Wabasso bows out of state tourney

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

NORTH MANKATO -- The exuberance of youth could not make up for the inexperience of youth.

As most Wabasso Rabbits' teams go, this was not one of the strongest. It was one of the youngest.

With no seniors, six sophomores, five freshmen and four eighth-graders, the Rabbits, who went 8-8 in the Tomahawk Conference, are a team of the future. Friday, Wabasso got a dose of reality in the present.

The Rabbits exited the Class 1A softball tournament at Caswell Park with two losses Friday. Isle decisioned Wabasso 6-1 in the quarterfinals and East Grand Forks Sacred Heart 10-runned the Rabbits 12-2 in six innings in the consolation semifinals.

"I told them in the huddle after the game that we played terrible," Wabasso coach John VanLoy said after the second game. "And you can't expect to compete at this level when you play like that."

Wabasso (13-12) did not play one of its best games in its last game. The Rabbits committed seven errors and Andrea Wahl (4-2) and April Fennern -- the lone junior on the squad -- combined to walk 11 Sacred Heart batters.

Inexperience -- yes. Nervous -- you bet.

"We were all really nervous," eighth-grader Andrea Fennern said. "Before the first game, we were shaking. It'll make us better. It definitely will make me a better player next year. We want to come back and we want to win."

Rabbit freshman Katie Schumacher, who went 2-for-2 in the game with Sacred Heart, echoed that analysis.

"No one expected us to be up here," Schumacher said. "We were nervous. We learned that we can't let our nerves overcome us."

In the game with Sacred Heart (21-4), Wabasso actually outhit the Eagles eight to four. But in two innings, the walks and the errors spun the game out of control, and beyond the reach of the young Rabbits.

Sacred Heart led 2-0 after scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning. Then the Rabbits got jumpy.

The Eagles' first two batters each reached on errors. A sacrifice fly scored the first runner; the Rabbits' third error of the inning plated the second.

Two walks, another error and a double later, the game was all but out of reach. None of the four runs Sacred Heart scored in the fourth were earned.

Three walks, a hit batsman, a double and two more Wabasso errors in the bottom of the sixth inning brought in six more runs and ended the contest.

"We had too many errors, gave them too many runs," VanLoy said. "We made bad decisions, threw the ball to the wrong places, couldn't catch the ball. ... They were nervous and it showed in some of the decisions that were made late. Rather than reacting, they were thinking about it, and then they were doing it, and then it was too late."

Wahl -- a freshman -- took the loss in both games for the Rabbits. In the first game, she went the distance and gave up two earned runs on 12 hits. In the second game, Wahl left after 3 1-3 innings and was charged with five runs -- two earned -- on one hit; she struck out one and walked five.

April Fennern worked the last two innings and surrendered seven runs -- four earned -- on three hits. She struck out three and walked six.

Wabasso scored its two runs in the top of the sixth inning. Andrea Fennern led off with a double down the left-field line and Erin Guetter singled her in. Freshman Angie Beranek singled to left two batters later to score Guetter.

The Rabbits had other chances against the Eagles. But they stranded baserunners in every inning and left seven on base in the game.

"We didn't play as well as we thought we would," Andrea Fennern said. "We saw some better pitchers than what we usually do."

In their quarterfinal game with Isle (17-2), the Rabbits played well defensively, except for one inning. The score was tied at 1 until the top of the seventh when the Huskies plated five runs.

Wabasso only committed two errors in the game, but the error in the seventh was a fatal one. Four of the five Isle runs in the inning were unearned. The Rabbits might have gotten out of the inning with minimal damage, but the error was followed by a pair of singles, including a two-RBI blooper by Meghan Larson that fell in short right field.

A walk and two run-scoring singles from Raena Habeck and Andrea Boser -- the Huskies Nos. 8 and 9 batters -- and the Isle lead was insurmountable at 6-1.

Wabasso's only run was unearned. Eighth-grader Jamie Guetter scored when her grounder to second resulted in two two-base errors, allowing her to come all the way around.

The Rabbits' only hit of the game was a lead-off single by Andrea Fennern in the bottom of the seventh inning that broke up Shelly Remer's bid for a no-hitter.

"They understand now after being here what level they have to play at, what I've been talking about all year," VanLoy said. "Hopefully, we can improve on that next year and get that much better."

It was a learning experience for the Rabbits, but it was also something else.

"It was fun to be up here," Schumacher said. "It was still fun."

Quarterfinals

ISLE 010 000 5--6 12 4

WABASSO 000 010 0--1 1 2

S.Remer and Miller. Wahl and VanLoy. W--S.Remer 14-1. L--Wahl 4-1. 2B--Isle, Aasen. 3B--None. HR--None.

Consolation Semifinals

WABASSO 000 002--2 8 7

SACRED HEART 002 406--12 4 2

Game ended on 10-run rule with one out

Wahl, Ap.Fennern (4) and VanLoy, E.Guetter (5). Vigen and McMahon. W--Vigen 21-4. L--Wahl 4-2. 2B--Wabasso, An.Fennern; Sacred Heart, L.Blackmun, Anderson. 3B--None. HR--None.