Prep Softball: Lady Eagles sweep Sebeka in regular season finale

New York Mills continued their late season resurgence by winning both games of the Park Region Conference doubleheader against Sebeka on Thursday.

The Lady Eagles belted out 16 hits and collected four doubles to hand the Lady Trojans a 9-4 defeat in the opener.

New York Mills had each player in the order garner at least a hit with Jenna Esala doing the most damage at the plate. The sophomore went 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs while Samantha Welter also scattered three hits and had a double.

Both players hit back-to-back doubles in the first inning to spot New York Mills the 2-0 lead.

Sebeka bounced back with a RBI double from Katie Huttunen in the second inning. Bridget Martini drove in a run with a triple and Katie Brockpahler followed with a two-out single to give the Lady Trojans the brief 3-2 lead in the top of the third.

The Lady Eagles answered in their bottom half with three runs. Welter led off the frame with a single and scored on Esala’s second double of the game. The speedy catcher stole third and caught Sebeka napping when she also stole home. Esala finished with three stolen bases in the game.

Autumn Roberts drove in the third run with a single and the Lady Eagles cruised from there. Roberts also was the winning pitcher on record. She allowed six hits and four earned runs in seven innings and struck out one.

The Lady Eagles kept their hot bats humming in the nightcap as they exploded for six runs in the fifth to shut out the Lady Trojans 9-0.

New York Mills slugged out 11 hits with the Roberts sisters garnering three hits and a double apiece.

Sebeka had a bit of a meltdown in the sixth to allow the Lady Eagles to break open the scoreless game. Autumn Roberts led off the frame with a single, and New York Mills went on to rattle off three consecutive singles. With the bases loaded, Sebeka starter Kendra Steinke lost control and struck two batters in the order to push a pair of runs across.

Brittany Lee and Autumn Roberts both hit back-to-back, two-out RBI singles before Lady Trojans got the third out, but then the lead was 6-0 in favor of the Lady Eagles.

Kendra McCall highlighted the Lady Eagles three-run seventh with a two-out double that drove in a pair of runs. The senior also went the distance to pick up the win on the hill as she surrendered just five hits, walked two and struck out seven.

Martini picked up her second triple of the afternoon for the Lady Trojans in the loss.

New York Mills (9-11) travels to face No. 4 Pillager at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the Section 6A playoff opener.

Sebeka at New York Mills on May 20
Lady Eagles 9, Lady Trojans 4 (Game One)
Sebeka 0 1 2 0 0 0 1—4 6 2
New York Mills 2 0 3 2 2 0 x—9 16 0
WP: Autumn Roberts (NYM)
LP: Brett Brockpahler (Sebeka)
New York Mills—Kendra McCall 2-4, 2R; RaeAnna Salo 1-2, 2R; EmaLeigh Roberts 2-4, 2B, R; Samantha Welter 3-4, 2B, R, 2RBI; Jenna Esala 3-4, (2)2B, R, 4RBI; Amy Nebosis 1-3, RBI; Micaela Lausten 2-3, R; Brittany Lee 1-2; Autumn Roberts 1-3, RBI
Sebeka—Bridget Martini 2-4, 3B, RBI; Katie Brockpahler 2-4, R, RBI; Katie Huttunen 1-2, 2B, RBI; Kendra Steinke 1-3, R

Lady Eagles 9, Lady Trojans 0 (Game Two)
New York Mills 0 0 0 0 6 0 3—9 11 1
Sebeka 0 0 0 0 0 0 0—0 5 1
WP: Kendra McCall (NYM)
LP: Kendra Steinke (Sebeka)
Sebeka—Martini 1-3, 3B; Katie Brockpahler 1-3; Jessica Lillquist 1-3; Sharla Richter 1-3
New York Mills—McCall 2-4, 2B, 2R, 2RBI; Salo 1-4, R, RBI; EmaLeigh Roberts 3-5, 2B, R, RBI; Lausten 1-4, R; Lee 1-4, RBI; Autumn Roberts 3-4, 2B, 2R, RBI