The countdown: Top local sports stories of 2012
Published 12:00 pm Friday, December 28, 2012
The Blooming Prairie Awesome Blossoms celebrate a win in the first day of this year's Minnesota State Softball Tournament in Mankato. The Blossoms would play for the state title the next day.
6) So close, yet so far away
Take away one bad play and the Awesome Blossoms softball team had a great chance for their first state title in school history. Take away two plays and BP may have won a state title.
Blooming Prairie allowed two unearned runs as it fell 2-1 to Cherry in the Class ‘A’ state title game in the spring of 2012 and it was almost fitting that the game ended on a Cherry rally where they never hit the ball out of the infield. The game-winning run eventually scored on a wild pitch by Shelbi Swenson, who finished with 20 strikeouts and allowed just two earned runs in three games at state.
BP got to the state title game in dramatic fashion when Sam Ivers drew a bases loaded walk with two outs in the seventh to beat New Ulm Cathedral 3-2. Tessa Ivers put BP in position to win when she doubled in two runs with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning after the Blossoms had trailed 2-0.
