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GLENVILLE — It was a battle of two area teams Tuesday afternoon as the No. 3 seeded Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons softball team hosted the No. 6 seed United South Central in the first round of the Section 1A tournament.

It was a back-and-forth affair in the early innings, but a four-run inning in both the fourth and sixth for the Rebels propelled them to the victory, 12-3.

The Rebels took an early lead by scoring two runs in the first inning. An RBI single by sophomore Molly Wegner and a passed ball brought in the runs.

The Wolverines answered back when senior Abbie Theusch reached base on a bunt and proceeded to make her way around the bases before scoring on a passed ball.

A one-two-three inning at the plate for United South Central in the top of the second brought AC/GE back up offensively, as they took the lead in the bottom of the inning. Singles by senior Liz Wasmoen and junior Sami Armstrong, and a walk from senior Lacy Peterson loaded the bases before a walk from junior Gracie Dahlum brought in one run. Another passed ball later in the inning gave the Wolverines a 3-2 advantage heading into the third inning.

Despite loading the bases in the top of the inning, the Rebels were unable to score any runs, but a solid pitching performance from seventh grader Mariah Anderson in the bottom half of the inning kept the score at 3-2.

The Rebels came to the plate in the fourth inning and loaded the bases after freshman Kiera Schultz and senior Izzy O’Rourke were walked and junior Erika Johannsen was hit by a pitch. Eighth grader Taylor Schroeder then stepped up to the plate and hit a gapper to left center that rolled all the way to the fence. Schroeder not only brought in all the runners on base, but also came in for a run to complete the rare in-the-park grand slam.

Now trailing 6-3, the Wolverines struggled to get runners on base, getting just two baserunners on in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings combined.

To make matters worse for AC/GE, United South Central added another four runs in the sixth inning to take a 10-3 lead. Singles from United South Central’s Dani Kirkeide and Wegner, as well as a throwing error by AC/GE led to the runs being scored.

The Wolverines got two runners aboard in the bottom of the seventh inning, but any hope of a comeback was dashed when a pop fly to right field ended the game.

Starting in the circle for Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons was senior Kaetlin Bendickson, pitching all seven innings allowing 12 runs on 11 hits, while striking out six and walking nine.

Anderson pitched all seven innings for the Rebels, allowing three runs on three hits, while striking out 15 and walking four.

The Wolverines’ season comes to an end with a 12-8 record, while the Rebels survive and advance to the next round where they will take on the Vikings of Hayfield on the road Thursday afternoon.