Softball: Another successful season

All-state centerfielder Carly Esselman (photo by J. Lindquist)

Farmington didn't win its third straight section championship but it did manage to put together another solid season under third-year coach Paul Harrington.

The Tigers finished 16-9 overall (9-5 in the Missota Conference) and went 4-2 in the section tourney, losing twice to eventual Class AA champion Lakeville South.

"We had another very late, cold spring," Harrington said, "but the kids on all four of our teams were great facing the disappointment of so much practicing in the gym.

"It took us awhile to get our rhythm but when we hit the last week of the regular season we felt we were ready for another great playoff run which we had."

Twelve players were awarded varsity letters at the team's post-season banquet held Monday night: seniors Jordyn Keprios and McKenzie Nelson; juniors Molly Berdan, Amber Doyle, Ashley Ibinger and Taylor Yousse; sophomores Carly Esselman, Nicole Pierick and Meghan Silber and freshmen Emily Berdan, Caitie Dully and Maddie Muelken.

Esselman who led the team in hitting with a .420 average, was nemed the St. Paul Pioneer Press all-state team, the Minnesota Coaches Association second all-state team,  and also earned all-Missota Conference and all-section honors.

Ibinger (.388), Muelken (12-7 pitching record) and Yousse were all-section selections while Ibinger, Muelken, and Doyle (4 home runs and 24 RBI) joined Esselman on the all-Missota squad.

Other awards announced Monday night at the awards banquet included team and offensive MVP: Esselman; Defensive MVP: Muelken; Most Improved Player: Ibinger and Dully and Tiger Award: Molly Berdan.

Maddie Muelken won 12 games as a freshman (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Harrington said the list of accomplishments of the 2014 edition of Tiger softball was a long one, topped by reaching the section finals for the third straight season; huge back-to-back wins over Hastings and Rochester Mayo to reach the section title game and providing a defense that averaged less than an error a game throughout the season.


"This was also one of the most enthusiastic teams I have ever coached," Harrington said. "Our dugout was especially loud."

Ashley Ibinger hit .388

Harrington was reluctant to point out disappointments encountered along the 2014 trail but offered that two things top the to-do list for next season 1) being more consistent making contact with the ball (too many strikeouts) and 2) executing the bunt.

"It's also important to note we added a fourth team to our program this year," Harrington said, "and it turned out to be very successful."

While this season brought much success only Keprios and Nelson will be lost to graduation and with a veteran squad returning, Harrington looks for an even more prosperous 2015.

Amber Doyle (4 HR, 24 RBI) (photo by J. Lindquist)

"We were fairly young this year, especially at pitcher and catcher," he said, "but Maddie (Muelken) and Meghan (Silber) did a great job with Maddie taking charge at the end of the season. Much of their success success came from Emily (catcher Berdan) who caught the majority of innings.

"We will miss our two seniors who played solidly all season but we feel that the experience the others gained this year will be very beneficial and lead to more success next season."

Better win-loss numbers will likely not come easy, however, as Farmington makes the leap into the uber-strong South Suburban Conference in the fall.

"The South Suburban is by far the most competitive softball conference in the state," Harrington said. "We will obviously have a much tougher regular season schedule in the years to come. Our players and coaches will need to step it up and be full prepared.

"But we feel the rigorous regular season schedule will have us much better prepared for the section playoffs.and another run at the state tournament."

Softball: Settling for second

Emily Berdan drove in all of the Tiger runs with a three-run homer (photo by Jim Lindquist)

 

The Tigers ran out of miracle finishes in a 9-3 loss to Lakeville South Thursday afternoon in the Section 1AAA championship game played at Todd Park in Austin.

The Cougars broke a 3-3 tie with five runs in the third inning to advance to the state tournament for the first time. The runner-up Tigers has represented Section 1 in the state tournament the past two seasons.

"We played hard in the championship game," Farmington coach Paul Harrington said. "We threatened to score with runners on base every inning except the fifth. A few more timely hits and we would have been right there with them. I guess it wasn't our day."

South opened the scoring with a three-run second inning but the Tigers countered with a three-spot of their own in the bottom of the frame on a double by Ashley Ibinger, a single by Jordyn Keprios and a three-run homer by Emily Berdan

 

Keprios, Ibinger and Carly Esselman each had a pair of hits to led the eight-hit Farmington offensive attack.

Maddie Muelken went the distance in the circle for the Tigers and absorbed the pitching loss, scattering nine hits.

"We played 20 innings of softball on Tuesday," Harrington said. "Another day of rest before we played in the championship game would have been nice to recuperate physically and mentally. But we are all proud of our girls' efforts and enthusiasm until the final out.

"Lakeville South is a great team and we hope they represent our section well in the state tournament."

