REGIONAL- After picking up an opening round 3-1 home win against Cromwell-Wright in the Section 7A softball tournament last week, the eighth-seeded North Woods Grizzlies faced off last Thursday against a daunting opponent. Top-seeded Moose Lake/Willow River won last year’s sectional and finished second in the state. The Rebels were ranked second in the state in Class A this year in the Quality Ratings Formula used for seeding, and their 18-3 record included a 12-0 shutout of 7AAAA Duluth East. At 8-7, the Grizzlies had six fewer games under their belts due to early season weather cancellations.
The Grizzlies couldn’t touch Rebels hurler Alexis Hoffman, who sent 13 North Woods batters to the bench on strike-outs. Meanwhile, Moose Lake roughed up North Woods pitching, with five players getting two or more hits, too much firepower for the Grizzlies to handle as they dropped into the elimination bracket with a 10-0 loss.
Fourth seed Silver Bay had a five-game winning streak halted by South Ridge in Thursday’s action and looked to get back on track against North Woods. The Mariners did just that, putting up nine runs against just one for the Grizzlies to advance. Silver Bay won the elimination bracket with two more victories and was scheduled to face Moose Lake for the sectional title on Thursday.
The Grizzlies finished their season at 8-9.