Albany Softball Team Wins a Thriller

The girls softball team had a flare for the dramatic on Friday as they opened the second round of the Division III North Coast Section playoffs.

Hosting the seventh-seed Bishop O’Dowd Dragons, the second-seeded Cougars came from behind not once, but twice, to pull out an 8-7 win in their final at bat.

The win moves the Cougars into the semi-finals, where they will host Terra Linda High School next Wednesday at Cougar Field at 5 p.m. The winner of that game will advance to the NCS championship.

Albany (20-3-1 on the season) fell behind the Dragons 6-2, and it looked like the season was about to come to an end, until the team rallied in the fifth inning.

The big hit of the inning was a bases loaded double by Lila Rosenfeld, which tied the game at 6-all.

Meanwhile Rosenfeld was also doing the job on the mound. She came in to pitch in relief of Nicole Nordahl in the third inning, and despite giving up four runs over the final four innings, she held the Dragons close.

The game stayed tied until the seventh and final inning, when Bishop O’Dowd pushed across what appeared to be the run that would be the difference to take a 7-6 lead.

But in the bottom of the seventh, Albany again rallied strong.

The Cougars got key hits by Nicole Nordahl, Rachel Burns and Lindsay Baker, with Baker‘s infield single winning the game with two outs, sending a standing room only crowd into a wild celebration.

Baker, Burns, Nordahl and Ellie Arkin all had two hits for Albany. 

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