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MarshfieldAreaSports.com
AUBURNDALE – The Stratford softball team stands a win away from its first-ever state tournament appearance after slugging past Marawood Conference South Division rival Auburndale 10-8 in a WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal on Tuesday at Auburndale High School.
Stratford (17-9) will play a Division 4 sectional final at Blair-Taylor (24-3) on Thursday at 5 p.m. Blair-Taylor has reached the state tournament in five of the past six seasons when the tournament has been played. Click here to view the statewide sectional softball scoreboard and schedule
Stratford scored three times in the first inning only to see Auburndale battle back as Mya Krings hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first, and Erin Griesbach smacked a two-run homer to center field in the third.
The Tigers responded with four runs in the fourth and added three more in the fifth, and led the rest of the way.
Tria Tubbs crushed a three-run homer and Lexie Christopherson added an RBI single the four-run fourth, and Kressa Wenzel had a two-RBI single in the fifth to put the Tigers up 10-3.
Auburndale made a game of it, scoring three times in the fifth on an RBI single by Danika Blomberg and a two-run single up the middle by Taylor Anderson.
The Eagles (15-5) added two more in the sixth when Samantha Stanton had a two-out, two-run double, before Stratford pitcher Laney Pankratz coaxed a ground ball to get out of the inning.
Pankratz set Auburndale down in order in the seventh to finish off the complete-game win. She finished with nine strikeouts and just one walk.
Stratford finished with 12 hits, three by Tubbs and two each from Bailey Linzmaier, Emma Roeper, Wenzel and Sonia Peterson.
Krings had three of Auburndale’s 11 hits in the loss.
Tigers 10, Eagles 8
Stratford 300 430 0 – 10 12 2
Auburndale 102 032 0 – 8 11 5
WP: Laney Pankratz. LP: Ashlyn Grimm.
SO: Pankratz 9; Stanton (2 inn) 1, Grimm (5 inn.) 5. BB: Pankratz 1; Stanton 1, Grimm 4.
Top hitters: S, Bailey Linzmaier 2×3, 3 runs; Emma Roeper 2×5, 2B, 2 runs; Tessa Berg 2 runs; Tria Tubbs 3×5, HR, 2 runs, 3 RBI; Kressa Wenzel 2×5, 2 RBI; Sonia Peterson 2×4, 2 RBI; Lexie Christopherson 2B, RBI. A, Mya Krings 3×4, HR, 3 runs, RBI; Erin Griesbach 2×4, HR, 2 runs, 2 RBI; Stanton 2×4, 2B, 2 RBI; Taylor Anderson 3×4, 2 RBI.
Records: Stratford 17-9; Auburndale 15-5.