ARMSTRONG, Iowa &045; The Lake Mills High School softball team reached the semifinal round of the Armstrong Invitational with a pair of victories.

The Bulldogs blanked Sioux Central 5-0 in the opening round and outlasted Estherville 8-5 in eight innings in the quarterfinals.

Against Sioux Central, which has been ranked in the Class 2A top 10 and won its conference title, the Bulldogs scored three runs on wild pitches. Megan Pederson pitched a complete game, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out nine.

&uot;We did not hit the ball this game but we found a way to score,&uot; said Bulldogs coach Jim Boehmer. &uot;I was pleased with the win.&uot;

Game two was a wild one, with a 3-0 Bulldogs lead erased by Estherville in the fifth inning. The Bulldogs sent it to extra innings with a run in the seventh, when Krishna Johnson led off with a single and scored on Cristy Nelson’s third hit of the game.

The Bulldogs won it with four runs in the top of the eighth with five consecutive hits.

Johnson, Nelson and Melissa Brackey each had three hits, Jaci Grotewold two. Nelson drive in two runs.

Mindy Bjelland was the winning pitcher, allowing seven hits and one walk with two strikeouts in eight innings.

The Bulldogs, 12-1 in the North Iowa Conference, extended their winning streak to 29 and ran their overall record to 30-3.

Lake Mills 5, Sioux Central 0

Sioux Central

000

000

0 &045; 0

3

1

Lake Mills

002

012

x &045; 5

2

3

WP &045; Megan Pederson

Lake Mills 8, Estherville 5

Lake Mills

010

020

14 &045; 8

15

3

Estherville

000

031

01 &045; 5

7

2

WP &045; Mindy Bjelland