Blossoms pummel Vikings 13-3

Blooming Prairie softball made the most of its road trip to Austin last week, capping a 1-1 home stand with a 13-3 pummeling of the Hayfield Vikings.

The Awesome Blossoms scored early and often, and forced the Vikings out of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning after scoring five runs to put the 10-run mercy rule into effect.

“We played a complete game defensively and Haven threw very well for us. We knew we had it in us and it was a good win against an always steady Hayfield program,” said Blooming Prairie head coach Cameron Rutledge.
Blooming Prairie took the first lead of the game at 2-0 with two runs in the bottom of the first inning stemming from an early string of key at-bats from Macy Lembke, Rachel Winzenburg, and Shawntee Snyder.

The Awesome Blossoms extended their lead to 3-0 at the bottom of the third before Hayfield found the momentum it needed to fight back into the game.

Senior pitcher Haven Carlson had shut down the Vikings through two innings, but a streak of walks and hits for the Vikings eventually tied the game at 3-3.

Blooming Prairie was kept scoreless in the third inning, giving Hayfield a chance to take the lead.

Thankfully for Blooming Prairie, the defense held strong and kept the Vikings scoreless in the top of the fourth inning to allow the Awesome Blossoms’ bats to go back to work.

Home fans had reason to cheer in the bottom of the fourth, when Blooming Prairie erupted for five runs to take an 8-3 lead into the game's late stages.

Hayfield did not answer in the top of the fifth and paid the price in the bottom half of the inning when Blooming Prairie knocked in another five runs, triggering the mercy rule.

Leading the Awesome Blossoms’ offense were Snyder and Carlson, who combined for eight of Blooming Prairie’s 13 runs.

Carlson also picked up the win on the mound, allowing just two earned runs in five full innings.

Earlier in the week, Blooming Prairie was stymied 1-0 by Waseca in its season-opener.

Waseca scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the first and won the defensive grudge match after seven innings of play.

Carlson took the loss by allowing three hits, one run, and five walks across seven innings.

Blooming Prairie’s next game will be at home against Kenyon-Wanamingo on Thursday, April 13 at 4:30 p.m.

Player Stats

vs. Hayfield

                     H    R    RBI      

Carlson          1    2    2         

Snyder           1    3    1         

M. Lembke     1    2    1         

L. Lembke      0    2    1         

Haberman      1    1    1         

Steckelberg   0    0    2         

Schammel      1    1    0         

Winzenburg    0    2    0         

Smith             0    0    1         

                            IP   H    R    K    BB

Carlson          5    3    3    3    4