ABERDEEN Elkton-Lake Benton hung around with Castlewood in the quarterfinals of the Class B State Softball Tournament on Thursday, but the Warriors ended up pulling away and winning 13-3 in six innings.
The No. 8 seeded Lady Elks, who upset No. 1 Bon Homme in the SoDak 16, led 2-0 after the top of the first. Kylie Ramlo walked with two outs and then advanced to second on a steal. Payton Kuehl then hit a single through the right side of the infield and an error by the right fielder allowed Kylie Ramlo to score. Maya Jensen then ripped a double to right field and that gave the Lady Elks a two-run lead.
Top-seeded Castlewood answered right away as the Warriors tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Cydni Kudrna and Gracie Haug drew back-to-back walks and advanced to second and third base after two passed balls. Bridgette Horn then hit a single to right field and both runners scored, making it 2-2 heading into the second.
Neither team scored in the second and the Warriors then added two runs in the third. Haug drew a one-out walk and was hit home on a Bridgette Horn double. Lucy Jacobsen followed with a double of her own to make it 4-2 heading into the fourth.
Castlewood would then extend the lead to 6-2 in the fourth. Natalie Akin led off the inning with a single and was hit home on a Claire Horn double. She then scored on a Kudrna triple to give the Warriors a four-run lead heading into the fifth.
ELB scored a run in the top of the fifth on a Kylie Ramlo ground out. However, Castlewood then pushed the lead to 10-3 in the bottom of the inning. The first three runs of the inning came on two errors and a fielders choice. Kudrna then hit an RBI single to make it a seven-run game heading into the sixth.
The Warriors then ended the game in the sixth. Bridgette Horn led off the inning with a single and then scored on a Jacobsen double. The next run came on a ground out and a Claire Horn RBI single pushed Castlewood to the state semifinals.
ELB had five hits as a team. Jensen was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Jocelyn Prosch went 1-for-2 and Maya Jensen and Madde Jensen each went 1-for-3. Kylie Ramlo had an RBI without a hit.
Kylie Ramlo pitched the first five innings for the Lady Elks. She gave up 10 runs, six earned, on eight hits with four strikeouts and five walks. Maddi Ramlo pitched the final two thirds and gave up three earned runs on three hits with one strikeout and one walk.
Bridgette Horn was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Claire Horn was 2-for-4 with three RBIs for Castlewood. Jacobsen was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Kudrna was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Claire Horn pitched a complete game and gave up three earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
Castlewood will play Scotland/Menno in the quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Friday. ELB will take on Gayville-Volin on Friday at 10 a.m. in the consolation quarterfinals.
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