Having already dropped two conference games against Rochester Century and Mankato East heading into Thursday night, the Owatonna Huskies were going to need to pull out a win over a strong Winona team to keep their hopes of a conference title alive.
Some big offensive production from senior Izzy Radel and sophomore Kendra Bogen, along with another good showing in the circle from senior Kennedy Hodgman, led the Huskies to a big 9-3 victory over the Winhawks at Federated Park.
“We had great energy in the dugout tonight and we were able to take advantage of some Winona errors tonight and come up with a big conference win tonight,” said Owatonna head coach Jeremy Moran.
Bogen’s stellar day at the plate saw the sophomore shortstop finish one hit shy of a cycle and of all the hits to miss out on, Bogen didn’t hit for a single.
In the bottom of the first inning, Bogen drove the ball to left field and managed to have the ball drop right behind Winona’s left fielder, which gave the speedster enough time to round second and slide into third for a first-inning triple.
Her sister, senior Samantha Bogen, brought her in on a two-out infield pop fly, but some confusion on the catch with some heavy winds dropped the ball down and let Kendra cross home for the game’s first run.
Radel extended Owatonna’s lead even more in the bottom of the second by lining the ball perfectly into the left-center gap to score Taya Selbrade and Danika Ringhofer in scoring position. Bogen immediately followed with a double to shallow left field to bring in Radel for a 4-0 Huskies lead.
A strong team like Winona was bound to pull together some runs and a pair of RBI knocks in the top of the fourth aided the Winhawks in cutting Owatonna’s lead down to two runs. But that two-run lead would turn into a six-run lead in the bottom of the inning.
After senior Mehsa Krause led off the inning by beating a throw to first, the Winhawks failed to record a force out on a bunt from Ringhofer and a grounder from Radel. Bogen stepped up to the plate for her biggest hit of the day.
With bases loaded and one out, Bogen lined the ball to left field, which landed and snuck past the legs of the outfielder. In the time it took the center fielder to track the ball down at the left fielder fence, Bogen was already a few steps away from third.
There was no hesitation rounding third for the sophomore, who was already halfway to home when the throw home was made from the shortstop. Bogen slid in for an inside-the-park grand slam to give the Huskies an 8-2 lead.
“The top of our lineup was huge tonight driving in 7 of our 9 runs tonight,” Moran said. “That was more than enough for Kennedy as she was strong in the circle again tonight. We had some errors in the field, but we were able to follow those errors up with some good defensive plays and not let those errors hurt us much tonight.”
Winona senior center fielder Olivia Poulin hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth for the Winhawks third run of the night, but the score gap was too much to overcome. The Huskies ended up getting the run back in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single from Zoie Roush.
The contributions from Bogen and Radel proved to be a big difference maker in the victory. The sophomore shortstop and senior second baseman combined for six of Owatonna’s eight hits, along with seven of its eight total RBIs. Bogen ended up with three hits (double, triple, home run) and five RBIs, while Radel recorded three hits (two doubles and a single) and two RBIs.
On the defensive side of things, Hodgman didn’t give the Winhawks too much to work with. The senior pitcher posted three strikeouts without giving up any walks in seven innings in the circle. Winona recorded five hits as a team.
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