Tigers take over SSC softball lead

Oistad’s big hit sparks Farmington in victory at Rosemount

There’s a new leader in South Suburban Conference softball, but the race is far from over.

Farmington’s 5-1 victory over Rosemount on May 3 pushed the Tigers into first place after they and the Irish spent a couple of weeks tied for the lead. On Wednesday morning, Farmington was 11-1 in the conference (and overall) with five league games remaining. Rosemount was 11-2 in the SSC and Shakopee 10-2. The Tigers split two regular-season games with Rosemount and have one game remaining against Shakopee, which will be Tuesday, May 14, at Shakopee West Middle School.

As for the Tigers’ chances of winning the conference, “we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves,” coach Paul Harrington said. “As they say, one game at a time, and that definitely applies to us. Starting (Wednesday) we’ll play eight games in eight days, including a tournament in Mankato against a couple of teams that beat us last year.”

The Tigers’ victory over Rosemount last week also makes it likely Farmington will replace the Irish as the No. 1 team in the state Class 4A rankings due to be updated Thursday. Rosemount, Farmington and Shakopee occupied the top three places in last week’s poll.

Leah Oistad’s three-run double in the third inning was the big hit in Farmington’s victory at Rosemount last week. The Tigers already held a 1-0 lead on Katie Klotz’s sacrifice fly earlier in the inning with the bases loaded. Hannah Hansen’s single re-loaded the bases before Oistad’s drive to the gap brought home three more runs. Kamryn Hughes’ single in the sixth inning drove in the final Farmington run.

“Looking at our schedule, we haven’t had that many close games,” Harrington said. “Leah’s double in the Rosemount game has to be the biggest hit of the season for us so far.”

Rosemount senior Kayla Bartol hit a solo homer in the fourth inning. It was the only blemish on the linescore for Farmington pitcher Kayla Schweich, who held Rosemount to six hits. In three appearances last week, Schweich allowed just one run in 17 innings and earned three victories.

Farmington also defeated Eagan 7-0 on May 1 on what was designated as “Randy Day,” honoring former softball assistant coach Randy Schmitz, who is undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer. The softball program created a program to honor Schmitz and raise awareness and funding for pancreatic cancer treatment.

Schweich pitched a two-hit shutout against Eagan. Klotz and Lexi Goring had three hits each, and Hughes hit a three-run triple in the Tigers’ six-run second inning.

The Tigers were 18-11 last season and reached the state tournament with many of the same players that are on this year’s team. Only two players from the 2023 squad graduated. The Tigers’ improvement this year can be attributed to the players having another year to get stronger and more skilled, and gain more experience, Harrington said.

“We’ve gotten better in all three of the key areas – pitching, hitting and defense,” Harrington said. “We might not have any superstar players, but we have a very solid lineup. The bottom of our (batting) order has produced almost as many runs as the top of the order. And we have two pitchers (Schweich and Marissa Mittelstadt) we have a lot of confidence in. That’s a big help because we’re playing a lot over the next few days.”

Softball notes

• Although the South Suburban Conference race has come down to Farmington, Rosemount and Shakopee, Eastview is playing well at a good time with section playoffs scheduled to start in a couple of weeks. The Lightning defeated Burnsville 12-2 on Monday for their sixth victory in a row. After a 3-6 start, Eastview now is 9-6 overall and making a push for the No. 2 seed in Class 4A, Section 3 behind defending section and state champion Rosemount.

Hannah Soderbeck hit a solo homer in the first inning and Maya Erickson hit a three-run homer in the third in Eastview’s victory over Burnsville. Soderbeck, Emily Braaten and Natalie Brown drove in two runs each.

• It’s possible South Suburban Conference teams will be the top seeds in three Class 4A playoff sections. As of Tuesday, Farmington had the best record in Section 1, Shakopee the best record in Section 2 and Rosemount the best record in Section 3. All three teams reached the state tournament last year with Rosemount winning the Class 4A championship, Farmington reaching the consolation final and Shakopee going 0-2.