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Extra-base hits, strong defense lift St. Michael-Albertville over Edina

By Ethan Olson, SportsEngine, 05/15/23, 2:00PM CDT

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Gaston, Behrens each hit a solo home run in the Knights' victory.

Kylie Gaston (24) for the Knights during the first of two home-runs scored in the sixth inning. Shannon Brault, SportsEngine

Kylie Gaston (24) recorded the first of two solo home runs in the sixth inning in the Knights' victory against Edina. Photo by Shannon Brault, SportsEngine

After a minor setback suffering just their second loss of the season on May 12, St. Michael-Albertville was all the more focused on Monday. The Knights didn’t need a flashy score line to finish on top of Edina. Instead, they relied on tough defense from the outfield and a stellar show from sophomore ace Kendra Behrens to secure a 4-1 victory against the Hornets at Pamela Park in Edina.

It was Behrens who knocked home the dagger as well, when she popped a deep hit over the center field wall to push the Knights’ lead to 4-0 in the sixth. It came just minutes after junior Kylie Gaston powered home her own solo home run. That short burst of offense was enough to put away the close game.

“Behrens did a really good job keeping their hitters at bay,” St. Michael-Albertville coach Becky Smith said. “She gave up one run off a pretty good hit that they put together but other than that, she did a really good job controlling their hitters.”

Kendra Behrens (9) threw a near shutout during Monday's game against Edina, but did let one run slip. Beherns also hit one of two home-runs during the sixth inning. (Shannon Brault, SportsEngine)

Kendra Behrens (9) threw a near shutout during Monday's game against Edina, allowing just one run. Behrens also hit one of two home runs during the sixth inning for the Knights. Photo by Shannon Brault, SportsEngine

First report

Coming off a tight 12-9 loss to Blaine on May 12, St. Michael-Albertville faced Edina on Monday, looking to respond to their second loss of the season. Through gritty fielding and a dominant pitching performance by sophomore Kendra Behrens, the Knights did just that as they defeated the Hornets 4-1 at Pamela Park in Edina.

The Knights opened the scoring with two runs in the third inning, highlighted by junior Taylor Tschida’s hammer of a triple into center field which scored Camryn Dubel. The Hornets did a good job of getting on base afterwards, but every time a runner reached base, Behrens would step up with one of her seven strikeouts in the game.

Both teams battled hard throughout the rest of the game, with each team pulling out diving catches in the outfield to keep the score at 2-0. That was until the Knights found their power in the sixth inning.

First, junior Kylie Gaston struck a powerful hit deep over the center field wall for a home run to push the game to 3-0. Then just minutes later, Behrens followed Gaston’s lead as her hit flew over the wall as well for the Knights’ fourth run of the game.

The Hornets (5-10) did find a run late in the game, thanks to a deep double from Sylvia VanNorman, to spoil the shutout for Behrens. But the Knights (15-2) remained ahead for the rest of the game for their 15th win of the season.  

Edina lost Monday's game against St.Michael-Albertville 4-1. After STMA scored two individual home-runs in the sixth inning, Edina matched them with their only run of the game. Shannon Brault, SportsEngine

Edina lost Monday's game against St.Michael-Albertville 4-1. After STMA scored two individual home-runs in the sixth inning, Edina matched them with their only run of the game. Shannon Brault, SportsEngine

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