With the 4-2 run in the section tournament the Tigers finished the 2014 campaign with a record of 16 wins and nine losses.

 

Softball: Back in the finals

Taylor Yousse drove in the game-winning run vs. Mayo (photo by Jim Lindquist)

It took a two-out seventh inning comeback in the first game and six extra innings in the second but the bottom line is Farmington is back in the Section 1AAA finals for the third consecutive year.

The Tigers scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to beat Hastings 5-2 in an elimination game and then later pushed across a run in the bottom of the 13th in a heart-stopping 2-1 win over Rochester Mayo Tuesday afternoon and evening in Austin.

The wins, Farmington's fourth in five games in the tournament, set up a Thursday rematch with Lakeville South back in Austin at 4:00.  A win in that one means another game immediately following for the section crown and a trip to the state tournament.

"It was really a long and draining day and night," Tiger coach Paul Harrington said. "We played 20 innings of softball.... We couldn't ask for anything more from our girls. The coaches and fans are so proud of their efforts."

Carly Esselman scored in both games (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington 5 Hastings 2
The Tigers broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning when leadoff hitter Carly Esselman singled and with two outs and scored on a throwing error.

"Carly was still running when she hit third base and they were a little lackadaisical in getting the ball back to the pitcher," Harrington said. "We stole a run there on some alert base running."

The lead was short-lived, however, as the Raiders rallied for two scores in the bottom of the inning to take a lead that would last until the top of the seventh.

The Tigers were down to their last out before the tables turned and in similar fashion to last year's championship game with the Raiders, the ball started to find holes in the Raider defense.

After consecutive hits by Molly Berdan, Amber Doyle, Maddie Muelken, Ashley Ibinger and Taylor Yousse and a Raider error, all of a sudden Farmington was sitting on a three-run cushion.

Muelken  pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh to seal the comeback win.

"It was another story book ending for us against Hastings," Harrington said. "Wow, what a finish!  Another one of those big comebacks that the girls, fans and coaches will never forget".

Farmington outhit Hastings 11-9 in an offense-dominating game with Muelken and Doyle each collecting a pair of safeties for the winners.

Maddie Muelken struck out 13 against Mayo (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington 2 Rochester Mayo 1 (13 innings)
There was no shortage of drama in the extra-inning contest with both teams having plenty of opportunities to score along the way.

The Tigers scored in their first at-bat when Essleman bunted for hit, moved up two bases on a wild pitch and scored on Doyle's single.

That run held up until the top of the seventh when the Spartans forced extra innings with an unearned run.

Runners dotted the bases in the extra innings but none crossed the plate until the home half of the 13th when Muelken reached on an infield error.

Pinch-runner Tarah DeCoock advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ibinger and Yousse ended the marathon with a game-winning single up the middle. 

"Lots of kids had a chance to win it," Harrington said. "We left a dozen runners on but Taylor just took the game in her own hands at the end."

Yousse shared hero honors with Muelken who pitching all 13 innings and struck out 13 Spartans, a career-high.

Yousse and Esselman each had two hits to lead the resurgent Farmington offense that produced 20 hits in the two games.

Now its back on the bus on Thursday for another trip to Austin and a date with top-seeded South.

"We will really need to push ourselves to get mentally and physically ready," Harrington said. "We will need to play perfect defense against them to win. We cannot let down. We need to step it up one more time. Hopefully we have enough left in our tank." 

South edged the Tigers 3-2 in the championship semifinals last Friday.

 

Softball: Still hanging around

Maddie Muelken drove in both runs against South (file photo by Jim Lindquist)

Two-time defending Section 1AA champion Farmington split a pair of games at the 2014 tournament in Austin Friday to remain in contention for a third straight trip to state.

Top-seeded Lakeville South rallied form a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Tigers 3-2 in the championship bracket semifinals. Farmington came back to edge Winona 4-3 in a consolation bracket game in the double-elimination tournament.

Lakeville South 3 Farmington 2
The teams battled to a scoreless tie through two innings before the Tigers manufactured two runs in
the top half of the third.

Carlye Esselman started the rally when she reached on an infield error. Molly Berdan followed with an infield single and Maddie Muelken drove them both home with a double over the centerfielder's head.

The Cougars answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth and then pulled even on a solo home run by Bailee Jackson in the fifth.

South scored the game-winner in the sixth on a leadoff double and a run-scoring single by winning pitcher Kylie Stober.

The Tigers had runners on second and third with one out in the top half of the sixth but Stober struck out the next two batters to get out of the jam. Farmington left seven runners on base in the game.

Molly Berdan 2 hits in each game (photo by J. Lindquist)

Each team finished with six hits with Muelken and Berdan each collecting two for the Tigers. Jordyn Keprios and Ashley Ibinger had the other Farmignton hits.

