BP coach notches No. 200; Ali Mach’s milestone win comes in playoff game against Glenville-Emmons
Published 10:49 pm Monday, May 18, 2015
The Blooming Prairie softball team congratulated head softball coach Ali Mach on her 200th career win.
Blossoms open playoffs strong
BLOOMING PRAIRIE —It was cold and windy in Blooming Prairie, but that didn’t stop BP hurler Elly Strunk from being the only softball player wearing short sleeves in a Section 1A quarterfinal game against Glenville-Emmons (5-8 overall) Monday.
Strunk wasn’t trying to show how tough she was. She was trying to keep her arms from being constricted by a sweat shirt and it paid off for as she allowed zero earned runs and the No. 1 seeded Awesome Blossoms downed the No. 7 Wolverines 11-1 in five innings.
Strunk, a sophomore, struck out five and she allowed just three hits and two walks in the win.
“The wind can throw you off. It’s hard, but I just had to focus on throwing strikes,” Strunk said. “When you’re cold you want to get out of there as fast as possible and it makes you work faster.”
Blooming Prairie head softball coach Ali Mach takes a moment to smile during her team’s win over Glenville-Emmons in BP Monday. Mach has now won 200 career games.
BP (9-9 overall) racked up 12 hits in the win and a pair of freshmen stepped up big in their first career postseason contest. McKenna Hein went 3-for-4 and Emma Christianson went 2-for-4 with four RBIs.
“There was a lot of nerves and then there was the weather,” Christianson said. “It got me anxious and kind of worrisome. Towards the end I became more confident and I was able to help us out.”
BP’s lead-off hitter Tessa Ivers got on base all five times she was up and she stole five bases to set the tone for the Blossoms. After hitting a slump in early May, BP has now won four of its last five games.
“We have been playing better in the last week or two,” BP head coach Ali Mach said. “Today was tough for everyone to get through with the weather and everything, but we hit the ball when we needed to. I think they were all focused and ready to go and that was key.”
Blooming Priarie’s Kalyn Naatz makes a throw from first base in a Section 1A West tournament game in BP Monday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
This was the 200th career win for Mach, who has coached the Blossoms to four state tournaments and one state title. Her team was quick to congratulate her after the game.
“She’s been here along time and she deserves two hundred wins with all she does for us,” Strunk said of Mach.
BP will host No. 3 Waterville-Elysian Morristown in a Section 1A West semifinal game 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. BP beat WEM 12-7 April 20.
Blooming Prairie’s Tessa Ivers slides towards second base against Glenville-Emmons in a Section 1A tournament game in BP Monday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
GE 0 0 1 0 0 — 1 3 5
BP 3 0 1 2 5 — 11 12 1
BP pitching: Elly Strunk (W) 5 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 K
BP hitting: Tessa Ivers, 3-for-4, 3 R, 4 SB, BB; Madison Worke, 1-for-5, RBI, R; Bria Baldwin, 0-for-4; Strunk, 2-for-4, RBI, 2 R; McKenna Hein, 3-for-4, 2 R, HBP; Abby Wayne, 1-for-3, R, BB; Kalyn Naatz, 0-for-3, RBI, 2 R, BB; Emma Christianson, 2-for-4, 4 RBIs; Anika Nowlan, 0-for-4
