The Minnesota State High School League girls’ softball state tournament will take place next week, which means this week is section tournament championship week with state tournament bids on the line.
In Section 5 of Class AAA, the semifinal game Wednesday between Becker and St. Francis turned into a scoreless marathon that didn’t end until Becker won it with an RBI single in the bottom of the 17th inning.
This base hit by Kreft wins it! 1-0. 17 innings! Marathon battle between the top 2 seeds @MSHSLjohn Becker defeats St Francis! pic.twitter.com/o0OlwolXAv
— Dave Kreft (@principal726) May 31, 2023
It’s unclear where the 17-inning games ranks in terms of longest games in Minnesota high school softball history, but it’s definitely not the longest. The longest known games in state tournament history were 19-inning games, two of them.
In 2014, Park of Cottage Grove and Roseville lasted 19 innings, and in 1987 there was a 19-inning state tourney game between Austin and St. Cloud Apollo, according to MSHSL records.
Becker set the table for the winning hit with a leadoff walk followed by a sacrifice bunt to get the winning runner to second base ahead of Evelyn Kreft, who singled to win it.
The Bulldogs are now in the Section 5AAA championship round. Saint Francis isn’t done yet. They’ll play Monticello in an elimination game Wednesday afternoon, with the winner advancing to play Becker in the championship round on Friday. Becker will have to lose twice to be eliminated Friday, and they’ll need just one win to advance to next week’s state tournament.
