Mille Lacs and Hinckley-Finlayson battled in Mora on Thursday for a spot in the section semi final.
The Jaguars had a bit of a slow start to the game, that was not the case for Mille Lacs. They were able to bring 8 batters to the plate and score three runs on four hits in the bottom of the 1st. The top of the 2nd looked promising for the Jags as Natalie Stafne reached on a base hit and quickly advanced to third. Sadly, the nest three batters couldn't drive her home. The bottom of the 2nd was far more fruitful for the Raiders, scoring 5 more runs on 7 hits to extend their lead 8-0.
The Jaguars finally cracked the scoreboard in the third inning pushing 2 runs across the plate on 4 hits to cut into the Mille Lacs lead. The Raiders got close in the third but couldn't drive in their runner from third and Hinckley-Finlayson seemed to slightly shift momentum in their favor. They again saw their lead off batter reach third after a base hit but couldn't put a ball in play. The Raiders would strike again in the fourth but only managing one run with five batters stepping to the plate. The Jags weren't able to do anything in the fifth but the Raiders added two more runs and now lead 11-2. The Jags had a lot of work to do but three of their first four batters reached base to begin the 6th inning. Was this finally the break they needed? Not quite as Madi Hebeisen quickly eliminated any scoring threat and put her team back to work on offense. And they did their job scoring the one run they needed to end the game due to the 10 run rule.
Mille Lacs punched their ticket to the semi final game on Tuesday in Pillager where they'll face Menahga.
Hinckley-Finlayson was sent to the elimination bracket with the lose and faced a rematch against Hill City/Northland.
