Bluejays Defeat Shawano in Regional American Legion Tournament Game 7-6 

In a game heard right here on WJMT and wjmtfm.com, the Merrill Post 46 girls’ softball team defeated Shawano 7-6 in American Legion regional tournament play.  The second game pitting Merrill against Wausau Post 10 was suspended due to a tornado warning in the top of the second inning with Post 46 leading 2-0 when play was stopped.  The game will be resumed tonight at 5:00 at Wausau’s Sunnyvale Softball Complex.  The loser will play at 7:00 against the winder of the Crandon-Shawano contest, which was also suspended due to inclement weather.  If the Bluejays win, they will play again at 9:00 tonight, with an additional game Wednesday at 5:00 if necessary.  The Bluejays will advance to the state tournament regardless of their performance in the regional tournament, as they will be hosting state action at the MARC.  Tonight’s coverage will begin at 4:45 with the Nicolet Bank pre-game show at 4:45 and first pitch action at 5:00.

Merrill jumped out to a 6-1 midway through the sixth inning, but Shawano scored four runs on their first four hits in the game to close the gap to 6-5.  The Jays scored a single tally in the top of the seventh before Shawano scored one in the bottom of the seventh and had the tying run on base when Maddie Barker, who relieved Abbie Krueger in the sixth closed out the win for Merrill.  The Merrill offense was paced by AmericInn Player of the Game Olivia Barker who went 3-4 in the game.

On the boys’ side, Merrill is preparing to face Northwoods and Medford in their regional action Friday through Sunday in Three Lakes after Minocqua dropped out of the tournament and gave up hosting it to Three Lakes.  Merrill will open the tournament with games Friday against Medford at 1:45 and Norhtwoods at 4:45. You can catch all of the action this weekend on WJMT and wjmtfm.com, with Sunday’s action on digital delay if necessary.