John's Journal: Chicken Dance, Graduations, Gatorade Money And More

NORTH MANKATO – The familiar strain of the Chicken Dance was heard at one of the six Caswell Park fields that were used for the opening rounds of the Minnesota high school softball state tournament on Wednesday. The team from Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial was gathered under the roof of the third-base bench, with time to kill before they were given the OK to take the field for pregame warmups.

The music blasted from a small speaker as the Knights clapped their hands in unison, spun around and around, giggled and enjoyed the heck out of the moment together. The game ended in a 3-1 loss to Hawley, but that was almost beside the point. The real point of these athletic endeavors is to have fun, build foundations of friendship, set an example for younger kids – as well as some adults -- and create lifelong memories.

The softball tournament was scheduled to begin on Tuesday. That was before the sky and the clouds and the wind and the rain strongly disagreed. Early Tuesday morning the schedule was adjusted, with games starting later. Around midday Tuesday, as the rain kept coming and no chance of getting all the games in, the decision was made to begin play Wednesday in quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. Teams fortunate enough to win twice Wednesday advanced to Friday’s state championship games at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium on the University of Minnesota’s Minneapolis campus.

That was the target for every team, but in the midst of the drama were lots of sights, just as many sounds, and smiles everywhere…

Senior softball players from Bloomington Jefferson and Chisago Lakes were very busy Wednesday. They were going to play two games (a quarterfinal followed by either semifinals or a consolation-round game), after which they needed to hustle back home to attend their graduation ceremonies.

The MSHSL takes such things into account, and those two teams’ second games were played earlier than originally scheduled. Jefferson defeated Brainerd in an 8:30 a.m. game and Forest Lake in a semifinal that ended at 4 p.m. The Jaguars’ graduation was held at 6:30 at Minneapolis Convention Center, and seniors Abigail Childs, Kay Marie Ross, Maggie Munsinger and Olivia Weiland were happy about securing a spot in the Class 4A championship game as well as the impending grad celebration.

In 3A, Chicago Lakes beat Benilde-St. Margaret’s in a morning quarterfinal before falling to Byron in a semifinal that ended at mid-afternoon. That allowed seniors Chloe Ruza, Anna Zaruba, Addison Turner and Melana Larson to be at their graduation. Congratulations to all.

The grounds crew at Caswell Park is a bunch of miracle workers. Rainstorms, sometimes violent, are almost standard at the softball tournament, and year after year the ground magicians have taken what looked like absolutely swamped fields and transformed them into playing shape very efficiently.

In the midst of Tuesday’s uncertainty, one part of the plan was assured: If the six fields could be made playable, the Caswell Park crew could do it.

Overheard at the tournament Wednesday from someone who knows this business: “I thought the grounds crew at Target Field was the best in the state, but I think these folks here might be even better.”

Someone lost a credit card during Wednesday’s games, and whoever found it brought it to the tournament headquarters … which consists of a small travel trailer and a table set up in front of it. A member of the MSHSL staff looked at the credit card, recognized the name and embarked on a search for the person. He and his credit card were reunited, and that person – one of the umpire supervisors – may never hear the end of it (smiley face emoji).

Pro tip (for males) from a softball tournament veteran: When using the men’s restroom in the center of the complex, don’t waste your time with the air-blown hand dryers. They are a waste of air and time. Exiting the restroom, take a quick left into the concession area and swipe a handful of napkins from the condiment station. You are welcome.

A very friendly youth approached two gentlemen as they chatted. She said with a smile, “Excuse me, do you have a dollar?” One of the fellows asked about the purpose of this request. “I’d like to buy a Gatorade,” she said. One of them reached into a pocket and handed over a dollar, asking, “How much do they cost?” Answer: Three and a half dollars. OK, here’s another dollar. Good luck. But the guy suddenly had a brainstorm. “Here,” he said, reaching into the pocket again. “Give me those two dollars back and I’ll give you a five. Keep the change.” Might have been a scam but what the heck.

After the Class A team from United South Central defeated Blackduck 12-0 in a five-inning quarterfinal, out came the cookies. In a season-long tradition, Rebels junior Hannah Niebuhr’s grandmother brings homemade cookies to each game for the team.

“We started winning and she didn't want to stop the tradition, so she brings two dozen cookies to every game, starting with the first game of the year,” said USC coach Todd Schmidtke.

They were chocolate chip with sprinkles. And they were delicious.

United South Central came in as the favorite to win the Class A championship, after a perfect regular season, one-loss Section 2A tournament and the No. 1 seed at state. The Rebels’ star is junior pitcher Mariah Anderson, a 5-foot-3 dynamo who leads the state with 368 strikeouts, 65 more than Randolph senior Carter Raymond, who is headed to a pitching career with the Gophers.

Randolph, defending 2A state champ and top-seeded this time around, fell in the semifinals to St. Cloud Cathedral. With No. 1 Forest Lake falling to fourth seed Bloomington Jefferson in the 4A semis and No. 1 Mankato East losing to No. 5 Rocori in the 3A semifinals, USC is the only top seed to reach the state championship round.

Anderson did what Anderson has done all season. She threw a perfect game and struck out 13 in the five-inning game against Blackduck. That’s 13 Ks among 15 outs. She also had two hits and drove in two runs. The game ended when USC ninth-grader Alivia Bruegger hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth, triggering the 10-run rule.

In the semifinals against fourth-seeded Braham, Anderson struck out 20 (of 21 possible outs) and gave up two hits as the Rebels won 6-0.

This is USC’s first trip to state and to say the Rebels enjoyed the day, in front of their fun-loving fans, would be an understatement.

“It was such a great atmosphere,” Anderson said. “And having so much of our community come up, it's so fun.

“It's pretty much what we've had all year,” she said, “just pretty much our small town’s big love coming up to support us.”

--Follow John Millea on Bluesky at @minnesotamillea.bsky.social. Contact John at [email protected]