State Bound for an Eighth straight year

The Columbus Major Softball All-Star team is heading back to the State Tournament for an eighth straight year after winning the Sectional tournament.

The Major Softball team currently holds an undefeated record of 6-0 with their two most recent wins coming over the Bastrop All-Stars.

Vs. Bastrop, 12-2, W

In their first meeting Columbus and Bastrop had a very eventful first inning that saw Bastrop jump out to an early 2-0 lead over Columbus.

Columbus responded promptly in the bottom of the first with three runs of their own to take the lead thanks to a double from Andie Melnar. A lead they never relinquished and extended in the third inning.

The bottom of the third inning was a showcase of Columbus’ offense when they scored eight runs to bring the score to 11-2. They added one more run in the bottom of the fifth to get the final score of 12-2 in their first meeting with Bastrop.

Defensively Berkely Anderson was in the circle for Columbus and had a fantastic game. After giving up two runs in the first Anderson and the defense behind her shut down Bastrop’s offense.

Anderson finished the game with seven strikeouts after facing 20 batters. This gave the team a confidence boost heading into game two because they knew they had the firepower on both sides of the ball to make a deep run.

@ Bastrop, 10-0, W

Game two started with a level of intensity that was reminiscent of a playoff game. The game was scoreless up until the third inning where Columbus finally broke through.

Columbus scored five runs in the top of the third inning to open the score and gain valuable momentum in the process. In a tight game like this, the slightest bit of momentum could be the difference between winning and losing and once Columbus had it, they never let it go.

Anderson was again in the circle for Columbus, and she struck out five batters after facing 17 of them and kept Bastrop off the scoreboard. Anderson along with Lila Berger each recorded a double in the game and played a big part in Columbus scoring five more runs in the top of the fifth.

With the score at 10-0, Columbus finished the game off in the fifth inning and punched their ticket to the State Tournament.