While the Tigers may have lost, their game looked much sharper and stronger than it did two days earlier.

The Mankato West softball team defeated Albert Lea 3-1 Thursday at Hammer Field. The Tigers were coming off of a 22-0 loss to Faribault on Tuesday at home.

“I am beyond proud of how the girls played tonight. Practice on Wednesday was hard and we worked on plays/situations that happened from Tuesday,” said Albert Lea coach Casey Elsen. “Tonight, we eliminated a lot of our mental errors, our pitching was strong and our defense had minimal errors. West hit a few of our gaps, but the communication between the girls helped stop West from scoring more runs against us.”

Elsen said that sophomore shortstop Dayna Edwards “had an amazing night on defense.” Seniors Liana Schallock and Hanna Schilling, along with junior Kathryn Flaherty each went 1-3 at the plate for the Tigers.

“We need to generate our offense sooner and continue to work hard,” Elsen said. “This weekend will help us get a couple more games under our belt at the tournament in St. Clair. Overall, the girls had fun tonight and showed a huge improvement in the past couple days.”

Next, Albert Lea (0-2 overall, 0-2 Big Nine Conference) will play in a tournament starting at 9 a.m. Saturday at St. Clair.