Eden Prairie’s Arctic Blast defeated the Wisconsin’s Onalaska Force 12-1 on July 30 in the first round of bracket play in the NAFA North Nationals 18-and-under girls fastpitch tournament.
The tournament is being held at Miller Park in Eden Prairie and Chaska Community Park.
After going 1-2 in pool play July 29, the Blast landed in the tournament’s 30-team Silver Division.
The Blast sent 12 batters to the plate in the fourth inning against the Force, scoring six runs on three hits and assisted by two Force errors. Shortstop Tanna Peterson went 3-for-4, centerfielder Alexa Mann went 3-for-5, and first baseman Annika Welter went 3-for-4 as the Blast run-ruled the Force in six innings.
Pitcher Abby Sailer notched her second win of the tournament, holding the Force to five hits for the game.
The Arctic Blast plays Waite Park Blue at 8 a.m. Saturday at Chaska Community Park Field 5. With a win they play at Miller Park Field 7 at 3 p.m. With a loss they would play at 1:15 p.m. at Chaska Community Park Field 2.
Abby Sailer’s Blog Entry – Day 2
Day two of the tournament involved a wrap up of pool play and the beginning of bracket games. We started the day off slowly with a 1-4 loss.
The loss was definitely a hit to team morale as we all felt that we should’ve won the game, but there’s not much you can do when hits aren’t strung together.
We all knew that we had to turn it around and be ready for our first game of bracket play. After all, those are the games that really matter.
So, after a long, and very much needed break, the second game was underway. This time all of our bats came alive as we strung hits together to score the runs that we lacked in the first game. A combination of timely hits and strong defense helped us reach our first win of the day.
Abby Sailer is a 2021 Eden Prairie High School graduate. She played high school varsity softball and currently plays for the Eden Prairie Fastpitch Association’s Arctic Blast 18U team in the summer. Sailer will share her daily experience during the NAFA North American Nationals, being held July 29-Aug. 1 at Miller Park and Chaska Community Park.
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