BASEBALL: Ten teams have accumulated at least 3 points in the Big Nine Conference standings and nine have posted between 2-6 points…Albert Lea, which sits in 10^th place with 2 points, has defeated Winona and Northfield, both of which have 6 points…Mankato East stands alone in first place with 12 points, its only setback coming against Rochester Mayo…After starting the season 0-7, John Marshall as won back-to-back games against Red Wing (3 points) and Century (3 points)

AS FOR THE HUSKIES, they have earned 5 points and find themselves wedged within the dense cluster of teams in the middle of the standings…Had they punched across the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh against Red Wing at Target Field on Saturday, they would have secured two points and would currently stand alone in third place with 7 points. Instead, neither team was awarded a point after being forced to end the game deadlocked at 2-2. As of Wednesday, both sides are continuing to explore their options in hopes of finishing the game at some point this season, though that decision might ultimately work itself out if neither finds itself in realistic contention for the conference title in a couple weeks.

SOFTBALL: From top-to-bottom, the standings aren’t quite as balanced as baseball, but could ultimately produce a more exciting race for for the conference crown down the stretch…As of Wednesday, April, 24, seven teams have won between 3-5 league games while five have zero or one victory…Red Wing sits at 4-2 and handed Winona its first loss of the season on Tuesday, April 22, which comes less than a week after suffering a lop-sided 18-0 loss to Owatonna…Mankato West is the only undefeated team remaining at 5-0, but two of their wins have come against last place Faribault and ninth place Rochester Mayo by just three combined runs. The Spartans also defeated winless John Marshall by four runs and slipped past Northfield, 4-2, on April 4.

OWATONNA LEADS THE CONFERENCE in offensive production, averaging better than 9 runs-per-game and out-pacing the second-highest scoring team (Winona) by 2.1 runs per contest….The Huskies have posted a staggering 13.6 runs-per-game in their five victories…Conversely, they are posting just 2.1 runs in their three losses…Five of Owatonna’s next six games are against teams currently above .500, starting on Thursday, April 25 against Winona (5-1)…The daunting stretch also features a doubleheader against first place Mankato West and a second meeting against defending Class AAA state champion Mankato East…On April 22, the Cougars defeated Owatonna, 8-4, in Mankato.

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SOFTBALL

BASEBALL