A 2-1 eight-inning win over Sartell-St. Stephen kept Thief River Falls in the winner’s bracket of the 2016 Section 8AAA high school softball tournament.
Kora Torkelson beat out a two-out, two-strike infield single to drive in the winning run in the low-scoring Thursday opening-round game at the Multi-Events Center.
An inning-opening error opened the door for the Prowlers in the eighth. A sacrifice by Juliet Tunberg advanced the runner, who was at third base when Torkelson’s grounder skipped off the second baseman’s glove.
Thief River Falls’ only other run came on a second inning lead-off home run by McKayla Peterson.
An error gave Sartell-St. Stephen a third inning run for the tie.
Both starting pitchers went the distance. Freshman Alexa Rogalla gave up six hits for the win. Junior Tonya Paul surrendered eight hits and took the loss.
Seeded fourth in the eight-team double-elimination tournament field, the Prowlers improved to 12-9. The fifth-seeded Sabres dropped into the loser-out bracket with a 7-14 record.
 
Scoring
                                                 r  h  e
Sartell …………..001 000 00  1  6  2
TRF………………001 000 01 –  2  7  1
Pitching – (Sartell) Tonya Paul-L, 7 2/3 IP, 7 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned run; (TRF) Alexa Rogalla-W, 8 IP, 6 hits, 1 run, 0 earned runs.
Offensive highlights – (Sartell) Cami Doman 2/3; (TRF) MaKayla Erickson 2/3, home run, RBI; Kora Torkelson drove in game-winning single in bottom of the eighth.