Maddie Schwartz led Chanhassen in a 12-0 victory over Benilde-St. Margaret's Tuesday, April 19, 2016. The sophomore pitcher struck out 10 batters and threw a one-hit shutout in five innings. Photo by Cheryl Myers
Editor's note: This is the first installment of the Hubs' newest weekly feature: This week in Hubs history. It's a look back at some of the memorable games and standout performances from the decade since the Hubs started covering softball, baseball and lacrosse games. Each game was played in the given week of the month.
The newest sources of encouragement for Chanhassen’s softball team resided in an aquarium back in 2016.
“This weekend we bought pet fish as a source of inspiration,” junior Marybeth Olson said after she hit a home run and drove in two runs as the Storm breezed past Metro West Conference rival Benilde-St. Margaret’s 12-0 on April 19, 2016.
Winning pitcher Maddie Schwartz struck out 10 and gave up just one hit in the win, and said that confidence in a quality defense behind her is more responsible than anything.
“I know that if (opponents) do hit it, I have a really good defense behind me," Schwartz said.
Schwartz recorded 63 strikeouts in the regular season, and that formidable Chanhassen defense was key to helping hold opponents to five total runs in three games as the Storm won the 2016 Class 4A state tournament.
Luverne erased a six-run deficit and scored nine unanswered late on April 13, 2017 to knock off Hibbing 10-7 in eight innings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Ben Serie capped off a five-run Cardinals' rally in the sixth by sending Jaxon Nelson home on a sac fly to tie the game at seven apiece.
Then, in the extra frame, Serie struck again. He blasted the go-ahead hit, an RBI triple in the right field gap, scoring Nelson. A throwing error two batters later allowed Luverne to tack on a pair of insurance runs.
Derek Lundgren picked up the win for the Cardinals (5-1, 3-0). He entered in the fourth and hurled five hitless innings.
Eden Prairie hosted Benilde-St. Margaret's in the season opener at the domed field adjacent to Eden Prairie High School on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, but it was the Eagles who sailed away with a victory between two of the state’s dominant programs on this day.
The Red Knights, ranked No. 3 in the coaches poll at the time, spent most of the night finding their sea legs, while the experienced and No. 2-ranked Eagles ran their offense with the precision of a Swiss watch in a 14-3 victory.
Eden Prairie freshman J.D. Speilman gave fans a sense of what was to come in his career, registering a hat trick in his first varsity game. Teammates Brooks Armitage and Jake Woodring both lived up to their high-scoring ways, with Armitage adding three goals and Woodring tallying two.
Junior Max Fahey also made his first varsity start, and he stopped 14 of 16 shots to secure the victory.
Feel free to post in the comments below your favorite memories from games play this week. Remember: Highlight games only from the given timeframe.
Tag(s): Home