Muelken went the distance in the circle for the Tigers and absorbed the pitching loss.

"We had too many strikeouts (12)," Tiger coach Paul Harrington said, "but both teams played well. It was a good softball game. They just scored one more run than we did."

Farmington 4 Winona 3
The hits (10) were easier to come by in the consolation bracket win over the Winhawks, but they didn't translate to many more runs.

Winona pushed across a run in the top of the third inning to take a brief lead but the Tigers countered with three scores in the bottom of the inning on singles by Esselman and Berdan and a three-run home run by Amber Doyle that bounced off the tip of the centerfielder's glove and went over the fence.

Berdan replicated Doyle's bounce one off the centerfielder's glove trick shot for a home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to provide what proved to be the winning run as the Winhawks plated a pair of scores in the top of the sixth.

"That's not something you see very often, let alone twice in one game," Harrington said.

Muelken pitched a one-two-three seventh inning to nail down the win.

Doyle and Berdan each had a single and a home run for the winners. Taylor Yousse ripped an opposite field double and Keprios, Esselman, Ibinger, McKenzie Nelson and Nicole Pierick each chipped in with singles.

Muelken struck out three and did not issue a walk in posting the pitching victory.

The Tigers return to Austin Tuesday afternoon where they will square off against Hastings in an elimination game at 4:00. A victory would set up a second game against the loser of the Lakeville South-Rochester Mayo winner's bracket final at 6:00.

"We're still in it," Harrington said. "Our pitching and defense have been fine. We still have to get our bats going a little more."

Amber Doyle 3-run homer vs. Winona (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Softball: Tigers advance in Section 1AAA

Molly Berdan rapped a two-run triple in the six-run fourth inning (file photo by Jim Lindquist)

Fourth-seeded Farmington broke a scoreless tie with a big six-run fourth inning and then held off a late Rochester John Marshall comeback for a 6-3 win over the Rockets in a second round game of the Section 1AAA tournament played Wednesday at Tiger Field.

No. 5 seed John Marshall beat 12th-seeded Faribault 7-2 in an opening round game earlier in the afternoon.

Farmington coach Paul Harrington said his offense was going to have to pick things up a notch if the Tigers are to stay alive in the hunt for a third consecutive section title.

"I'm sure there were some nerves involved with playing the first game in the section," Harrington said. There always is."

"But if we hit like we did today, we won't be around long. We had too may poor at-bats, especially early in the game. Swinging at bad pitches with 0-2 counts and taking third strikes when we were 0-2. You can't do those things and expect to win."

Neither team could do much through the first three-and-a-half innings with the teams combining for no runs and three hits.

That all changed in the home half of the fourth when Farmington sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring six runs on five hits and a couple of Rocket errors.

Maddie Muelken started the fourth inning rally with a double (file photo by Jim Lindquist)

Maddie Muelken started the uprising with a double. Ashley Ibinger reached on an error and Taylor Yousse knocked in the first run with an infield single.

Later in the inning Jordyn Keprios drove in a run with a fielder's choice ground ball and Emily Berdan chased one home with a single up the middle. After Carly Esselman singled, Molly Berdan lined a triple to right-center to plate the final two Farmington runs.

Muelken started in the circle for the Tigers and was cruising along with a two-hit shutout until two were out in the top of the sixth. Then the feisty Rockets parlayed a walk and three consecutive singles into three runs to get back in the game.

Muelken got the first two outs in the seventh inning, too, but once again JM refused to go away quietly, loading the bases with two outs before the freshman righthander got the final out on an infield groundout.

Muelken allowed seven hits in the contest while striking out nine and walking two.

The Tigers finished with seven hits, one each by seven different players. The Rockets hurt their own cause by committing four errors in the field.

The win punched the Tigers' ticket to the third round of the double-elimination section tourney scheduled for Friday in Austin where they will match up with top-seeded Lakeville South.

Tigers draw No. 4 seed for section softball

Farmington drew the fourth seed for the 12-team Section 1AAA girls' softball tournament and earned a bye in the opening round.

The Tigers (12-7) will play host to No. 5 Rochester John Marshall and No. 12 Faribault in the first day of post-season play Wednesday at Tiger Field.

JM will square off against Faribault at 3:30 in the first game with Farmington taking on the winner at 6:00.

The loser of the first game is eliminated from tournament play. Both teams from the second game advance to the double-elimination third round in Austin on Friday.

