by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
The Thief River Falls baseball and softball teams will live to fight another day as both teams advanced in the Section 8AA playoffs with home wins Tuesday night.
Prowler fastpitch defeated Park Rapids 5-4 in a rematch of the 2019 Section 8AA championship game, with Natalie Novak providing the heroics for the Prowlers with a walk off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Novak’s solo shot came two innings after the Prowlers took their first lead of the game, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth to erase a 2-1 Panther advantage. The Panthers scored two runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game.
Much like the softball matchup, Tuesday’s Section 8AA baseball play-in game between Thief River Falls and Crookston was a battle of teams seeded fourth and fifth in the north half of Section 8AA. The host Prowlers defeated the Pirates in a game that saw eight lead changes over the course of seven innings. The Prowlers trailed 7-6 going into their at bat in the bottom of the sixth. They plated six runs in the bottom of the sixth and held on for the 12-9 win.
Full recaps of both games will appear in this weekend’s edition of The Northern Watch.