Bad news for Bears  in second state final loss

Byron’s redemption run to the state championship game ended with heartbreak for the second consecutive season last weekend when the No. 2 Bears fell 6-1 to No. 5 St. Francis for the Class AAA state title at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium at the University of Minnesota.
The Bears were victims of a slow start that allowed the Fighting Saints to play with full confidence and pull ahead 6-0 through three innings.
“We were really excited to be there, and I think that we honestly came into the game thinking it was going to be a lot easier than it ended up being. We were the No. 2 seed, and they were No. 5, but they came out and played hungry,” said BHS junior center fielder Hattie Mathre.
St. Francis started the top of the first with a leadoff single and eventually cashed in for three runs by chaining together two doubles and another single.
Byron got an early single in the bottom of the inning from Sydney Portner, but the Bears’ first base runner was thrown out attempting to steal second to end the inning.
St. Francis got its first batter on base via a hit-by-pitch to start the second and immediately moved a runner into scoring position by recording a single in the next at bat.
Byron held firm to get two quick outs following the sequence, but ultimately let both runners score when Fighting Saints’ third baseman Hailey Ausland launched a deep fly ball to the left-center gap for a triple.
The Bears went three-and-out in the bottom of the second and allowed St. Francis to score its final run of the game in the third inning on a wild pitch.
Erasing a 6-0 deficit was already going to be an uphill battle for the Bears, but the team’s comeback chances were also greatly hindered by the performance of St. Francis pitcher Sydney Borchert.
Borchert was consistently finding the strike zone and challenging the Bears’ hitters, keeping the state championship favorites fighting on their back foot throughout the game.
“They were swinging first pitch and putting the ball in play. Overall, it just came down to offense. Our offense was one of our best characteristics this year, and unfortunately in that game we just didn’t come through. We were having a tough time adjusting to the pitches and it just didn’t pan out our way,” said Mathre.
Byron’s first and only run of the game came in the sixth inning when senior Tallie Behrens hit a towering shot to deep center field for a triple and scored when Portner hit a single up the middle in the next at bat.
The Bears went on to lose 6-1 while being outhit 12-4 by St. Francis.
However, the team’s run back to the state championship continued to prove that the Bears’ softball culture is on the rise, with plans to establish Byron as one of the state’s best programs.
“I think that it was last year when we were headed to the state tournament that we realized how much support we have in the community. We have parents that care a lot and come to every game… When we went last year, one of our youth coaches sent us a video of all the youth girls saying, ‘Good luck.’ We have only three seniors from our starting lineup graduating, so we have a lot of our team coming back. We all play in the off-season and continue to work hard, which will only help us as we continue to grow as a program,” said Mathre.
Reaching 
the finals
Prior to the state championship game, Byron had two strong showings against Simley and Cretin-Derham Hall (CDH) in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds at Caswell Park in Mankato.
Byron began its run by taking down the No. 7 Simley Spartans 5-0 behind a no-hitter performance by Bears’ pitcher Caliegh Barrone.
The freshman was excellent and carried a perfect game into the fourth inning, when she walked her first batter in a two-out scenario.
Barrone went on to strike out 15 batters while walking just two in a monster performance to kick off the Bears’ state run.
On offense, Byron collected five runs on eight hits with Behrens leading the team with one hit, one run and two RBIs.
The team’s semifinal win against No. 6 CDH was much closer at 3-1, but the Bears were able to fight back from a 1-0 deficit after the first to rally late.
The Raiders scored on an RBI single in the top of the first inning, but then saw their bats go cold when Barrone found her stride.
Meanwhile, the Bears’ offense came to life in the fourth when singles by Mackenzie Steele and Macy Behringer put runners on first and second.
A walk for Mathre loaded the bases and an RBI single from Barrone scored the equalizer.
Byron tried to score a second run on the play, but courtesy runner Norah Brown was thrown out attempting to advance home.
While CDH temporarily fended off Byron’s momentum, the fifth inning was when the Bears truly went on the attack.
A leadoff walk for Behrens allowed Portner to come to the plate and bunt in an attempt to move the runner into scoring position.
However, a fielding error by CDH first baseman Allie Burth allowed Behrens to round the bases and score while Portner advanced to third base.
Kaydence Fjerstad grounded into a fielder’s choice in the next at-bat, but the grounder was enough to score Portner from third for an insurance run.
Byron was able to outhit the Raiders 7-2 while Barrone collected another win.
The freshman ace was excellent once again by allowing one run on four hits while striking out 13 batters.

Player Stats
vs. St. Francis
                 H    R    RBI
Portner      2    0     1
Behrens    1     1     0
Fjerstad    1     0     0
                IP    H     R    ER    K    BB
Barrone    7    12     6     5     6     2