The Eden Prairie Eagles softball team will play for the Section 2AAAA championship on Thursday. They are eyeing a spot in the 2024 state Class AAAA softball tournament, which begins June 5 in Mankato.
The Eagles are 3-0 in the section tournament, having beaten Prior Lake, Waconia, and Minnetonka, the latter by a 9-5 score on Tuesday. Minnetonka later beat No. 1 seed Shakopee to earn its way into the championship game. Minnetonka will have to beat undefeated Eden Prairie twice to advance to state.
Junior pitcher Lily Liu gave up three earned runs in Tuesday’s game against Minnetonka, striking out five and walking just one to earn the complete game victory.
The Skippers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Eagles scored one run in the bottom of the inning and added two more runs in the third inning before breaking the game open in the fourth inning, scoring five runs, sparked by a two-run RBI single by senior outfielder Ayana Lombardy.
Lombardy, junior designated player Taelyn Hall, and junior first baseman Rose Weber each drove in two runs for the Eagles. Eighth grade center fielder Josie Blakely worked Minnetonka pitchers for three walks.
The Eagles are on a six-game winning streak that began on May 10, when Eden Prairie beat Buffalo 9-4.
Eden Prairie last qualified for the state tournament in 2019, 12 years after its previous appearance in 2007.
The championship game is at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Miller Park.
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