NORTH MANKATO — A whipping wind that routinely caused temporary pauses in play made it difficult to play softball at Caswell Park on Thursday afternoon.
It didn’t slow down Mankato East pitcher Kylinn Stangl.
“I think we could’ve played through a tornado today … she was just that locked in to pitch,” East coach Joe Madson said of Stangl with a laugh. “It wouldn’t have mattered to her.”
Stangl delivered a dominant two-hit shutout with 16 strikeouts for the Cougars in a 5-0 win over Winona in the Class AAA softball semifinals.
The Cougars, who shared the Big Nine Conference title with Winona and Mankato West, lost their lone regular-season game to the Winhawks 5-4 back in April. East also lost regular-season games to West and New Ulm and has now beaten all three since the playoffs started.
“We said it’s our revenge tour,” Stangl said with a smile. “It does feel like a new season.”
Added Madson: “We kind of have the bragging rights for the tie for the Big Nine now.”
The Cougars broke through offensively in the bottom of the third inning after Stangl retired nine of the first 10 batters she faced. Seventh grader Kenley Staunton led off the inning with a solo home run to left field, and Jayda Swalve delivered an RBI single to make it 2-0 later in the frame.
Hailey Petzel capped the inning with a two-run homer that tipped off the glove of Winona’s left-fielder.
Prior to Petzel’s homer, East stole three bases in the inning, as it proved tough to throw in the wind.
That was all the run support Stangl needed. She scattered just one hit and one walk the rest of the way, as the Winhawks struggled to get the barrel on the ball.
Stangl acknowledged that she went into the game with a plan to keep the ball out of the air.
“Yesterday the wind was pretty crazy too, and their girl got two up in the wind and hit them over,” Stangl said. “I had to try to keep everything on the ground.”
Added Madson: “When she’s throwing her changeup like that, she becomes pretty tough to lock in on.”
Madeline Beaty and Emily Hacker each had two hits for the Cougars, while Stangl finished with a hit and two walks. Harper Stangl added four stolen bases.
In the other Class AAA semifinal, top-seeded Cretin-Derham Hall beat fifth-seeded St. Francis 5-4.
East will play the Raiders for the Class AAA title at noon Friday at Caswell.
The Cougars beat Cretin-Derham Hall in the Class AAA semifinals last season 7-6 en route to winning the state championship. Earlier this season, East dropped a tight 1-0 game to the Raiders.
“It would feel amazing to defend that title as a junior,” Kylinn Stangl said. “We have two seniors on our team and we want them to go out with a bang.”
Class AAAA
Top-seeded Rosemount fell to fourth-seeded New Prague 3-1, while third-seeded Rogers beat second-seeded Forest Lake 7-5.
New Prague and Rogers will play for the Class AAAA title at 10 a.m. Friday.
Kevin Dudley on X @dudley7kevin.