The International Falls girls basketball team has received a No. 1 seed and will open the Section 7AA playoffs with a home game at 7 p.m. Wednesday against No. 8-seeded Greenway.
The winner advances to the Section 7AA quarterfinals to play at 2:45 p.m. Saturday at the University of Minnesota Duluth against the opening-round winner between No. 4-seeded Proctor and No. 5-seeded Mesabi East.
The quarterfinal winner advances to the semifinal game at 5:45 p.m. March 12 at the UMD. The Section 7AA championship game is set for 7 p.m. March 14 at UMD.
In Section 7A, the Littlefork-Big Falls girls basketball team has received a No. 6 seed and will open the tournament at 5:45 p.m. Thursday at Hibbing Memorial against No. 3-seeded Bigfork.
The winner advances to the Section 7A quarterfinals at 5:45 p.m. Saturday at Hibbing Memorial to play the opening-round winner between No. 2-seeded Cherry and No. 7-seeded Northeast Range.
The quarterfinal winner advances to the semifinal at 7:30 p.m. March 11 at Hibbing Memorial. The Section 7A championship game is set for 7 p.m. March 13 at Hibbing Memorial.
In front from right, the Broncos’ Ben Humbert shoots in the lane while being guarded by Deer River’s Cody Shevich (35) in Saturday afternoon’s Section 7AA quarterfinal at Duluth Denfeld.
Voyageurs freshman pitcher Deven Chandler unwinds a pitch during Friday’s softball practice in the RRCC gym.
The Voyageurs’ Brooke Millerbernd lays down a bunt during Friday’s softball practice in the RRCC gym.
Voyageurs infielder Beth Austad relays a throw during Friday’s softball practice in the RRCC gym.
Absent most of the players who were part of last year’s Rainy River Community College women’s softball team that finished first in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference’s Northern Division, won the Region 13B championship and advanced to the NJCAA Division III National Tournament, RRCC will be seeking more success in 2015.
The Voyageurs, who finished 30-9 last season after placing sixth at the national tournament, have seen the departure of three All-Conference and All-Region players – the team’s primary pitcher, Oashaja Dobie, and fielders Rachel Clark and Lynsi Emery.
Dobie, who also was one of the team’s top hitters last season, received second-team All-American honors and the national tournament’s Marucci Elite Hitter Award.
Other players who have departed include Lexi Fancy, Sam Cantu, Alisha Brinker, Marina Johnson and Courtney Branham.
Longtime RRCC softball coach Dieter Humbert is back this season with his list of top returning players including infielder Beth Austad and catcher/outfielder Megan Johnson, two of the team’s four captains.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talent on the team – a lot of young talent,” said Austad, a sophomore from St. Cloud. “I’m thinking they’re going to help us pull through the season....
“The freshmen here will really help us out and really benefit the team, I think. We’ve got a lot of strong hitting this year, and I do think we will rank nationally.”
“We do have a lot of talent, so I think we could (return to the national tournament),” said Johnson, a sophomore from Dryden, Ontario. “We did have a lot of talent last year, but there’s something about these girls (this year).”
“I think we have a lot of experience on other teams,” said freshman captain Brooke Millerbernd, an infielder/pitcher from Littlefork who was part of Littlefork-Big Falls’ Section 7A runner-up girls softball teams the past two seasons. “I think we’ll be really good offensively. We just have to work on more defensive things, but I’m really looking forward to (the season).”
“I can already tell you that we are going to have a strong defense,” said freshman captain Jaimie Shaw, an infielder from Lorette, Manitoba. “To add to that, we have strong hitters, which will make up a powerful lineup. Our pitchers and catchers have been working hard leading up the season and I think that they will be great strengths to our team.”
Humbert said the Voyageurs’ primary pitchers this season include two incoming freshmen, Sierra Ramirez from Vero Beach, Fla., and Deven Chandler from Moscow, Idaho.
The strengths of this year’s team, Humbert said, include pitching, catching, defense and offense, while a weakness is inexperience at the college level.
In addition to having “high academic achievement, great team chemistry (and) excellent sportsmanship,” Humbert lists winning the MCAC Northern Division, Region 13B Tournament and NJCAA Division III National Tournament titles among this year’s team goals.
He said he is worried about “absolutely nothing” this season and is looking forward to “working with these wonderful young adults and my assistant coach (Roger Hasbargen).”
Humbert said the teams to watch out for this season include Mesabi Range, Itasca and Northland.
The Voyageurs open the season next week on their trip to Florida.
