For four innings against Sauk Centre at Caswell Park in North Mankato on Saturday, the varsity Clipper girls, trailing 1-0, didn’t show much of a pulse, but their four runs in the fifth was enough to beat the Mainstreeters 4-2.
With a decisive 10-0 victory over Nicollet in the first round of the four-team tournament at Caswell Park and a 10-0 triumph over Madelia in the final round, the Clippers, who were coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 extra-innings lost to host USC on April 21 but easy road wins over Mayer Lutheran on April 20 and Alden-Conger/Glenville Emmons on April 16, won the tournament.
The Mainstreeters pushed a run across the plate in the second on a bunt single, a stolen base and a pair of ground outs. Meanwhile, until the fifth, a single by Delaney Thompson and a walk by Brooke Bosse was all the offense the Clippers could muster.
But in the fifth, Taylor McCabe led off with a single. She advanced to second when Taylor Wolf collected a free pass and scored on a Thompson single. A Kaitlyn Flowers base hit brought Wolf home from second base. Thomson scored from third on a Natalie Flowers ground out, and Kaitlyn Flowers scored when Keira Schipper hit into an error.
Taking advantage of an error and a double, the Mainstreeters managed another run in the seventh, but it wasn’t enough, and the Clippers held on for the triumph.
Each team had five hits. Thompson had two singles while Kaitlyn Flowers, Bosse and McCabe each had one single. The Clippers struck out six times and walked three times.
Bosse, in her first start of the year, lasted all seven innings. She walked two and struck out six. The Clippers committed two errors, one more than the Mainstreeters.
Cleveland 10, Nicollet 0
The Clippers scored the winning run in the first when Kaitlyn Flowers got hit by a pitch, advanced to second when her sister singled and scored when Bosse and Hadley Thompson each hit into fielder’s choice.
The Clippers couldn’t do much wrong in the third as every grounder seemed to find a seam, and they racked up seven runs. Kaitlyn Flowers got the slugfest started with a double. Sister Natalie singled and made it to second as the Raiders focused on holding Kaitlyn Flowers on third. With two outs, Kaitlyn Flowers scored when the Raiders couldn’t complete an out on a Bosse hit back to the pitcher. Bosse stole second, and both she and Natalie Flowers scored when Hadley Thompson sent a hit to the centerfield fence for a double.
McCabe snuck a grounder by third base for an RBI. She took second on the play. Taylor Wolf walked, and eighth grader Anistyn Dauk’s seeing eye grounder up the middle scored McCabe from second. Back at the plate again in the inning, Delaney Thompson and Kaitlyn Flowers each singled to bring home Wolf while Dauk scored on a wild pitch for an 8-0 Clipper advantage.
The Clippers padded their lead in the sixth when Wolf singled, advanced on a Dauk single and a wild pitch and scored when Delaney Thompson hit into a fielder’s choice with an error on the putout attempt. A Kaitlyn Flowers hard hit in the infield brought Thompson across the plate.
The Clippers totaled 13 hits, took advantage of six walks and only struck out once. With a double and a pair of singles, Kaitlyn Flowers was three for four at the plate. Wolf collected a pair of singles. Schipper hit a double. The Thompson sisters, Bosse and McCabe each had a single.
Delaney Thompson went the distance in the circle. She allowed three hits and two walks while striking out 13. Nicollet committed three errors, two more than the Clippers.
The game counted as a Valley-Conference game.
Cleveland 10, Madelia 0
Delaney Thompson singled in the first, stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch for a 1-0 Clipper lead after the top of the first.
In the second, Bosse got hit by a pitch, advanced on a Hadley Thompson single, moved to third when CC Gair got hit by a pitch and scored on a wild pitch. Delany Thompson got hit by a pitch too to load the bases, and, with the bases loaded, Hadley Thompson got the easy trip home when Kaitlyn Flowers walked.
Schipper led off the third with a double and scored on a Hadley Thompson single. Kylie Wobbrock singled in the fourth, advanced to third on a Delaney Thompson double and scored on a Kaitlyn Flowers ground out for a 5-0 Clipper lead.
