St. Anthony supplies runs for Tusa

St. Anthony's Rose Tusa has had a marvelous postseason, pitching shutouts in all four of the Huskies' games -- back-to-back perfect games followed by a pair of one-hitters.

So it was fitting that, on a day when Tusa did not have her best stuff, her teammates picked her up.

St. Anthony, a team used to playing tight games, put 13 runners on base and saw eight of them come around to score in beating St. Paul Academy 8-2 for the Class 2A, Section 4 championship.

The victory sends the Huskies (19-4) to the Class 2A tournament for the third consecutive season. They were second to Pipestone last year.

For Tusa, the run support was welcome. After giving up only two hits in her past four games, St. Paul Academy found enough chinks in her armor to collect seven hits and score a pair of runs, a glut of offense compared to what she had been allowing.

"I was a little off today," said Tusa, who still managed to strike out nine Spartans. "It's finals week and I had a big Spanish test today. But even when I'm pitching well, this team always steps up when we need to."

The two Tri-Metro Conference rivals had played a 1-0 contest earlier in the season, with St. Anthony winning in the bottom of the seventh inning.

But the Huskies broke out a different script, scoring four runs in the second inning off of SPA starter Sammi Fox. Brittany Ranallo had the big hit, a bases-loaded, two-out double that scored three runs.

"We needed that in the beginning," Ranallo said.

St. Anthony tacked on three more runs in the fourth inning and another in the sixth, more than enough for a pitcher of Tusa's qualifications.

"It was a nice change of pace for us," Ranallo said. "Rose has done such a great job for us all season that it was nice to be able to get some runners on base and make things easier."

In other section softball games:

CLASS 3A • SECTION 4

• STILLWATER 3, HILL-MURRAY 1: Alex Fosse's two-run single in the first inning provided enough offense for the Ponies in the winners' bracket final. Her sister, Rachel, pitched a complete game with seven strikeouts to earn the victory.

CLASS 3A • SECTION 5

• MOUNDS VIEW 4, CENTENNIAL 3: The Mustangs took a 4-0 lead, then held on as the Cougars scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning in the losers' bracket final. The Cougars almost scored the tying run, but the runner was thrown out in a rundown for the game's final out.

CLASS 3A • SECTION 6

• HOPKINS 2, BENILDE-ST. MARGARET'S 1: Jenna Peterson pitched a four-hitter and scored the first run of the game in the first inning as the Royals won the winners' bracket final.

• RICHFIELD 2, BENILDE-ST. MARGARET'S 1: The Spartans advanced to the section championship by scoring two unearned runs in the fifth inning of the losers' bracket final. Michelle Charboneau drove in the tying run with a single and scored the game-winner on an error.

CLASS 2A • SECTION 5

• ORONO 7, DELANO 1: The Spartans advanced to the section finals, breaking open a tie game with a six-run fourth inning. Tara Schinke and Megan Matson each drove in two runs in the inning.