The Decorah softball team (17-7, 14-4 NEIC) headed down to Oelwein (11-12, 5-9 NEIC) Thursday night, July 1, for their last regular season game. It was a night of strong defense, with Decorah taking the lead early in the first and holding it to end the game 2-0.
Decorah started with some solid hits in the first, with Abby Milburn and Avery Shelton plating the two runs that would end up being the only points on the board that night. They made it around the bases with the help of a double from Ella Kittelson and a squeeze play from Fiona Buresh.
Both the Decorah and Oelwein defenses were at the top of their game after that. Most innings were spent three up, three down with only two more hits from Decorah.
Viking’s pitcher Shelton very nearly threw a no-hitter, allowing just one hit in the fifth that got the runner to first. She was also close to a perfect game, having walked just one of the Huskies in the top of the third.
First base player Buresh got a lot of attention from the field last night, with 11 tags out at first. The Viking outfield was locked down, not letting any fly ball hit the ground. The game ended in the bottom of the seventh, with Shelton throwing a called strike out, wrapping things up at 2-0 for the Vikings.
With the win Decorah clinched at least a tie for second place in the NEIC, the program’s best finish since sharing the league title with Charles City in 2012.
R H E
Decorah 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 0
Oelwein 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 2
Avery Shelton (WP) – 7IP, 0R, 0ER, 1H, 1BB, 5K
1B – Shelton 1; Kittelson 1; Kallie Mincks 1; 2B – Kittelson 1; RBI – Kittelson 1; Buresh 1; SB – Mya Numedahl 2; Lydia Ihde 1
Playoffs
Decorah will play against Wahlert Catholic in the Class 4A Region 6 1uarterfinal at home on Thursday, July 8 at 7 p.m.
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