After making their first state tournament appearance since 2009, the Riverside Bulldogs finished the season in third place, holding on to beat the St. Edmond Gaels 5-4 in the final game of the state tournament Friday night. Tied 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth, the Bulldogs scored three runs, highlighted by a two-out two RBI single from Kayden Schnack. Although the Gaels started a furious two-out rally in the seventh, the Bulldogs hung on to finish third in Class 1A.

Much like their opening game on Tuesday, the offense got off to a good start. Adaline Martens continued her streak of getting on base, reaching on a walk that was followed up by a base hit from Sophia Fenner. Although Riverside wouldn’t record another hit in the inning, everything they did was productive. After Maddison Kelley walked to load the bases, Peyton Schafer hit a sac fly to left and Sydney Somers grounded into an RBI to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.

Despite the early offense, the game tightened up in the middle frames. Defensively, it wasn’t Riverside’s cleanest performance. The Bulldogs committed four errors throughout the game; however, in three separate innings in which the Bulldogs started an inning with an error, they would turn a double play, ensuring their mistakes did not come back to bite them.

The game would tighten up in the middle frames. Riverside threatened in the third but was unable to bring a run home and was retired in order in the fourth. On the other side, the St. Edmond offense broke through. In the only occurrence where an error from Riverside came around to score, Lauren Gibb knocked in two with a single to tie the game.

Level at 2-2 in the bottom half of the fifth, the Riverside offense clicked again. Fenner knotched her third double of the tournament and was brought home by Schafer to give the Bulldogs the lead. Then, with two outs, came the game’s defining moment. With Somers and Maebry Rice on base, Schnack came through with a clutch base hit to extend the Riverside lead to three.

Schafer, as she had all tournament handled everything that was thrown at her and did what needed to be done. After retiring the side in order in the sixth, she quickly retired the first two in the final frame. However, the Gaels would make a furious push. St. Edmond picked up three hits with an intentional walk of Mariah Myers mixed in to cut the Bulldog lead to one and place the tying run in scoring position. However, Schafer responded once again, inducing a rollover to second, allowing Martens to tag the runner and clinch a third-place finish for Riverside.

Head coach Lacie Patterson was proud of how her team accomplished everything as a team.

The ability of the Bulldogs to battle through adversity was also top of mind, especially when it came to Schnack’s game-defining hit.

Riverside’s lone senior, Elly Henderson, was happy to finish her athletic career with a third-place finish, but also knows she is leaving the program on the rise.

Although Henderson’s presence will be missed, a common theme voiced by Schnack is the trajectory of Riverside Softball.

The Bulldogs’ season was no doubt a successful one. Finishing with a 26-4 record, the Bulldogs shared a conference championship, advanced to the state tournament for the first time since 2009 capped off with a third-place finish. Given the amount of talent returning, the future looks bright for Riverside softball.