FRAZEE, Minn.-Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton senior Kayla Feigum wasn't sure the ball she hit into short left field was fair until she saw the reaction of her teammates.
"I for sure thought it was foul and then I looked back and then everyone was screaming and I just went with it," Feigum said with a smile.
Feigum's RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the Rebels to a dramatic 5-4 victory against Hawley for the Minnesota Class 2A, Section 8 softball championship Thursday in Frazee.
"Sometimes you get those little base hits that bloop in, sometimes you don't," said D-G-F co-head coach Tyler Drechsel. "It just went our way this time."
The Rebels (24-1) advanced to the state tournament for the first time since 2007. The Class 2A state tournament starts next Thursday in Mankato.
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"The emotion was unreal because I'm a senior and everyone was screaming and patting my head," Feigum said. "It was an awesome experience. Now we're going to go to state and that's what we wanted this whole time."
Hawley (22-5) nearly forced a second championship game, taking a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning. The Rebels, however, responded with three runs in the sixth to grab a 4-3 lead. D-G-F second baseman Megan Meyers capped that rally, lining an RBI single into right field.
The Nuggets tied the score at 4-4 in the top of the seventh after center fielder Brittany Laddusaw ripped a one-out, RBI double into left-center field. That scored Jordyn Byklum, who led off the inning with a double, from second base.
"You can't ask for anything more than that, a back-and-forth game," Hawley coach Anita Heier said. "That's what you want in a championship game. Win or lose, it was fun to be a part of."
Rebels catcher Lexie Stebleton started the game-winning rally in the bottom of the seventh with a one-out double. Mattie Fischer, who entered the game as a courtesy runner for Stebleton, advanced to third base on a ground out.
That set the stage for Feigum, who floated the ball over the top of the Hawley third baseman with two outs. The ball landed inches inside the foul line, allowing Fischer to score from third base with the winning run.
"I hit a blooper, which wasn't like a hard hit, but it worked," Feigum said.
"It absolutely was a heartbreaker," Heier said of watching the ball land inches fair. "That one kind of puts a dagger in your heart."
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Hawley is the only team to beat D-G-F this season.
The Nuggets defeated Warroad 12-6 earlier in the day Thursday to reach the section title game. Hawley would have had to beat the Rebels twice to win the section.
"We had a lot of question marks that we had to answer throughout the season," Heier said. "It ended up being a fun, exciting season. ... I'm so proud of these kids."
Hawley 101 100 1-4 8 1
DGF 100 003 1-5 11 1
Noreen and Lawson. Honek and Stebleton. W-Honek. L-Noreen.
Hawley 12, Warroad 6
Hawley 120 342 0-12 17 0
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Warroad 000 051 0- 6 6 4
Noreen, Laddusaw (4) and Lawson. Anderson and Lien. W-Noreen. L-Anderson.
