Kenyon-Wanamingo Defends Fast-Pitch Title

The Kenyon-Wanamingo Knights fast-pitch softball team defends its subsection crown beginning Monday with a game to be broadcast on KDHL.

I'll be in Randolph when the Rockets host the defending West Subsection and Section 1 champs. No. 4 seed Randolph beat No. 5 seed K-W 12-2 on a cold and windy mid-April day. The forecast looks nearly identical, although it should be a bit warmer than it was that day.

The coaches I've spoken with in this subsection agree it is wide open, with no clear favorite. The top seed is Hayfield and Blooming Prairie nabbed the second seed while Waterville-Elysian-Morristown is third.

Randolph and Hayfield are the only two teams in the subsection with winning records, according to information on their respective MSHSL websites. Blooming Prairie defeated Randolph in extra innings, so that's probably why they have the second seed. The coaches I talked to say the reason for no clear favorite is the lack of a dominant pitcher.

Waterville-Elysian-Morristown, for example, scored double-digit runs five times during the regular season, but also gave up double-digit runs six times. Kenyon-Wanamingo tallied double-digit runs three times and allowed double-digits 10 times, and Randolph collected seven double-digit run games and allowed four. Hayfield had 12 double-digit scoring games while allowing one.

Last year Kailee Berquam was the dominant pitcher in the subsection playoffs. She played at St. Catherine University in St. Paul this spring and had a 5-1 record while appearing in 16 games and starting in nine. Berquam had threecomplete games and two shutouts and finished with a 2.81 ERA and .257 OBA. Her 6.96 strikeouts per game ranked fifth in the MIAC Conference. In 57-1/3 innings, Berquam had 57 K's and 50 BB's for the Wildcats. She is pursuing a degree in nursing.