NORTH MANKATO — The Caledonia High School softball team is still alive in its effort to place fifth in the MSHSL Class AA state tournament.
The third-seeded Warriors (27-3) rebounded from a quarterfinal loss on Tuesday by defeating seventh-seeded Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 5-3 in an elimination game Wednesday at Caswell Park.
Caledonia scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and two more in the fifth to pull away from the Rebels (21-7) and knock them out of the tournament.
The Warriors play fourth-seeded Rockford (24-4) in the fifth-place game at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Junior first baseman Elsa Blum went 3 for 3 with a double, two stolen bases and one run scored. Junior second baseman Vivian Kittleson was also 3 for 3 and drove in a run.
Junior pitcher Avery Augedahl struck out three, walked one, allowed four hits and hit a solo home run to break a scoreless tie in the first inning.
The two bigger innings helped the Warriors overcome five errors.
Sophomore left fielder Nora Staggemeyer hit a two-run homer to center field after freshman center fielder Lily Augedahl led off by reaching on an error in the fourth. That gave Caledonia a 3-2 lead.
Freshman Ashlynn Reinhart drove home Blum with a double in the fifth, and Kittleson later singled to score Reinhart for a 5-2 lead.
Staggemeyer and Augedahl both finished with two hits for Caledonia, which had 12.
