By Mike Mogus
The Wakefield 12U softball team played in Crofton at the league tournament this past weekend. After a 3-hour delay, the girls faced Osmond. The team came out on the losing side losing 13-10. They make a valiant effort to get back in the game scoring 7 runs in the final inning but fell short. Taylor Brown collected a single and Rylee Reaves had a single and a double. The next game in the double elimination tournament saw the young ladies face Bloomfield. The girls squeaked out a win winning 8-5. Maci Kratke led the team with two singles. Brown added a single and Reaves another double. The girls then went up against a tough Hartington Penguins team. They took care of business behind possibly the best pitching performance of the year from a Wakefield 12U girl as Quinn Riewer pitched a gem winning 4-1. The defense did their job too with some great plays from Josie Haglund, Kratke, Bella Ramirez-Tello, and Emersen Mackling. Kratke led the team with 2 hits. The girls once again faced Osmond. This time a trip to the championship game was on the line. Things were different for the girls this time around. With the score tied 7-7 in the bottom of the last inning, Kratke led off by getting on base with a dropped third strike. She made it to third base on a wild pitch and stolen base. She scored the winning run on a wild pitch. Riewer continued pitching well and the defense continued to back her up. This time Alyssa Weaver and Arianna Juarez stepped up and made some great plays defensively.
The girls had a long day, but they were not finished yet. After 4 games all in a row, the girls faced Crofton in the championship game. Crofton was up 3-0 before a rain delay. After the delay, the girls scored 2 runs to pull close, but the strain of the day fell on the girls as the host team scored 9 unanswered runs to win 12-2. Riewer, Mackling, and Kratke led the team with a hit each.
There has been a lot of crazy things that have happened with this group of girls this summer. Seeing them improve throughout the summer and end up runner up at the league tournament is quite an accomplishment!