Late last night, the Royals softball team traveled back to HHS for the final time together after losing in the section 6AAA championship game.

The Royals, who won the Lake Conference, were the number one seed and received a first-round bye. After beating St. Louis Park, they lost to Benilde in the semifinals, sending them to the loser’s bracket.

The Royals won their way through the loser’s bracket, eventually defeating Benilde to get to the championship game, where they faced number two seed Buffalo. However, since Buffalo was undefeated in the tournament, the Royals needed to beat them in back-to-back games.

Game one was a thriller. The Royals and Bison battled through nine innings, with the Royals winning 2-1 thanks to a sacrifice fly ball that scored Haley DenHartog, senior. That win forced a winner-takes-all championship game.

In game two, the Royals blew a 3-1 lead and lost in extra innings by a score of 6-4, sending the Buffalo Bison to their first-ever state tournament appearance.

Despite the loss, the Royals accomplished great things during the season. They will look to come back even stronger next year.