Gobblers clinch Great River

PINE CITY - Kristy Hoge drove in Kelsey Klucas with a 10th-inning single to hand the Aitkin Gobblers with a 2-1 Great River Conference victory Thursday.

The win secures the Gobblers their second straight conference title.

Emily Mehr pitched the complete game two hitter. She struck out eight and walked none to improve Aitkin to 10-0 overall and 8-0 in the conference.

Hoge finished 2-for-5 with a double and the game-winning RBI. Mehr drove in Aitkin's first run. Lauren Landrus finished 2-4 and Sara Hoge was 2-5. Allie Carlson added a triple.

Aitkin 2 9 1

Pine City 1 2 2

WP: Emily Mehr. LP: Lindsey LeClair. 2B: A-Kristy Hoge. 3B: A-Allie Carlson. Conference: A 8-0. Overall: A 10-0. Next: Aitkin at Deer River tournament 3:30 p.m. Friday.

PR-B 16, W-H-A 9

PINE RIVER - Erin Johnson went 2-for-3 and pitched the Pine River-Backus Tigers to a 16-9 Upper Mississippi Conference victory over Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Thursday.

Denin Oliver had a double and Katie Wangberg had a triple for the 9-4 Tigers.

Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 9

Pine River-Backus 16 10 4

WP: Erin Johnson. 2B: P-Denin Oliver. 3B: P-Katie Wangberg. Conference: PRB 8-1. Overall: PRB 9-4. Next: Pine River-Backus at Pillager 8:30 p.m. Friday.

Verndale splits with Mills

VERNDALE - Nicole Bart and the Verndale Pirates split with the New York Mills Eagles 2-1, 6-4 in a Park Region Conference doubleheader Thursday.

Alicia Johnson's home run and Bart's 11 strikeouts were the lone bright spots in the Pirates Game One loss.

In the second game, Bart and Crystal Haskin each had two RBIs and Bart had seven strikeouts.

Game One

New York Mills 2 2 1

Verndale 1 2 4

WP: Steph Cichy. LP: Nicole Bart. 2B: V-Kaitlyn Dunrud. HR: V-Alicia Johnson.

Game Two

New York Mills 4 10 4

Verndale 6 5 4

WP: Bart. LP: Cichy. 2B: NYM-Rae Anna Salo (2), Kim Becker, Cichy, Nicole Nebosis; V-Johnson. Conference: V 9-2. Overall: V 13-3. Next: Verndale hosts Parkers Prairie 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Fergus Falls 7, Little Falls 0

FERGUS FALLS - The Little Falls Flyers were handcuffed for seven innings by Fergus Falls starter Aly Erickson during a 7-0 Central Lakes Conference loss Thursday.

Courtney Messinger went 1-for-2 with a walk for the Flyers.

Little Falls 0 4 1

Fergus Falls 7 13 0

WP: Aly Erickson. LP: Marissa Gessell. Conference: LF 2-9. Overall: LF 5-10. Next: Little Falls at Royalton 5 p.m. Friday.

Pierz drops two to Kimball

KIMBALL - Kelsey Meyer went 4-for-7 with two doubles as the Pierz Pioneers dropped both games of Thursday's Central Minnesota Conference doubleheader against the Kimball Cubs Thursday.

Meyer collected two of the Pioneers three hits during the 7-0 Game One loss.

The Pioneers managed six runs on four hits, including doubles by Meyer and Crystal Boser during the 11-6 Game Two loss.

Game One

Pierz 0 3 2

Kimball 7 9 0

WP: M. LIbbesmeir. LP: Katelyn Fuhrman. 2B: Kelsey Meyer.

Game Two

Pierz 6 4 4

Kimball 11 10 1

WP: N. Stein. LP: Brianna Varner. 2B: Kelsey Meyer, Crystal Boser. Conference: Prz 1-11. Overall: Prz 3-14. Next: Pierz hosts Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Ottertail Central 9, Pillager 0

BATTLE LAKE - Emily Doss went 2-for-3 for the Pillager Huskies, who dropped a 9-0 Park Region Conference decision to Ottertail Central Thursday.

Pillager 0 6 0

Ottertail Central 9 9 0

WP: Malmstrom. LP: Ally Hunstad. 2B: Pill-Kaylie Hanson. Conference: Pill 3-8. Overall: Pill 6-8. Next: Pillager hosts Pine River-Backus 8:30 p.m. Friday.