COLLEGE SOFTBALL
The Riverland softball team was swept by Rochester Community and Technical College on Tuesday in the final doubleheader of the regular season.
In the opener, RCTC pitcher Mel Schmidt threw a no-hitter in a 14-0 win. Liz Morrill took the loss for Riverland in the first game of the Minnesota Community College Conference, South Division doubleheader.
The second game was more competitive, but the RCTC Yellowjackets completed the sweep with a 7-2 win.
"We played poorly defensively in the first game," Riverland coach Dave Lillemon said. "Liz pitched better than score indicated. We didn’t get any defensive help behind her and she had to pitch to a lot of hitters. Offensively, we just couldn’t muster anything and had only one walk in the game."
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Amber Wilson took the pitching loss with six runs earned in the late game. The Lady Blue Devils scored solo runs in the fifth and sixth innings to avert another shutout.
In the fifth inning, Morill walked and Wilson singled. Samantha Schmidt then hit a RBI single to plate the first Riverland run of the day. In the sixth, Kim Bestul doubled and Tracee Crowley followed with a RBI single.
"The girls made some fantastic defensive plays in the late game," Lillemon said. "We struggled offensively the whole day, but the defense gave a great effort. Our fielders laid out six or seven times to grab balls in that second game. They play their hearts out in the final home game and that’s all I can ask. I’m proud of the way they battled in the second game after being no-hit in the first game."
Riverland (7-21, 7-17 MCCC South) plays in the MCCC State Tourney this weekend in Brainerd.
RCTC 14, Riverland 0
(Game 1)
RCTC 300 128 — 14 14 0
Riverland 000 000 — 0 0 5
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WP: Mel Schmidt. LP: Liz Morrill 6 IP, 14 H, 5 BB, 5 K.
RCTC 7, Riverland 2
(Game 2)
RCTC 200 104 0 — 7 8 3
Riverland 000 011 0 — 2 6 2
WP: Sarah Mainz. LP: Amber Wilson 7 IP, 7 R, 8 H, 4 BB, 4 K.
