By Scott A. Kolb
Post-Bulletin, Austin MN 

ROCHESTER -- The Riverland softball team finished in third-place at the Region 13A Tournament after a season-ending loss on Saturday.

This was the second meeting of the tournament for the Lady Blue Devils of Riverland against Madison (Wis.) Area Technical College. The first game in the regional was a one-run affair and that was the case once again in the rematch.

MATC came out on top this time with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning for an 11-10 win over Riverland in the elimination game. Rochester Community and Technical College then defeated Madison in the title round of the region.

Anna Breault was the starting pitcher for Riverland and didn't figure in the final decision. Kaylee Newman came on in relief in the second inning and eventually took the loss on the hill.

"It was a game with such emotion," Riverland coach Dave Lillemon said. "We started out with three runs right away in the top of the first inning. Laura Meyer and Justine Sanvick singled, then Liz Triplett hit a three-run homer. Liz had three hits on the day and it was an exciting game."

Back came MATC with three runs in the bottom of the first to tie the game. MATC followed that outburst with four more runs in the bottom of the second inning.

Undeterred, the Lady Devils rallied with four runs in the top of the third to once again tie the game. The big blow in the Riverland rally came from Danielle Lynch, who came up with the bases loaded. Lynch belted a three-run, bases clearing double.

It didn't stay tied for long. The Lady Devils retook the lead with two runs in the top of the fifth. Riverland received RBI singles from Meyer and Sanvick to take a 9-7 lead.

The see-saw affair continued with three runs from Madison Tech in the bottom of the fourth. The defense of the Lady Devils committed four errors in the game, and three of them facilitated the MATC rally in the fourth inning. All three runs were unearned

"Our defense hurt us with all of those errors in the fourth inning," Lillemon said. "The pitching wasn't as sharp as earlier, but we've played a lot of games over the last two weekends in the state and region. We had a lot of chances and battled back. The girls showed great character on the field, and I'm proud of the effort in this tournament."

Trailing by a run, the Lady Devils rallied in the top of the fifth to tie the game for the last time. Thenedra Corey reached base on a fielder's choice with one and scored a sacrifice fly from Mandy May.

Things remained tied at 10-10 until the bottom of the seventh. MATC got a single, then a sacrifice to move the runner into scoring position, and another single led to the winning run.

"Liz only made only one out in the entire tourney, and her bat kept us in the hunt," Lillemon said in summation.

"Meyer continued her streak of hitting in every game she played for us. She wound up with a 33-game streak on the season. There were a lot of tremendous individual efforts during our tournament run. It was a fun regional and we ended up 18-18, so it was a successful season."

REGION 13A SOFTBALL

MATC 11, RIVERLAND 10

Riverland 304 210 0 -- 10 15 4

MATC 340 300 1 -- 11 14 0

Riverland: Liz Triplett 3-4, HR, 2 runs, 4 RBIs; Danielle Lynch 2-4, 2B, 3 RBIs; Mandy May 2-3, run, RBI; Justine Sanvick 2-4, 2 runs, RBI; Laura Meyer 3-4, 2 runs, RBI; Chelsey Swanson 1-4, 2 runs. SP: Anna Breault 1 1/3 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 K. LP: Kaylee Newman 5 1/3 IP, 8 ER, 5 ER, 11 H, 0 BB, 1 K.