By Steve Larson
Spring had not quite found its way to the softball fields at Chaska High on May 4, when Chanhassen (6-4) and Chaska (7-9) met in the second game of their head-to-head season series on a cold and windy day. It was Chaska’s final home game of the regular season.
Chaska split its weekend games, earning a win over Southwest Christian but coming up short against Roseville at the Chaska triangular tournament. Chanhassen entered the game after a tough loss to a 3-5 Benilde-St. Margaret’s team on May 1.
Allana Benoit (So., 5-3 on the year) took the mound for the Hawks, while Anna Christensen (Sr., 7-4) started for the Storm. Chanhassen managed to get runners on base in the first inning, but Chaska worked out of the inning without allowing a run. Throughout the game, the wind had a noticeable impact, causing pop-ups to hang and influencing whether balls stayed fair or drifted foul.
The Storm struck first, scoring four runs in the top of the second inning on a series of successive hits. Chaska responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, highlighted by a Brooklyn Hoffman home run — her first of the season — with a runner on base to cut the deficit to 4-2.
Junior Noelle Stein came in in relief for the top of the third for Chaska. Senior Sophia Bixler delivered a clutch hit, driving in Allana Benoit to make the score 4-3 in favor of the Storm.
The fourth inning saw momentum swing back to Chanhassen, as they added four more runs with key hits and a few mishaps by the Hawks. At the end of the fourth inning, the Storm led 8-3.
The Hawks continued to assertively compete, using timely hitting and intense base running, including taking extra bases on several hits. They scored a run in each of the final three innings, including sophomore Iyla Branch hitting the team’s second home run of the game in the bottom of the seventh. Benoit returned to pitch in the sixth inning and held the Storm to just one additional run for the rest of the game. The final score was an 11-6 win for Chanhassen.
Eighth grader Brooklyn Hofman led the Hawks with two hits. Branch and junior Kaylee Delorenzo each scored two runs.
For the Storm, junior Josie Coenen recorded five hits and scored three runs, while sophomore Victoria Meinert added four hits and scored twice. Anna Christensen earned the win and improved to 8-4 on the season.
After the game, Hawks Head Coach Dennis Draughn began by focusing on the positives.
“We hit well today under strong winds,” he said. “Two home runs is great. We got behind to a good team, and it was hard to catch up, but no one quit.”
Team Captain Sophia Bixler added, “We’ve got four more games, let’s focus on those and have some fun!”
The Hawks have four games remaining, all on the road. Chanhassen has six games left (including three at home) and will host Delano on May 11 at 7 p.m.