For complete Section 1AAA tournament brackets visit

 http://www.mshsl.org/mshsl/doubleelim.asp?bracket=6759&tournid=49

Softball: A split with the champs

Jordyn Keprios had a hit and RBI in each game (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington earned a regular season-ending split with Chanhassen Friday afternoon at Tiger Field. The Storm rallied for a 3-2 win in the opener before the Tigers roughed up the two-time defending conference champions 12-0 in the nightcap.

The split leaves Farmington with a record of 12 wins and seven losses heading into the post-season. The Tigers finished 9-5 in the Missota, good enough for a third place finish in the final league standings.

"Our regular season is over and now we will just sit back and wait to see the brackets and hopefully have another great playoff run," coach Paul Harrington said.

Game One
Things were looking rosy for the Tigers in the early going when they scored solo runs in the second and third innings to take the lead.

Maddie Muelken walked to led off the second and pinch runner Meghan Silber advanced to second on Taylor Yousse's sacrifice bunt. Silber scored on Jordan Keprios' base hit to left.

In the third inning, Emily Berdan and Carly Esselman singled with Berdan scoring on a throwing error on Molly Berdan's bunt.

The Storm tied the count with runs in the fourth and sixth innings and then won it with a score in seventh.

Muelken pitched well in defeat, scattering seven hits and striking out six.

"We let them hang around too long," Harrington said. "We couldn't get the big hit in the earlier innings to increase our lead and put them away.

"It was a tough loss. We get another hit in the innings we were threatening and we win this game.  But give Chan a lot of credit. They kept it close and played well."

Carly Esselman 3 hits (photo by J. Lindquist)

Game Two
Harrington has been around softball a long time but he said he can never remember seeing what happened in his team's first at-bat.

 "Our first seven batters all scored in the first inning," he said. "I am not sure I have ever seen that in game against such a high quality team as Chanhassen...We got the lead and never looked back. 

"The battery combination of Maddie (Muelken) and Emily (Berdan) was solid all day, and they took control to finish this game."

The Tigers ended the game on the ten-run rule with another big inning, a five-run fourth. The winners finished with eight hits and took advantage of three costly Storm errors.

Muelken rapped a pair of doubles and knocked in three runs while Esselman went 2-3 with a double and two runs scored.

Keprios, Molly Berdan and Ashley Ibinger each scored twice. Yousse and Keprios had a run-batted-in and scored.

 The contest was halted after five innings by the 10-run rule.

"This was a real character building game for us," Harrington said. "We had just lost a real tough game in the bottom of the seventh inning and we are playing a team that is one win away from winning the conference championship....Our kids did not roll over and die. We took it to them and didn't give them anything."

Seeding for next week's Section 1AAA tournament will take place this weekend with opening round games slated for Wednesday.

 

 

Softball: Tigers pay back Shakopee

Maddie Muelken pitched a shutout and drove in the winning run (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Maddie Muelken threw a seven-hit shutout and drove in the game's only run in a hard-fought 1-0 Missota Conference win over Shakopee Thursday afternoon in Shakopee.

The victory evened the season score with the Sabers who downed the Tigers  3-1 last Saturday at Tiger Field.

"It was a pitcher's duel," Harrington said. "Maddie had a great game pitching and kept them off balance. She came up big with runners in scoring position...Emily Berdan called a great game behind the plate. Those two work well together."

Shakopee outhit Farmington 7-2 with the visitors scoring an unearned run in the top of the first  inning and holding on for the win.

Carly Esselman led off the game with a single, advanced to third on  an infield throwing error and scored on Muelken's ground ball out to second base. The rest of the afternoon belonged to Muelken and the Tiger defense.

"We didn't get many hits," Harrington said.  "They outhit us, but I guess the bottom line is that we won the game."

Taylor Youssse had the only other Farmington hit of the day, a single in the fifth inning.

The win boosted the Tigers' season to 12-5 overall and 8-4 in the conference.

Friday the Tigers close out their regular and conference seasons with a home doubleheader against league-leading Chanhassen (13-3; 11-1).

""Overall we need to get our bats rolling again," Harrington said. "Our execution on bunts needs to improve too."

 

 

Softball: Nothing doing at New Prague

Molly Berdan had one of the three Tiger hits at New Prague (photo by Jim Lindquist)

For the second time this season the Tigers managed just three hits in a shutout loss to New Prague, this one a 6-0 whitewash Wednesday in New Prague.

"We only had three hits, but we had five base on balls," coach Paul Harrington said. "All in all, we had eight runners left on base, so we had our chances.

"Like a lot games, the difference between winning and losing comes down to timely hitting and we just didn't get that today."

The usually steady Tiger defense also played into the defeat, committing three errors behind losing pitcher Megan Silber who gave up only six hits.

"Our defense has been fairly solid all year and we need to get back to that level," Harrington said. "One bad play in the sections and our season could be over in a hurry."

