Pulling out a win in another title-game atmosphere propelled Deuel into the championship for real after the Cardinals topped Alcester-Hudson 2-1 in the semifinals of the State A Softball Tournament Friday at Players South Complex.

“(Thursday) almost felt like a mini championship win in that one. Today for sure feels like a mini championship,” said Cardinals coach Sarah Hagberg. “That was awesome. We needed this so bad, and I knew this was the team that could do it.”

In a tight game with the pressure at an all-time high, the Deuel players kept their composure while Hagberg was hanging on by a thread in the dugout, not knowing how her squad pulled out the victory.

“I have no idea, because I was freaking out a little bit there for a while,” Hagberg said. “They were so calm and focused, and I was probably a hot mess.”

Junior Eden Schiernbeck used her experience to help the team stay composed on the field.

“You gotta not be nervous. I don’t even know how to say it, you gotta stay happy. When you get down and you get nervous, and it gets quiet,” Schiernbeck said, “you gotta stay happy, you gotta stay pumped, because when people go up, you gotta be cheering. That keeps them going.”

Deuel got on the board first thanks to an RBI triple from Rylynn Streich scoring Schiernbeck in the bottom of the second. Schiernbeck led Deuel with two hits in three at-bats.

“You know, you just got to think about the team every time you go up to bat. You got to think no matter how many outs you have or what’s going on,” Schiernbeck said. “I always make sure I know what’s going on before I swing. Make sure I know my count and then you gotta swing from there.”

Alcester-Hudson leveled the score in the following inning on an RBI double from Delta Pies.

Deuel broke the tie with Tory Engebretson crossing home on a passed ball, for what proved to be the game-winning run in the fifth inning.

The Cubs still had one last chance in the seventh. Lead-off batter Ava Kingma reached on an error. Deuel’s Katrina Hagberg struck out the following batter, before another out was recorded on runner’s interference. Paxtyn Moller moved into scoring position by stealing second base. Hagberg then recorded another strikeout, however the ball was dropped. Deuel catcher Elle Holden tagged out the batter to seal the deal.

“I was thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, good job Elle. Thank you for tagging her.’ I was a little scared because I’m kind of glad she forgot to run to first because on those, you gotta worry about overthrows and it’s a close one,” Schiernbeck said. “There was somebody on second. I was really happy she got it.”

With a ticket to the title game punched, Coach Hagberg and her players were still trying to register what transpired.

“They cannot believe it. They’re like ‘We’re in the state championship!’ and they just kept screaming it over and over,” Hagberg said. “I don’t know if it’s officially sunk in yet, but once I walk away from this, I’m gonna be like, ‘Oh my gosh, we are in the state championship.’”

Alcester-Hudson 001 000 0 – 1 7 3

Deuel 010 010 x – 2 6 2

Emma Moller and Paxtyn Moller; Katrina Hagberg and Elle Holden. 2B – Alcester-Hudson, Delta Pies, Laney Decker. 3B – Deuel, Rylynn Streich.

Gayville-Volin 11, Mobridge-Pollock 4

Gayville-Volin gave up four early runs before responding with 11 unanswered of its own to secure a state title game berth with an 11-4 semifinal victory over Mobridge-Pollock.

“That’s just our team. It did not surprise me that we gave up four runs and it did not surprise me that we came back and put up 11 runs,” said Raiders coach Jason Selchert. “Our girls are just kind of easy going. I’m sure nerves was a lot of it.”

Ayla Dimmer started in the circle for the Raiders, but got off to a slow start.

“I called a defensive conference, and I went out and kind of probably chewed her a little bit and said ‘You know, you’re not hitting spots,’” Selchert said. “And she said ‘I know, I can’t,’ and I just think the moment was big at that time, and she settled down and was big for us.”

The Tigers knew they needed to get off to a fast start, and accomplished that with four runs in the top of the first. However, Mobridge-Pollock was unable to score again, despite solid contact at the plate.

“We scored four in the first. Never scored another run. I mean we had base runners all over, we just couldn’t get the hits to get them in,” said Mobridge-Pollock coach Andrew Overland. “Some days they fall, and some days, you know, you can hit the ball as hard as you can and still be out.”

The Tigers were able to get a hit in nearly half of their at-bats, but in softball that sometimes isn’t enough.

“That’s why they call it a game of failure. You hit .400 and you’re awesome, an All-American hitter, but if you do 40 percent on a math test, you’re a moron,” Overland said. “You’re not gonna go say, ‘Hey mom, I got a 40 percent,’ and you can say, ‘Hey coach, I hit .400.’”

Meanwhile, Gayville-Volin leadoff hitter Jolie Westrum was setting the table for the Raiders, going 3-for-3 with a walk.

“It’s perfect. (Coach Selchert) tells me I need you on every single time,” Westrum said. “I think this is the first time that’s ever happened. It just feels so good.”

Gayville-Volin will take on Deuel in the state title game at 4 this afternoon, marking its third game at 4 p.m. this week, which was a mantra for the Raiders going into the tournament.

“It’s crazy. Like, I don’t know. We have a new motto, 444, and we’ve been using that all weekend,” Westrum said. “We wanna play the 4 o’clock games all weekend, and we were just talking all weekend like anything is possible.”

Mobridge-Pollock 400 000 0 – 4 9 5

Gayville-Volin 014 411 x – 11 13 3

Grace Overland and Amber Vetch; Ayla Dimmer and Kayden Bye; 2B – Mobridge-Pollock, Elsy Larson 2, Sophia Overland; Gayville-Volin, Dimmer, Kendra Beeck, Maia Achen.

Castlewood 12, Bon Homme 2

Castlewood bounced back from an opening-round setback with a 12-2 win over Bon Homme in consolation round action on Friday.

Castlewood, which led from start to finish, put up 19 hits. Kayla Goens lead the way with four. She also drove in three runs.

Cyndi Kudrna finished with three hits and three three RBIs. Natalie Akin and Bridgette Horn also recorded three hits in the victory. The Warriors will meet Florence-Henry for fifth place at noon today.

Taycee Ranek topped Bon Homme with three hits, including a solo home run. Nevaeh Myers drove in Ranek for the Cavaliers’ other run.

Castlewood 311 100 6 – 12 19 1

Bon Homme 010 000 1 – 2 9 1

Claire Horn and Lilly Jacobsen; Kenadee Kozak and Olivia Kaul. 2B – Castlewood, Horn, Cyndi Kudrna, Natalie Akin, Kayla Goens; Bon Homme, Taycee Ranek. 3B – Castlewood, Kudrna. HR – Bon Homme, Ranek.

Florence-Henry 6, Avon 1

Andie Rislov helped power Florence-Henry into the fifth-place game, scoring half of the Falcons’ runs in a 6-1 victory over Avon in a consolation round game Friday morning.

Rislow drove in a run on a ground out in the fourth inning, and delivered a two-run single in the sixth.

Florence-Henry plated three runs total in the fourth, the other two coming on a Samantha Fuller triple and a Harper Hlavacek double.

Despite Avon outhitting the Falcons, the Pirates were only able to muster one run in the top of the fifth inning when Rilyn Thury hit a solo home run to centerfield. Rowan Brandt went 3-for-3 for Avon.

Avon 000 010 0 – 1 10 1

Florence-Henry 000 303 x – 6 7 1

Macy Voigt and Jordyn Voigt; Elizabeth Reiter and Ashlynn Vavruska. 2B – Florence-Henry, Vavruska, Brooke Hlavacek, Harper Hlavacek. 3B – Florence-Henry, Samantha Fuller. HR- Avon, Rilyn Thury.