The Austin softball team proved once again that it can play with No. 5 ranked Winona, but the Packers came up just short for the second time as they lost to Winona 7-5 in 11 innings in the Dome at Wescott Athletic Complex Tuesday.

The Winhawks (6-2 overall) took the lead for good when Annika Anderson blasted a two-run home run with one out in the top of the 11th inning. Anderson, a senior pitcher, also struck out 20 and she retired 18 Packers in a row for a stretch after allowing Austin to jump out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning.

“Annika Anderson has been a strong force for them in the past couple of years and we’re picking up on that,” Austin head coach Lisa Lage said. “We can now show the girls that we can fight with these better teams.”

The Packers (4-7 overall) had a golden opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning when eighth-grader Kim Rodriguez doubled to the center field fence with a runner on second with one out. Austin wasn’t able to score on the play and Anderson escaped the jam with a pair of strikeouts.

Kim is the younger sister of sophomore pitcher Leslie Rodguez, who allowed just three earned runs in 11 innings on Tuesday. The family moved to Austin from Alogna, Iowa in January and they’ve Leslie and Kim have been able to fit in quickly with softball team.

“It’s helped a lot to play softball. I’m not outgoing and I’m shy. It’s not too easy for me to make friends in school,” Leslie said. “I don’t really work on pitching as much, but now that Jaeda (Beckaert) has been hurt I’ve just had to step up and go for it. Today I just kept my head up high. I gave up two home runs, but I stayed up and didn’t get down on myself.”

Winona grabbed a 5-4 lead in the top of the eighth off an Austin throwing error, but the Packers tied it up at 5-5 when Hannah McMasters knocked in a run with a two-out single in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Winona tied the game up at 4-4 in the top of the fourth inning when Grace Fricke hit a solo homer.

“It’s hard (to lose this one) because if you cut out a couple of early defensive errors hopefully we win that game in seven innings,” Lage said. “But the girls did rally against a good pitcher and some underclassmen had some key hits. Hopefully in sections, we can keep up with them.”

Jenna Braaten knocked in a pair of runs in the first inning for the Packers with a single.

Winona 0 3 0  1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2  —  7  11 1

Austin 4 0 0  0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  —  5   4  2

Austin pitching: Leslie Rodriguez (L) 11 IP, 11 H, 3 BB, 7 R, 3 ER, 3 K, 2 HBP

Austin hitting: Madisyn Retterath, 0-for-2, 2 R, 3 BBs; Avery Thompson, 0-for-3; Jordyn McCormack, 0-for-4, R, BB; Hannah McMasters, 1-for-4, RBI, R, BB; Leslie Rodriguez, 0-for-4, R, RBI, BB; Jenna Braaten, 1-for-5, 2 RBIs; Erin Bickler, 1-for-4, RBI; AJ Richard, 0-for-4; Madisyn Busker, 0-for-4; Kim Rodriguez, 1-for-1, double; Alayna Rogne, 0-for-1