The Trojans broke a scoreless tie with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning and them put the game away with a a four-run sixth.

Molly Berdan, Ashley Ibinger and Taylor Yousse each had a hit for Farmignton in the losing effort.

"Overall, it was not our best outing," Harrington said. "A game similar to the last time we played them. They got the big hits they needed for their big innings and we did not."

With the loss the Tigers saw their season record dip to 10-6 overall and 7-4 in the Missota Conference.

Next up on the docket is a Thursday road game at Shakopee followed by a home doubleheader with Chanhassen on Friday.

Softball: Seniors help Tigers rally past Hawks

Taylor Yousse smacked 2 doubles and drove in 3 runs (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Farmington roster contains the names of just two seniors and both came through with big late inning hits to help the Tigers to a 6-2 Senior Night victory over Chaska Tuesday at Tiger Field.

The Hawks scored two runs in their first at bat and took a two-run lead into the home half of the fifth inning.

Ashley Ibinger led off the inning with a single. Then senior second baseman Jordyn Keprios stroked a single to set up Taylor Yousse's game-tying two-run double. Carly Esselman's reached first when she was hit by a pitch and Molly Berdan cleared the bases with a two-run triple.

Ibinger started another two-run uprising in the sixth with a single and moved to second on Emily Berdan's sacrifice bunt. McKenzie Nelson, the team's other senior, followed with a run-scoring single and then raced home on Yousse's second double of the day.

"It's always nice to win our Senior Night game," Farmington coach Paul Harrington said, "and even more special when our seniors came through like they did."

Yousse had her biggest offensive game of the season with her two doubles and three runs batted in. Ibinger also went 2-3 and scored twice.

Maddie Muelken notched the pitching win, allowing six hits and striking out four in avenging an earlier 3-2 loss to the Hawks.

"We had only one hit going into the fifth inning and had a lot of strikeouts," Harrington said, "but the bats exploded for seven hits in two innings. All were hard-hit balls and three of them went for extra bases. ...We were overdue and it was great to see. It was a nice comeback victory."

Farmington (10-5) continues its busy week Wednesday with a road game at New Prague. Thursday they travel to Shakopee before returning home Friday for a doubleheader with Chanhassen.

Softball: Too little, too late

Caitie Dully drove in the Tiger run

The sun finally came out for a game day but the Tiger bats took most of it off in a 3-1 Missota Conference loss to Shakopee Saturday afternoon at Tiger Field.

Farmington (9-5) didn't get its first base hit until Amber Doyle lined a double to left-center in the fourth and didn't have more than a single base runner in an inning until the home half of the seventh when it scored its only run.

"Slow start again," Tiger coach Paul Harrington said. "We've had too many of those in games we have lost this season. We have to find a way to get something going earlier in the game.

"Their pitcher was working the outside part of the plate and we didn't adjust. We didn't drive anything today. Not very good at-bats. We hit a lot of ground balls to the second-baseman."

The Sabers put the Tigers in an early hole, using a double and single off starter Maddie Muelken to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

The deficit climbed to 2-0 in the fourth after another double and a two-out infield error and then in the sixth the Sabers' Megan Schmidt launched a solo homer over the leftfield fence.

The Tigers finally got to Shakopee pitcher Taylor Koenen in the bottom of the seventh when Doyle and Muelken opened the inning with singles and Emily Berdan walked to load the bases.

Caitie Dully knocked in a run with an infield out but Koenen induced Jordyn Keprios to ground to second to end the game.

The Tigers finished the afternoon with just four hits, two by Doyle and one apiece by Muelken and Carly Esselman.

Muelken absorbed the pitching loss, giving up two earned runs on six hits. She struck out two and did not issue a walk.

The Tigers spring right back into action Monday with a conference doubleheader with Chanhassen at Tiger Field.

Softball: Tigers win shootout over Huskies

Amber Doyle 3-4, 4 RBI (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The ball was flying all over the windy Northfield field Friday afternoon where the Tigers outscored Section 1AAA rival 11-5.

The two teams combined for 29 hits in what Farmington coach Paul Harrington termed  "a bit of a slugfest."

"Our pitchers got out of some jams to keep the opponent's score down," Harrington said. "But on the  other hand, we had some very timely hitting again, to knock in a lot of runs.  That was the difference in the game"

"This was a big game against a potential section opponent. They hit the ball well and we were happy to come out on top."

Molly Berdan 3-4. 4 RBI, 2 R (photo by Jim Lindquist)

No less than six Tigers finished the day with multiple hits. Molly Berdan and Amber Doyle led the hit parade with three hits and four runs batted in apiece.

Carly Esselman, Ashley Ibinger, Emily Berdan and Jordyn Keprios each collected a pair of safeties. Kepros also knocked in a pair of runs. Esselman scored three times and Ibinger and Molly Berdan each scored twice.

