New Life repeats as Class A champs

In a near-replay of 2008, the New Life Academy softball team shutout Maple Lake to win its second-straight Class A state championship on Friday afternoon at Caswell Park in North Mankato.

While last season's championship game was a 3-0 nailbiter with the Eagles not breaking a scoreless tie until the sixth inning, this year the defending state champs scored the only run they would need as shortstop Jenny Ramey hit a double to leadoff the game and later scored on a throwing error to put New Life up a run en route to a commanding 7-0 victory.

It was the last game of a six-year varsity career for Ramey, as well as starting pitcher Danielle Schmidt — who set three new state tourney records in her two days at Caswell.

In the Class A opener, Schmidt struck out 32 batters from No. 1-ranked Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial to set a new standard and bettering the old mark by 10 K's. In New Life's semifinal victory, Schmidt no-hit the competition for the third time in her State career (she hurled two no-no's in 2008) to break a tie with two other pitchers who had two each last century. In NLA's championship triumph, Schmidt struck out nine to give her 55 punchouts in this year's playoff — setting a new record by six.

Ramey and two Schmidts — Danielle and sister Rebekah, a sophomore first baseman — were named to the All-Tournament Team for the second-straight season.

New Life wrapped the 2009 season with a 22-6 record.

The Eagles were the lone metro-area team to claim a first-palce trophy of the three that tried on Friday. North St. Paul came up on the short end of a 1-0 decision to Elk River in the Class AAA championship game after the Elks broke a scoreless tie in the top of the seventh inning to plate the only run in the game. Minnehaha Academy was also shutout in the Class AA title match against Hermantown, but it was not nearly so close as the Redhawks defense betrayed them in a 7-0 loss to the Hawks.