Anderson's Two Homers Power Burnsville Blaze Past Prior Lake

Burnsville Blaze ace pitcher and leadoff batter Kelsey Anderson knocked the first pitch of the game over the left field fence and out of the park.

"We've been working on that play," said assistant coach Kate Schwartz with a laugh.

Anderson also socked an even longer two-run homer in the seventh inning to cap Burnsville's impresive 11-0 win over host Prior Lake Wednesday. The Blaze probably had been working on that play too.

Top-ranked Burnsville, which wrapped up the South Suburban Conference girls softball title Tuesday with a 4-2 win over Lakeville North, improved to 12-0 in conference play and 15-1 on the season.

The Blaze did just about everything right Wednesday. They rapped out 14 hits and matched their biggest offensive output of the season. They played solid defense, making several big-time catches and Anderson, as usual, was stellar on the mound.

Anderson had a monster day on both sides of the ball. She was 3-for-4 at the plate with two home runs and a double and had five RBI. Her two home runs were the first two of her varsity career.

On the mound she pitched a complete game two-hit shutout, striking out 12 batters, while walking just two and faced just four batters over the minimum.

"When I'm pitching I'm only thinking about pitching and when I'm hitting I'm only thinking about hitting," said Anderson. "It's two separate parts of the game for me."

Burnsville blew up Prior Lake starting pitcher Kaci Jelle for seven runs in the first inning and the outcome of the contest wasn't in much doubt after that. The Blaze sent 10 batters to the plate in the opening inning and rapped out eight hits, including Anderson's leadoff home run and a two-run single by junior Abby Johnson, which was followed by a two-run double by Anderson.

"I think we came out and set the tone for the game right away and we all stuck with it. We didn't give up halfway through the game or stop after we scored seven runs in the first inning," said Anderson. "We just came out and we battled all the way through and we stuck together as a team and hit the ball hard."

Sophomore Megan Threlkeld had an RBI single in the first inning and a two-run scoring double in the fourth as the Blaze padded their lead to 9-0. Threlkeld was 2-for-4 with 3 RBI.

Burnsville senior Megan Lehnen was 3-for-4 with a double and scored two runs. Senior Lauren Smith and junior Laura Nadeau were each 2-for-4.

"Our bats were alive tonight," said Lehnen. "We came in strong and Kelsey came in with a great home run to start us off.

"Our defense was on and our bats, nice," added Lehnen.

With all three elements -- pitching, hitting and defense -- working, Burnsville now seems poised to make a strong run in the playoffs.

"We've really been talking to the kids a lot about using this as our final tuneups before we hit the section tournament," said head coach Hillary Hansen. "Having won the conference yesterday that's one thing to put in our back pocket. Now we get to focus on the next thing.

"I think the girls did a really nice job of swinging at good pitches," Hansen added. "They weren't swinging at balls out of the zone. They were relaxed today, which we've been a little uptight our last couple of games. So that part was really good."

Burnsville plays in the Polar Classic Tournament Saturday.  The Blaze will open with Forest Lake at 6 p.m. at McKnight Field in North St. Paul. The team will then play either North St. Paul or Shakopee.