Meghan Silber pitched the first 5.66 innings, allowing all five runs on 12 hits, and chalked up the win. Maddie Muelken came on with two out in the sixth inning and threw 1.33 innings of one-hit, scoreless relief.

Farmington won't have much time to savor the win as it jumps back into action Saturday afternoon with a Missota Conference matinee against Shakopee at Tiger Field.

Softball: Sweep City at Red Wing

Maddie Muelken picked up two pitching wins (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington made it three wins in the past two days with a Missota Conference doubleheader sweep at Red Wing Wednesday afternoon.

The Tigers banged out 14 hits, including a couple of long home runs, in an opening game 10-3 win and then scored all of their runs in the first three innings of a 5-3 triumph in the nightcap.

"It was a big day for us," Tiger coach Paul Harrington said "We swept them on their home field, which is never easy to do".

 

"They (Red Wing) are a much improved team over the last two years. Their pitcher keeps coming at you and they have some very good hitters. If they shore up their defense a bit, they will be a tough team in our section playoffs."

 

The opener was decided in the top of the first inning when the visitors reeled off five straight hits, including a two-run homer by Amber Doyle, to score four runs.

 

Starting pitcher Maddie Muelken and lead-off hitter Carly Esselman each collected three hits to pace the Tiger offense. Esselman had a double and her first varsity homer and also scored three runs. Doyle, Ashley Ibinger and Jordyn Keprios each had two hits for the winners.

 

Jordyn Keprios 2-3, 2B, RBI in the opener (photo by Jim Lindquist)

"We had our hitting shoes on the first game" Harrington said. "Once we got the lead they couldn't catch us."

 

Muelken picked up the pitching victory, working the first six innings and striking out eight. Meghan Silber came on in the seventh and threw an inning of scoreless relief. 

The Tigers scored all five of their runs in the first three innings of the second game to build a 5-1 lead and then squelched a couple of attempted Winger comebacks with some fine defensive play to complete the sweep.

Esselman and Ibinger accounted for most of the offense with a pair of hits apiece. Each rapped a double with Ibinger knocking in a run and Esselman scoring twice.

The Tiger defense turned double plays in the third and sixth innings to snuff out rallies by the Wingers.

Muelken picked up her second pitching win of the day, scattering seven hits and striking out four.

The sweep raised Farmington's season record to 8-4; 6-2 in Missota Conference play.

The Tigers travel to Chanhassen Thursday afternoon for a Missota match-up with the Storm. Saturday they head to Shakopee for a matinee encounter with the Sabers.

 

 

 

 

Softball: Over in a hurry

Winning pitcher Meghan Silber

The Tigers scored early and often in their 17-1, five-inning Missota Conference victory over Northfield Tuesday afternoon at Tiger Field.

Farmington (6-4 overall and 4-2 in the Missota Conference) scored four runs in the first inning, six in the second and seven more in third against the Raiders who didn't help their cause with seven costly errors.

"They (Northfield) made a lot of errors," Tiger coach Paul Harrington said, "but we got some big hits at the right time to take advantage. Our hitters were patient at the plate and we took a lot of walks. All of that added up to a lot of runs."

The winners finished with 10 hits, including two apiece by Maddie Muelken and Ashley Ibinger. Ibinger, Muelken and McKenzie Nelson each drove in a pair of runs. Ibinger, who also walked twice, scored three times.

Meghan Silber started in the circle and picked up the pitching victory for the Tigers. After surrendering a solo home run in the first inning, the sophomore righhander settled down, allowing just four hits and no runs the rest of the way.

"She shut the door after the first inning," Harrington said.

The game also marked the second straight day of spring-like weather that Harrington is hoping to see more of the rest of the season.

"The good weather will hopefully help us get in a rhythm as we close out the regular season and get ready for the playoffs," he said.

Wednesday the Tigers travel to Red Wing for a Missota Conference doubleheader with the Wingers.

Softball: Trojans blank Tigers

Carly Esselman had one of the three Tiger hits (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The bats showed a little rust after over a week of not facing quality pitching.

Farmington (5-4) saw its Missota Conference record dip to 3-2 after a 3-0 shutout loss to New Prague Monday afternoon  at Tiger Field.

The Tigers managed just three singles off the right-handed offerings off Trojan righthander Nicole Reed who struck out 15 batters, including the last seven she faced.

"One problem is we haven't seen much of that type of pitcher yet," Tiger coach Paul Harrington said of the hard-throwing Reed. "It doesn't help that the last pitcher we faced threw about half that speed...I think things will look a little different when we see her (Reed) the second time around."

