Local Teams Battling Competition, Elements

Doing the best that they can against wildly varying weather conditions, St. Michael-Albertville High School teams continued to compete in the early stages of their respective spring seasons that continued despite being hampered by some wintry elements.

Softball: STMA Starts Spring With 4-2 Record

After losing its season opener on April 7, the St. Michael-Albertville softball team has won four of its last five games to improve to 4-2 after a 7-3 win at Mississippi 8 Conference opponent Rogers on Tuesday afternoon.

Kelsey Blank leads the Knights with a .429 batting average and four runs scored, while teammates Nikki Vetsch, Samantha Kunde and Rachel Gebo are all tied for the team-high in runs batted in with four each. Pitcher Torey Malerich has struck out 20 batters in her five games this spring.

STMA, now 4-1 in the conference, hosts Big Lake at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Baseball: Knights Open Season At 2-4

With a 10-3 win at Rogers on Tuesday, the St. Michael-Albertville baseball team improved to 2-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play this season.

After earning its first win of the year, 15-2 over Zimmerman on April 11, STMA went eight innings in a 7-6 loss at Buffalo on April 14 as Ben Schmitz and Andrew McCarthy both logged two hits and one RBI.

Following a 7-3 loss at Cambridge-Isanti on Monday, the Knights defeated Rogers with Jacob Dzubay going five innings and allowing two earned runs on three hits before giving way to Dain Krutzig, who gave up two hits and no runs in two innings of relief. Steven Kiesner led the offense with three hits and four RBI.

The Knights are scheduled to host Mississippi 8 front-runner Big Lake at 4:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon.

Girls Golf: Squad Places Fourth At First Conference Meet

The St. Michael-Albertville girls golf team opened the season with an eighth-place finish out of 17 teams at the Monticello Invite on April 6, then took fourth at the first Mississippi 8 meet in Becker on April 12.

Sam Wortman led the Knights with an 89 at Monticello to take fifth overall at the Invite, with Kylie Slavin firing a 100, Maddie Malone a 103, Krista Bramhall a 108 and Megan Cichos a 113. It was the first varsity meet for Slavin and Malone.

At Becker, STMA scored a 203 over nine holes, with Wortman leading the way with a 44. Cichos and Malone shot 52 and 53, respectively, with Slavin recording a 54. 

Results were not available from the Becker Invitational on April 14. The Knights have a conference meet scheduled for Wednesday at Monticello Country Club.

Boys Tennis: Netters Open At 2-2

After splitting its first four matches, the St. Michael-Albertville boys tennis team sits at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

The Knights opened the season with a pair of 5-2 road losses at Andover and Cambridge-Isanti, yet battled back to win its first home contests by identical 4-3 scores against St. Cloud Apollo and Monticello on Monday and Tuesday afternoons, respectively.

Tyler Shustarich is 3-1 in singles play, while Matt Odegard is 4-0 on the year with three doubles wins teamed with Kevin Caron and one singles win against Monticello. The No. 2 doubles team of Kent McKimmy and Thor Holstad is 3-1 on the season.

Boys Golf: STMA Sixth At Mississippi 8 Meet

The St. Michael-Albertville boys golf team took sixth at its Mississippi 8 meet at Monticello Golf Course on Monday, carding a team score of 335. Individual statistics were not available.

The Knights are scheduled to compete in a conference meet at Wild Marsh Golf Club in Monticello on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

Results were not available for the St. Michael-Albertville track and field teams.