Superior Ice 14U softball team wins Ashley Abrahamson Tournament

The Superior Ice 14U softball team took first place in the 2011 Ashley Abrahamson Tournament in Cloquet, Minn. June 25-26 at Braun Park, finishing with a 5-0-1 record.

Superior opened tournament play with a 5-4 victory over the Proctor Storm.

Kate Heinen was the winning pitcher for the Ice, striking out six and walking two while giving up three hits over five innings.

“Kate did a great job throwing strikes and keeping the Proctor hitters off balance,” said head coach Steve Fregin.

Heinen was also one of Superior’s top hitting, colleting two hits. Adding one hit each were Rachal Fregin, Ari Jago and Elizabeth Kolanczyk.

Superior trailed by two runs going into the final inning. Taylor Nelson started Superior’s comeback when she drew a walk to get on base and reached second on a fielder’s choice.

With two outs, Kolanczyk then belted a base hit to bring Nelson home and tie the game. Kolanczyk rounded the bases and scored the winning run on passed balls.

“Elizabeth had a huge two-out, two-strike hit to keep us in the game; very good at bat,” Fregin said.

Superior’s second game June 25 was the only one that didn’t end in a victory.

The Ice played to a 2-2 tie with Virginia in a game that was called due to time limitations.

“A very well-played game by both teams,” said assistant coach John Heinen.

Kate Heinen pitched six innings for Superior, allowing four hits while striking out four and walking one.

Jago had two hits to lead Superior at the plate, and Heinen, Kolanczyk, Nelson and Tailor Schuster all added one hit apiece.

Superior returned to the win column for its final game of the day, a 6-1 victory over Buffalo.

Sydney Johnson was the winning pitcher, going five innings for the Superior Ice. She struck out two and walked five while giving up four hits.

“Syd did a great job,” Fregin said. “She made some very good pitches when she needed to.”

Britta Bergstrom had a triple and scored two runs for Superior, while Nelson and Gabby Gidley chipped in with one hit each.

Superior had a rematch with Virginia to open the second day of play, and this time the local girls held on for a 2-0 win.

Heinen went the distance for the Ice, allowing six hits with five strikeouts and one walk in the complete game effort.

“Kate pitched her best game of the season,” Fregin said, adding that it was a very nice team win. “We played great defense behind great pitching and timely hitting.”

Morgan Gramstrup and Harmony Clarke each had two-out singles in the fifth inning to score the first run of the game, and Jago and Rachal Fregin did the same in the sixth to provide an insurance run.

Fregin finished the game with two hits while Jago, Heinen, Bergstrom, Gramstrup, Clarke and Gidley had one hit each.

Game five was another one-run affair for the Ice as they defeated the Cloquet Dynamite 5-4.

The score remained tied 3-3 after the five-inning time limit, so the teams went to sudden death (last out placed on second base) to determine the winner.

In sudden death, Johnson and Jago both scored runs for Superior.

Cloquet scored one run in sudden death and had a runner on first with two outs. The game then ended when Ice catcher Jago threw a one hop strike to shortstop Maddie Keute to retire the Dynamite runner trying to steal second.

“The girls never quit, they battled to the last out,” said assistant coach Clyde Jago.

Johnson and Heinen combined for the pitching win.

On offense, Ari Jago had two hits, and Schuster scored two runs for the Ice.

In the championship game, the Superior Ice faced another local team — Northwestern.

Superior jumped out to a four-run lead in the first inning with consecutive hits by Fregin, Heinen, Schuster, Nelson and Gramstrup and went on to win 12-1.

Superior recorded a total of 10 hits in the game, including two apiece from Fregin and Heinen. Nelson finished the game with a team-high five RBIs.

Heinen picked up the pitching win with four hits and one walk in five innings of work.

“The Ashley Tournament has always been very competitive, and this year was no exception,” Fregin said. “We played six games against some very good teams. Parents, family and friends should be very proud of this group of players; they play the game the right way.”

The Ice have an 11-3-1 record for the season.

Tags: sports, softball, superior