Amy Bickler threw five innings of shutout softball as the Austin Legion 18-and-under team moved into the semifinal round of the U18 state qualifier tournament Saturday at Todd Park.

Saturday, July 07, 2001

Amy Bickler threw five innings of shutout softball as the Austin Legion 18-and-under team moved into the semifinal round of the U18 state qualifier tournament Saturday at Todd Park.

Bickler’s three-hitter was helped along by a flourishing Austin offense, which scored eight runs in each of its two games Saturday. Austin defeated the Minnesota Impact, 8-2, earlier in the day before drubbing the Rochester Coyotes, 8-0 in five innings.

Austin scored five runs in the top of the fifth courtesy of five of the team’s 10 hits in the game. Three went for extra bases, including Bickler’s ground-rule double that moved Tiffany Ankeny – who singled to lead off – to third. Jenna Cummins hammered a double down the line and Tiffany Poirier was walked, and both runners came around on a deep double to left-center by Abbey Bergstrom.

After a pitching change, Stacy Draayer singled to left to plate Bergstrom as the final Austin run.

"The girls hit the ball really well in that second game," said coach Denny Bray. His Austin squad faces Owatonna in the finals Sunday at 10:30 a.m. The winner will face the champion of the loser’s bracket, with the championship game to be played at 1:30 p.m. at Todd Park. Owatonna defeated Hayfield/Brownsdale 5-3 to advance.

Melanie Gabrielson scored Austin’s initial run after reaching with a bunt single in the first, and Megan Olsen came plateward when she reached on an error to start the second.

Rochester had defeated Winona 1-0 earlier in the day to advance to face Austin. Winona had swept Austin in a recent league doubleheader, but Rochester did not put up the fight that might have been expected.

"You never really know how that team is going to be," Bickler said after the game. "It’s hard to tell because it’s never really the same team."