WADENA, Minn (KWAD) – The opening round of the 2026 Section 8AA softball tournament featured several dominant performances Monday as teams advanced into the quarterfinal round of postseason play. Top-seeded teams largely protected home field during the first day of tournament action, with multiple games ending early due to the run rule. Wadena-Deer Creek Wolverines delivered one of the strongest performances of the opening round, defeating Crookston Pirates 16-0.
Park Rapids Area Panthers also advanced in convincing fashion with a 15-5 win over East Grand Forks Green Wave.
In one of the closest games of the day, eighth-seeded Warroad Warriors edged ninth-seeded Barnesville Trojans 8-7 in nine innings.
Elsewhere in the bracket, the Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton Rebels defeated the Menahga Braves 14-0, the Thief River Falls Prowlers topped the Otter Tail Central Bulldogs 13-2, the defending section champion Hawley Nuggets beat the Frazee Hornets 14-3, and the Breckenridge-Wahpeton Cowboys defeated the Perham Yellowjackets 11-4.
Quarterfinal matchups are scheduled for Tuesday, May 19 with the top-seeded Roseau Rams will hosting Warroad, while Wadena-Deer Creek faces Park Rapids Area in a matchup between the fourth and fifth seeds. That game can be heard tonight on the Superstation K106 with a 4:45 pregame show and 5:00 first pitch.
On the other side of the bracket, second-seeded Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton will take on Thief River Falls, and third-seeded Hawley will meet Breckenridge-Wahpeton.
The section semifinals are scheduled for May 26, with the Section 8AA championship game set for May 28th and 29th at a neutral site to be announced later.