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A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Esko's Zoe Johnson (99) is welcomed to home plate after hitting a solo home run during a Class AA state tournament quarterfinal game against Norwood Young America Thursday at Caswell Park in North Mankato.
Esko's Miranda Kelley delivers a pitch during a Class AA state tournament quarterfinal game against Norwood Young America Thursday at Caswell Park in North Mankato. Esko lost the opener and again in the consolation round.Photo by Pat Christman / For Pine Knot Sports
The Esko Eskomos made their fourth consecutive appearance at the Class AA girls state softball tournament last Thursday in North Mankato, but this one was somewhat different than the previous three appearances as the Eskomos were not the section favorite to make it back to State.
In fact, Esko was not even in the discussions to be in the section hunt after losing four seniors from a season ago, but then they proved everyone wrong by winning their way back to the state tournament.
Hopes were dashed as Esko fell twice in state tournament play, but it was a learning experience for a young Eskomos squad.
Norwood-Young America defeated the Esko Eskomos 14-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Class AA MSHSL State Softball Tournament last Thursday morning at Caswell Park in North Mankato.
Both teams were without runs until the bottom of the third inning, when the Raiders got on the board. The Raiders tallied three runs off of three hits in the inning, giving Norwood-Young America the early three-run lead. The Raiders scored three more runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 6-0 lead over the Eskomos.
Esko's lone run came in the top of the fifth when Zoie Johnson hit a solo home run to start off the inning, giving the Eskomos some hope. Then the Raiders scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth, and added six more runs in the sixth to get to a 10-run rule victory.
"The game was closer than the score" head coach Jeff Emanuel said, "We had runners on base but never got the big hit when we needed it; if we score a few runs it changes the complexion of the game."
In a late-night consolation semifinal, the Eskomos faced Le Suer-Henderson. The night went to the Giants as they shut out the Eskomos 7-0 to end the Eskomos' season with an overall record of 18-8.
"We really played well the last half of the season and we hoped we could have won a few games here at the tournament," coach Emanuel said. "But every team is good here and you have to be at your best and get some luck as well. The season didn't end the way we wanted, but it was a season that exceeded expectations."
Dea DeLeon finished the tournament going 3-7 with two doubles, Sydney Hanson added two hits in the tournament, and Zoie Johnson hit a solo home run for a highlight for the Eskomos.
