A program that’s been a nemesis in recent years is the next opponent for Jackson County Central in the Section 3AA softball tournament.
The Class 2A ninth-ranked Huskies will play Dassel-Cokato at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in Marshall.
JCC, the number one seed in the South Sub-Section, had a first-round bye Thursday and then defeated Windom 6-1, scoring five runs in the sixth inning. Hadley Wachal struck out 13 in the pitcher’s circle while Milley VanDeVere and Bailey Finck hit home runs for the Huskies, 19-3.
D-C, the second seed in the North Sub-Section, won two games at home Thursday, beating Montevideo 11-1 and New London-Spicer 3-0. Aubery Quern pitched a three-hit strikeout for the Chargers, striking out eight. She walked three.
Emily Vacek was 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and two runs batted in for D-C, 15-5.
Recent meetings
The Huskies and Chargers have met in the section tournament three times in recent years, with Dassel-Cokato winning each time.
D-C beat JCC twice in the tournament last year. The first meeting was at the same point in the tournament this year as the Chargers won 7-6.
The Huskies worked their way through the elimination bracket, beating Pipestone, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta and Luverne by a combined 22-2 to earn a rematch with Dassel-Cokato in the championship round.
The Chargers earned a spot in the state tournament with a 2-0 win over JCC.
In the 2022 section tourney, D-C shut out Jackson County Central 10-0 in an elimination game.
Nothing in common
The Huskies and Chargers do not have a common opponent this season.
Vs. ranked teams
JCC and Dassel-Cokato have both played teams that were in this week’s state rankings in various classes. The Chargers have played one twice.
Jackson County Central
Class 2A No. 4 Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial: Lost 3-2
Class 1A No. 9 Wabasso: Won 12-1
Class 3A No. 3 New Ulm: Lost 11-5
Dassel-Cokato
Class 2A No. 6 Rockford: Lost 7-1; Lost 2-1
Class 2A No. 10 Kimball Area: L 6-2
Class 3A No. 2 Dalano: Won 7-6
Season results
JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL (19-3)
Friday, April 4: Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian, W 7-5
Tuesday, April 8: Windom, W 9-0
Tuesday, April 8: Windom, W 19-5
Thursday, April 10: Blue Earth Area, W 13-1
Monday, April 2: Fairmont, W 4-1
Friday, April 25: at Luverne, W 12-1
Friday, April 25: at Luverne, W 9-2
Saturday, April 26: at Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial, L 3-2
Tuesday, April 29: at Blue Earth Area, W 33-0
Thursday, May 1: Pipestone, W 13-3
Thursday, May 1: Pipestone, W 2-0
Monday, May 5: at St. James Area, L 2-1
Tuesday, May 6: St. James Area, W 5-1
Thursday, May 8: at Redwood Valley, W 15-0
Thursday, May 8: at Redwood Valley, W 10-0
Saturday, May 10: Worthington, W 15-3
Saturday, May 10: New York Mills, W 10-3
Saturday, May 10: Zumbrota-Mazeppa, W 12-2
Tuesday, May 13: at Fairmont, W 13-1
Thursday, May 15: Wabasso, W 12-1
Saturday, May 17: New Ulm, L 11-5
Thursday, May 22: Windom, W 6-1
Saturday, May 24: Dassel-Cokato at Marshall, 11:30 a.m.
DASSEL-COKATO (15-5)
Tuesday, April 8: at Hutchinson, W 6-4
Thursday, April 10: Rockford, L 7-1
Friday, April 11: Kimball Area, L 6-2
Monday, April 14: at Litchfield, W 7-3
Tuesday, April 15: Southwest Christian, L 6-4
Thursday, April 17: at Watertown-Mayer, W 14-2
Thursday, April 17: at Watertown-Mayer, W 16-0
Friday, April 25: Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, W 3-2
Friday, April 25: Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, W 12-7
Friday, May 2: at Norwood Young America, L 5-2
Friday, May 2: at Norwood Young America, W 11-4
Monday, May 5: at Rockford, L 2-1
Thursday, May 8: Glencoe-Silver Lake, W 8-0
Thursday, May 8: Glencoe-Silver Lake, W 17-6
Friday, May 9: at Delano, W 7-6
Monday, May 12: Litchfield, W 8-0
Wednesday, May 14: at New London-Spicer, W 3-1
Wednesday, May 14: at New London-Spicer, W 6-4
Thursday, May 22: Montevideo, W 11-1
Thursday, May 22: New London-Spicer, W 3-0
Saturday, May 24: Jackson County Central at Marshall, 11:30 a.m.