Tiger pitcher Maddie Muelken didn't record as many strikeouts but she pitched well enough to keep the Trojans off the board through the first four innings.

Then with two out and no one on in the fifth, New Prague manufactured two unearned runs on two infield hits and an error.

The Trojans added an insurance score in the sixth inning on a lead-off double and run-scoring single.

Muelken had two of the three Farmington hits in the game, both singles. Carly Esselman's two-out single in the third inning was the only other Farmington safety.

Muelken went the distance in the circle in the losing effort, allowing five hits and one earned run. She struck out six and walked only one.

Tuesday the Tigers entertain Northfield in another conference game and Wednesday they head to Red Wing for a doubleheader with the Wingers.

Softball: Tigers rout Stars 14-1

Ashley Ibinger 3-4, RBI, run

A week off due to rain and wet field conditions didn't seem to faze the Tigers as they returned to action Friday afternoon with a lopsided 14-1 Missota Conference win over Holy Angels in Richfield.

Farmington won the first meeting between the two teams by a similar 10-1 count but Tiger coach Paul Harrington said his team played much better in the rematch.

"The first time we played them, they gave us several runs and we did not hit the ball well," Harrington said. "In this one, they gave us a few runs, but our 15 hits against a fairly tough pitcher was great to see. We hit a lot of balls right on the nose."

The Tigers put five runs on the board in both the second and fourth innings to win going away. The game was stopped after five innings by the 10-run rule.

Amber Doyle, Carly Esselman and Ashley Ibinger led the offensive attack with three hits apiece. Two of Doyle's hits went for extra bases, a double and a triple, and she knocked in four runs.Esselman scored four runs and Molly Berdan went 2-3 with a double and scored twice.

Pitchers Maddie Muelken (4 innings) and Meghan Silber (1 inning) combined for a one-hit shutout for the Tigers who raised their season record to 5-3; 3-1 in Missota Conference play.

"Today was a very good showing after a week of not playing because of the rains," Harrington said.  It was nice to get back outside.  We play eight games this coming week.  Hopefully we can keep these hot bats going."

The Tigers begin their busy week Monday with a home doubleheader with New Prague. Game time is 4:00.

Molly Berdan 2-3, RBI, run (photo by Jim Lindquist)

 

Softball: Tigers fourth at Mankato tourney

Maddie Muelken two-run single vs. New Ulm (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington (4-3) won one and lost two in a quality eight-team tournament played Friday and Saturday at Caswell Park in Mankato.

The Tigers opened the meet with a 6-2 win over Maple River and then lost a tough 4-3 decision to New Ulm in the championship bracket semifnals. They dropped the third place game 4-0 to host Mankato East.

"Overall, we played well in the tourney and basically had two bad innings," coach Paul Harrington said. "Twice we gave up four runs in one inning and in both instances, we were not able to overcome it. We just need to eliminate those types of innings".

Meghan Silber picked up the complete game pitching win in the opening round win over Maple River, scattering six hits and striking out five.

Carly Essselman, Molly Berdan and Emily Berdan each collected two hits to pace Farmington's nine-hit offensive attack. Emily Berdan's hits were both doubles. Amber Doyle belted a two-run homer, her second of the season.

"We got off to a great start," Harrington said. "It's always nice to win that first game."

Emily Berdan two doubles vs. Maple River (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington led 1-0 against New Ulm in the second game before surrendering four runs in the top of the sixth inning on three singles and a grand slam homer.

The Tigers rallied in the bottom of the seventh on two walks, Doyle's single and a two-run single by pitcher Maddie Muelken. Emily Berdan walked to re-load the bases with no out but a strikeout set up Molly Berdan's line drive to second for a game-ending double play.

"That ball goes a foot either way and we win the game," Harrington said.

In the third place game the Tigers had all four of their hits in the fourth and sixth innings but could not manage to push across a run against Mankato East.

"We ran into a good team with the home field advantage," Harrington said. "Their pitcher was tough all day long."

East scored all four runs in the third inning, the second time in as many games the Tigers gave up a four-spot in an inning.

Weather permitting, the Tigers will resume their Missota Conference schedule Monday with a road game at Red Wing.

Softball: Chaska hands Tigers first loss

Amber Doyle 2-4, RBI, Run (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Chaska made a three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning hold up in a 3-2 win over the Tigers Monday afternoon in Chaska. The loss was the first of the season for Farmington (3-1).

"Although we got down quickly, our girls never quit and we pushed a run across in the fourth and seventh innings," coach Paul Harrington said. "We had the tying run on second and the go-ahead run on first with two out in the seventh, but their centerfielder saved the game for them with a diving catch."

The Tigers scored their fourth inning run when Amber Doyle reached on an error, moved up when Emily Berdan was hit by a pitch and scored on Ashley Ibinger's single.

