runs in their first at bat. Seventh-grade right fielder Kenley Staunton laced a run-scoring single before Petzel’s two-run base hit and junior third baseman Jayda Swalve’s RBI single closed out the early surge, which featured five walks and a trio of errors.
“I think everyone in our lineup produced today and that was great to see,” Petzel said. “This game should give us a lot of momentum going into tomorrow’s game. It came off my bat good but I thought it was going to go off the fence, but then when it went over it was crazy. Starting the game off with that many runs is a great confidence booster for everyone.
“We knew their pitcher had a pretty good changeup so we worked in practice on that. Every team that makes it this far is good so you can’t take any team lightly. This is our last chance to play together so we’re trying to have as much fun as we can. We take a lot of pride in our togetherness.
East added a run in the second when senior catcher Destiny Reasner singled and eventually scored on Staunton’s liner into right field. The Cougars closed out their scoring with a five-run, third-inning burst keyed by eighth-grader Harper Stangl’s two-run double and Staunton’s two-run single. All in all, East totaled nine hits compared to the Vikings four.
Kylinn Stangl set down the first nine hitters before allowing two runs on three hits in the fourth.
“We knew we needed to come out hitting the ball,” Stangl, who struck out five and walked two, said. “Their pitcher wanted to come out and get ahead in the count but we didn’t let that happen, we jumped on her right away. Our lineup has really been putting up some numbers by just putting the bat on the ball.”
Stangl smacked a triple to lead off the third and scored on Petzel’s bouncer through the hole.
“We needed to be hyped up right from the start,” Staunton said. “We had sort of a weird season so I knew coming into this tournament that we needed to have a lot of energy. I was definitely shocked when I made varsity and even more shocked when I found I would be starting. It has been really fun, these girls have been amazing to me. I just needed to have a good mindset and I’ve had one all season.”
East will look to avenge an earlier season loss to Winona (20-4) Thursday in a 2 p.m. semifinal clash.
The two teams, along with Mankato West, shared the Big Nine Conference title.
“Kylinn was hitting her spots from the start and was awfully tough for us,” East coach Joe Madson said. “When you put up a 10-spot in the first, it’s a tall order to face Kylinn and we stayed sharp. It was fun to get all the kids an at bat in a state tournament as well. Winona is going to be a tough one, but it’s a great opportunity for us and we’re looking forward to it.”
In other Class AAA games Wednesday, top-seeded Cretin-Derham Hall beat Benilde-St. Margaret’s 8-0, while fifth-seeded St. Francis topped fourth-seeded Rocori 6-2. Cretin and Rocori will play in the other semifinal at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Class AAAA
Top-seeded Rosemount beat Stillwater Area 8-7, and second-seeded Forest Lake got a 5-1 win over Eden Prairie. Third-seeded Rogers topped Edina 7-0, while fourth-seeded New Prague downed fifth-seeded St. Michael-Albertville 5-1.
Rosemount and New Prague will play a semifinal at 2 p.m. Thursday, and Forest Lake and Rogers will also play at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Class A
First-seeded New Ulm Cathedral picked up an 8-1 win over Kelliher/Northome, and fourth-seeeded Russell-Tyler-Ruthton beat fifth-seeded Moose Lake/Willow River 10-0. Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley upset second-seeded Red Lake Falls 9-7, while West Lutheran got past third-seeded Blooming Prairie 14-7.
Cathedral and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton play at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, while Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley and West Lutheran also play at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
