The #2 rated Buccaneers received the #4 seed in the tournament and the #6 ranked Gators are the #5 seed.  It's the 9th State Tournament appearance for Badger/GB-MR.

According to statistics Badger/GB-MR can clobber the ball and steal bases.  Their team batting average is .441 and they have 91 stolen bases in 25 games.  The 21-4 Gators pitchers however have allowed 125 walks on the season with 110 strikeouts.  They average 11.5 runs per game and allow 4.3 runs per contest.

Six different pitchers are listed on their stat sheet which is very rare in fast pitch softball.   The most innings have been logged by sophomore Mariah Christian with 85 and 2/3.  68 strikeouts.  Hits allowed and individual walks are not listed.  Her ERA is 1.88 with a 16-1 record.  Sophomore Erika Howell is the top hitter for the team with 43 hits and a .544 batting average.

The Gators have 13 home runs led by 8th grader Kinsley Hanson with 4.  Hanson has a batting average of .462 with 30 hits in 22 games.  She has 38 RBI to lead the team.  Badger/Greenbush-Middle River averages 12 hits a game.

Waterville-Elysian-Morristown has one senior on their team and so do the Gators.  The Buccaneers top pitcher is junior Trista Hering with a microscopic 0.40 ERA.  In 121 and 2/3 innings pitched Hering has 195 strikeouts.

W-E-M averages 8.5 runs and 11.1 hits per game while allowing 3.2 hits and 1.2 runs per game.  Hering has collected 9 shutouts this season.  Buccaneers opponents have a team batting average of .145 while they have a .391 team batting average and have stolen 62 bases in 22 games.

Top Waterville-Elysian-Morristown hitter is sophomore Autumn Taylor in terms of batting average at .465.  Junior Delaney Donahue has the most hits with 36 and sports a .462 batting average.  Donahue leads the team in RBI with 24.  The Buccaneers have 8 players with double digit hits on the season and 10 players have batting averages over .300 among those with 10 or more games played.

The Buccaneers have made the most of their girls state tournament appearances.  The only other State Tournament appearance in volleyball in 2015 they defeated the Faribault Bethlehem Academy Cardinals in a all-Gopher Conference title match.

Head Coach Crystal Lamont also coaches the volleyball team.

The Thursday Waterville-Elysian-Morristown games at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. will be broadcast on POWER 96 Radio, 95.9 FM and the free POWER 96 app.

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