Rails Complete Section Three-Peat With Championship Shutout

Three runs given up through four section games

CLOQUET, Minn.- For the third straight year, the Proctor softball team is headed to the state tournament, defeating Rush City 2-0 in the Section 7AA Championship on Thursday.

The Rails reached the section title in a similar fashion, defeating Rush City 2-0. Previous to their two matchups against the Tigers, Proctor took down Aitkin 4-2 before beating Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin 7-1 in the Section 7AA Quarterfinal.

Proctor was led by a strong group of seniors, including Anika Burke and Grace Abbott. While they’re thankful for a third-straight trip to state, they want to end their high school careers with a Class AA Title.

“We take some pride in winning the three-peat, but at the same time, we’ve got to recognize we’re not done yet.” says Burke. “We’ve got work to do at state. (The) Mindset going into state is to bring home a state championship back home to Proctor.”

“It feels amazing,” smiled Abbott. “This has been the goal all along, especially going into state our past two years. We’ve wanted to end up at state too, so to get there is really nice.”

Proctor’s trips at the state tournament in 2022 and 2023 ended in second and fifth place, respectively.