MANKATO – It was the last stand for a pair of long-time varsity playing seniors, but Hayfield’s Jackie Sanvick and Grace Mindrup made sure they went out their way.

Despite losing both games at the Minnesota Class A state softball tournament for the second straight year, the Vikings made some noise and showed they belonged. Hayfield lost a quarterfinal to Cherry 7-3 and it fell in an elimination game to Pine River-Backus 5-4 in 10 innings.

Sanvick pitched a total of 12 innings and she allowed just two earned runs. She also doubled with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, which gave the Vikings a chance to win the game.

“My back wasn’t really bothering me today,” Sanvick said. “I wanted to pitch and do something for the team. Grace and I knew we needed to keep the energy up. There’s nothing to hang our heads about.”

Mindrup reached base in every at-bat of the day and she tagged out two runners at the plate while playing catcher. She finished six-for-seven with a homer, two doubles, and three RBIs to go along with two walks. Mindrup, who will play softball at UW-La Crosse next season, has forged a tight bond with Sanvick over the past few years when the Vikings went from state contenders to state qualifiers.

“I think we’ve left our mark. We were the two that seemed to hate each other, but we really loved each other deep down,” Mindrup said of Sanvick. “We gave it our all these last two games and I don’t think there’s any other we could’ve left on the field.”

As far as final games go, the Vikings (18-10 overall) couldn’t have had a much more memorable contest than their 10-inning marathon with PRB. The Vikings pulled to within 5-4 when Maggie Streightiff blasted a three-run homer to center with one out in the bottom of the tenth, but Hayfield could do no more damage.

Both teams had chances to win the game in earlier innings as Hayfield left runners on second and third in the seventh and they left a runner on third in the eighth. PRB left the bases loaded in the seventh when Sanvick forced a pair of pop-outs while under pressure and the Vikings escaped a jam in the ninth when Alexis Dudycha threw a runner out at home plate.

Mindrup won’t be forgetting her last game for Hayfield any time soon.

“This game will be stuck on my head for a long time. I might be 60 years and I’ll still remember this game,” Mindrup said. “I’ll just remember it as my last game as a high schooler.”

Hayfield head coach Jana Wagner said that Mindrup and Sanvick have been the two main leaders on this year’s team and it will be hard to replace them in the lineup.

“We need somebody to come up and pitch and take over Jackie’s spot,” Wagner said. “The rest of them will work hard and we’ll be OK.”

Despite a tough loss in her final start, Sanvick will still be able to look back and be proud of what her team accomplished.

“We’ve come along way in the last four years. I’m proud of our team,” she said. “We went to state two years in a row and we left it on the field.”

PRB 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 — 5 8 1

Hayfield 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 — 4 8 4

Hayfield pitching: Jackie Sanvick (L) 10 IP, 8 H, 5 BB, 5 R, 1 ER, 4 K

Hayfield hitting: Carrie Rutledge, 1-for-5, R; Alexis Dudycha, 1-for-5, R; Grace Mindrup, 3-for-4, 2 doubles, RBI, BB, R; Maggie Streightiff, 2-for-5, HR, double, 3 RBIs, R; Olivia Matti, 0-for-5; Kelly Johnson, 1-for-4; Kate Kruger, 0-for-3, BB; Jacie Gustine, 0-for-1; Sanvick, 1-for-4, double; Nikki Cortez, 0-for-2