The Clippers added five more runs in the fifth. Bosse singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, to third on a Hadley Thompson single and scored on a passed ball. Hadley Thompson made an uncontested trip to second, advanced to third on a passed ball and, after Gair got hit by a pitch, scored when Wobbrock hit into a fielder’s choice. McCabe walked, advanced when Gair got hit by a pitch, moved to third on the fielder’s choice and scored on a wild pitch. Wobbrock made an uncontested trip to second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and, after Delany Thompson walked, scored when Kaitlyn Flowers hit into an error.
The Clippers’ final run came in the sixth when Bosse singled and, with an error on the play, reached second. She scored after a pair of wild pitches.
The Clippers outhit the Blackhawks 9-3 and took advantage of five walks and four hit batters. They struck out twice. With three singles, Hadley Thompson was three for four at the plate. Bosse and Delany Thompson each hit a double and a single. Schipper hit a double. Wobbrock had a single.
Delaney Thompson threw the first four innings. She allowed three hits and three walks while striking out 10. In her two innings, Bosse struck out two while giving up no hits or walks. Madelia had two errors while the Clippers committed none.
USC 3, Cleveland 2
After striking out to the Rebels’ ace pitcher 13 times and only getting one runner on base through the first six innings, the Clippers posted two runs in the seventh when Kaitlyn Flowers led off with a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored when Schipper got the Clippers only hit of the game, a double.
But the Rebels took advantage of a pair of Cleveland errors and a double to send the game into extra innings. While the Clippers went down swinging 1-2-3 in the eighth, the Rebels hit back-to-back singles and scored on another Clipper error for the W.
All told, the Clippers struck out 20 times and walked once. Hadley Thompson reached first on an error in the fifth.
Delaney Thompson gave up six hits but no earned runs while striking out a dozen and walking just one.
Cleveland 11, Mayer Lutheran 2
Leading off the game, Delaney Thompson got hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a Kaitlyn Flowers single, reached third on a passed ball and scored on a Natalie Flowers grounder. Kaitlyn Flowers scored from third on a Schipper sacrifice fly.
In the second, McCabe singled, reached second when Wolf walked, third on a Kiya Sohn sacrifice fly and home on a Delaney Thompson single.
In the third, Natalie Flowers got hit by a pitch and made her way around the basepaths on a wild pitch, a Schipper groundout and a Bosse sac fly.
In the sixth, walks and errors as well as a Kaitlyn Flowers double and singles off the bats of Natalie Flowers and Schipper led to six more Clipper runs. McCabe led off the seventh with a single that, with an error on the play, put her on second. She made her way home on a passed balls for the game’s final run.
On a single, a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch, the Crusaders put up a run in the third. They added another run in the fifth on a walk, a stolen base, a sacrifice fly and a double.
The Clippers outhit the Crusaders 8-3, walked twice and struck out six times. Kaitlyn Flowers hit for a double and two singles. McCabe connected for a pair of doubles. Schipper, Delaney Thompson and Natalie Flowers hit a single.
Delaney Thompson pitched all seven innings. She struck out a dozen and walked three. The Clippers were perfect in the field while the Crusaders suffered three errors.
Cleveland 15, Alden-Conger/Glenville Emmons 0
The Clippers posted one run in the first, four in the second, nine in the third and one in the fourth to end the game after four complete innings.
The Clippers racked up a dozen hits and took advantage of five walks while striking out only once. McCabe hit a double and a single. Delaney Thompson, the Flowers siblings and Bosse each had two singles. Schipper and Hadley Thompson each had a double. Natalie Flowers batted in four runs.
Delaney Thompson tossed the first inning. She walked one, allowed no hits and struck out two. Bosse threw the final four innings. She gave up one hit but no walks while striking out five. Cleveland had one error while the Knights struggled with seven errors.
Monday’s game vs. Madelia was postponed. The Clippers return to action today (Tuesday) when they host Faribault Bethlehem Academy.
Above: Brooke Bosse pitched the win over Sauk Centre.
Shortstop Keira Schipper makes a tag on a Sauk Centre runner, but the runner managed to knock the ball out to reach second base safely.
Taylor McCabe stoops to make a catch from her spot by second base during the game against the Mainstreeters.