ROCHESTER &045; In the first and seventh innings, the Albert Lea High School softball team hit the ball well enough to win.

The Tigers’ defense in between prevented it from happening.

Albert Lea matched Rochester John Marshall with 12 hits, but the Tigers committed five fielding errors while losing 10-7 in a Big Nine game at Rochester Thursday.

&uot;It was nice to be hitting the ball,&uot; said Tigers coach Rick Harves. &uot;We were aggressive at the plate. Three times, we hit the ball well and followed it with hits to move people around. That was a bright spot.

&uot;It was disappointing to make the errors we did, because we know we could beat this team if we did not make the errors. If we keep hitting the ball the eliminate the errors, we’ll be fine.&uot;

The first inning saw plenty of both. The Tigers took a 2-0 lead on hits by Jerri Mondeel, Ashley Chrz and Amber Edwards, but the Rockets scored three unearned runs in the bottom half. JM added two runs in the third, three in the fourth and one each in the fifth and sixth.

The Tigers cut into the lead with one in the fifth, when Vanessa Storlie singled and scored on a single by Chrz.

The Tigers made it interesting with a seventh-inning rally that produced four runs. After Mondeel reached on an error, Chrz doubled and Jenny Hovendick hit a two-run single. Edwards followed with a run-scoring single, and she scored on a single by Rafdal. A ground out and a popup ended the inning and the game.

Mondeel and Chrz were both 3-for-4, Hovendick and Edwards 2-for-4. Rafdal and Storlie had the other Albert Lea hits.

Rafdal pitched another complete game for the Tigers. She had five strikeouts and two walks.

Albert Lea, 1-5, returns to action Monday at Austin.

Rochester JM 10, Albert Lea 7

AL

200

010

4 &045;

7

12

5

JM

302

311

x &045; 10

12

1

LP &045; Nicole Rafdal