In the seventh inning rally, Carly Esselman reached on a two-base error and scored on Doyle's single. Pitcher Maddie Muelken followed with single to set up the two-out drama. Ibinger hit the ball on the nose but the Hawk centerfielder left her feet to make a diving catch and end the game.

The Tigers had a season-low five hits with Doyle accounting for two of them in her four plate appearances.

"Their pitcher threw well and was the hardest thrower we have seen in a game this year," Harrington said. "Overall, we had too many strikeouts and we will need to be better prepared the next time we face them."

Muelken went the distance in the circle for the Tigers, allowing just three hits.

"Maddie shut the door after the first inning and kept us in the game," Harrington said. "It was a tough battle, one of many we are expecting this year."

The next one comes Wednesday when the Tigers host Shakopee at Tiger Field.

Softball: Efficient Tigers hammer Raiders 13-1

Emily Berdan grand slam homer (photo by J. Lindquist)

Farmington (3-0) had nine hits in its Tuesday afternoon Missota Conference match-up at Northfield but five costly errors and eight walks haunted the Raiders as the Tigers rolled to a 13-1 win in five innings.

"The old saying in softball is 'walks kill' and that's what happened today," coach Paul Harrington said. "We walked five times in the first two innings and four of them scored.

"We were very selective at the plate and we took advantage of the walks. We will take what they give us".

The winners scored all they would need in the first inning on walks to Carly Esselman and Taylor Yousse and a two-run single by Amber Doyle.

The lead swelled to 6-0 in the second on walks to Jordyn Keprios and Doyle, a single by Esselman and a grand slam home run by Emily Berdan.

"The grand slam by Emily took the wind right out of their sails," Harrington said. "Other timely hits by Amber in the first inning and Carly in the third inning accounted for eight of our runs.

"Timely hitting is a huge key to success.  We need kids to keep stepping up and getting those big hits when we have runners in scoring position."

A walk to Ashley Ibinger, another Northfield error and Esselman's two-run double extended the run-fest in the third and then a combination of three hits, three walks and four errors produced five more scores in the fourth and fifth innings.

Esselman went a perfect 3-3 at the plate with a double, two runs scored and a pair of RBI. Berdan finished 2-4 with her grand slam and also scored twice. Ibinger was 2-3 with a one run scored and another driven in.

Meghan Silber pitched all five innings in her first varsity start, allowing just two hits and striking out six to pick up the win.

The level of competition starts to pick up over the next couple of days with New Prague and Chanhassen coming to town on Wednesday and Thursday. Game time for both Missota Conference games is 4:30 at Tiger Field.

Softball: Holy Angels helps Tigers to easy win

Outfield anchor Carly Esselman (photo by J. Lindquist)

Farmington (2-0) started slowly but eventually used 10 hits and five costly Holy Angels errors to score a 10-1 Missota Conference win over the Stars Friday afternoon at Tiger Field.

The lopsided victory was the second in as many days for the Tigers who bounced Totino Grace 11-1 on Thursday.

The teams were tied 1-1 after three and a half innings before the winners used hits by Maddie Muelken, Ashley Ibinger, Carly Esselman and Taylor Yousse, a walk to Caitie Dully and a two-out error to score four runs in the bottom of the fourth.

The Stars committed two errors to start another four-run Farmington outburst in the fifth inning.

Molly Berdan drove home the first run with a single and pinch-runner Savannah Greaves scored the second when Jordyn Keprios reached on yet another error.

The third and fourth runs came home on a wild pitch and a run-scoring single by Dully. Muelken, Dully, Emily Berdan and pinch-runner Olivia Hazelbaker scored the Tiger runs.

The Tigers added their final score in the sixth on a singles by Nicole Pierick, Meghan Silber and Greaves.

"We had a tough time getting going as their pitcher was throwing very well and getting a lot of us on strikeouts early on in the game," coach Paul Harrington said.

 

"The second time around the order, we got a lot more selective at the plate. We stayed away from the rise ball and started hitting the ball around...Give our kids credit, they made the adjustments at the plate and forced them to play defense."

 

Esselman and Dully each collected a pair of hits to lead the 10-hit Tiger offense.

 

Maddie Muelken picked up the win (photo by J. Lindquist)

Harrington added centerfielder Esselman also made big contributions in the field.

 

"Carly made a couple of great catches to rob them of hits," he said. "She does a great job out there. She's the anchor of  our outfield."

Muelken notched her second straight pitching win, working the first six innings and striking out four. Silber threw the seventh inning and recorded a pair of strikeouts.

The Tigers play their first road game next Tuesday when they travel to Northfield for a Missota Conference contest.