Albert Lea softball team needs to win out to finish at .500

Published 11:56 pm Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Veronica Silva of Albert Lea throws the ball back to the pitching circle Wednesday against Winona. The Tigers lost 4-1. — Micah Bader/Albert Lea Tribune

Veronica Silva of Albert Lea throws the ball back to the pitching circle Wednesday against Winona. The Tigers lost 4-1. — Micah Bader/Albert Lea Tribune

The Albert Lea softball team still has a chance to finish .500 after a pair of losses Wednesday in a doubleheader of make-up games at the Hammer Complex.

The Tigers fell 7-4 against Rochester John Marshall in Game 1 and 4-1 against Winona in Game 2.

In Game 1, the Rockets jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Albert Lea countered in the bottom of the third with two runs. However, John Marshall took the lead back with three runs in the fourth and two more in the third.

Email newsletter signup

Haley Harms led Albert Lea from the pitching circle. She pitched six innings, faced 31 batters, struck out three and allowed 11 hits. John Marshall’s Katie Boldt allowed eight hits.

“The pitching was comparable, but we didn’t put the ball in play nearly as well as they did,” said Albert Lea coach Dan Harms. “We struck out 10 times, and they capitalized on their base hits.”

Albert Lea’s Megan Kortan had a stand-out game with two hits, an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. Overall, the Tigers had trouble with consistency at the plate. In the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings, they were three up, three down.

In Game 2, Winona took a 4-0 lead in the third inning and was held scoreless the rest of the game.

Harms also pitched against Winona and gave up the same number of hits as Winhawks pitcher, Ashton Hoeppner.

Next, Albert Lea (7-10 overall, 6-8 Big Nine Conference) will play Mankato West at 5 p.m. today. With a win over the Scarlets and wins in a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. Friday at Faribault, the Tigers could get back to .500. The Falcons are looking for their first win of the season.