Alcester-Hudson is semifinal bound. The Cubs took down Florence/Henry 7-5 on Thursday in Aberdeen at the state ‘B’ softball tournament. Last year, Alcester-Hudson finished runner-up to Castlewood, but the Cubs are back at the state softball tournament again this year with hopes of making another run.
The Cubs were led by a solid pitching performance from Emma Moller. She struck out nine in the contest, while allowing five hits and three earned runs. Two of Florence/Henry’s runs were unearned. Moller also tallied one RBI for Alcester-Hudson with her bat.
Emma Solberg, Elly Doering, Jaeley Christensen, and Sarah Ebert also contributed with runs batted in for the Cubs in the quarterfinal game.
“I think there were a lot of nerves coming into today, just like our first game last year,” said Alcester-Hudson head coach Dean Moller. “We didn’t play our best, but hopefully now we’ll settle down. That Florence-Henry team is nothing to take lightly. They’re a good team. I just hope to keep going.”
Alcester-Hudson did hold a 7-3 lead going into the seventh inning, but a Haley Hlavacek two-run homer gave Florence/Henry some late momentum. The Cubs were able to hold off the late game surge from the Falcons to advance.
“I knew coming into this, all eight teams, it was anybody’s game,” exclaimed Coach Moller. “Whoever comes ready to play is who I think is going to win. There’s nobody that stood out in my mind.”
Alcester-Hudson will play Deuel or Chester tomorrow at 5:30 pm CT with a trip to the state ‘B’ title game on the line. Coach Moller wants his team to play looser in the semifinals.
“Relax tomorrow, you know, we’ve got to relax more. We were trying too hard I think. We just need to settle down and go back to playing the game we know,” he said. “These girls are great girls. They’ve been here last year. I just want them to play the game they always have and have fun.”
Alcester-Hudson finished the regular season with a 17-6 record. They then beat Arlington in the SoDak 16 to advance to the state tournament.
