Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

SAUK RAPIDS -- The Riverland softball team finished fourth in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference State Tournament.

Rochester Community and Technical College beat Riverland 2-1 in nine innings on Saturday to end the MCAC State Tournament run.

With the loss in extra innings, the Lady Blue Devils of Riverland finished with a split of their four games at state over the weekend.

"It was just a great classic state tournament game," Riverland coach Dave Lillemon said.

"RCTC came into the tournament ranked No. 1 in the country and we gave them all they wanted. It was a fun game, and will give the girls confidence for the region tournament next weekend."

Both the Lady Devils and the RCTC Yellowjackets had already qualified for the upcoming Region XIII A Tournament. The four-team event takes place on Friday and Saturday in Rochester with the winner advancing to the national tournament.

Kaylee Newman was the starting pitcher for the Lady Devils and she gave a great effort in their final game at state. Newman pitched into the ninth inning, and was saddled with the loss. Anna Breault finished the game for Riverland in relief.

The only run for the Lady Devils on the day came in the bottom of the second inning. Carmen Smith got on base, and scored on a single from Justine Sanvick.

That was it for the Riverland offense as seven zeroes followed on the scoreboard in the extra-inning loss.

"We had a few other chances with runners in scoring position, but didn't capitalize," Lillemon said. "Overall, there were limited chances with only one walk for them and we had just eight base runners in the game."

In the top of the ninth, RCTC finally got to Newman and scored the winning run. A leadoff single started the rally and then, a sacrifice moved the runner into scoring position. The Lady Yellowjackets next got a single to drive in the decisive run for the lead.

"We played good softball over the weekend and finished fourth at state, so that's something to build on as we continue our post-season run," Lillemon said in summation.

Riverland (17-16) plays Madison (Wis.) Area Technical College in the first game of the region at noon on Friday in Rochester. Win or lose, another game will follow at 2 p.m. in the double-elimination tournament.

RCTC 2, RIVERLAND 1

RCTC 001 000 001 -- 2 14 0

Riverland 010 000 000 -- 1 7 4

Riverland: Laura Meyer 1-4; Carmen Smith 1-3, run; Justine Sanvick 1-4, RBI. LP: Kaylee Newman 8 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 13 H, 1 BB, 3 K. RP: Anna Breault 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K.