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After a dramatic, walk-off win in Wednesday’s semifinal, the Champlin Park Rebels are headed to the Minnesota High School Girls’ Softball State Championship — and so is their transgender pitcher Marissa Rothenberger.
After giving up two early runs in a shaky start, Rothenberger settled in and pitched a complete game to help No. 2-seeded Champlin Park edge past No. 6 White Bear Lake, 3-2, in the Class AAAA state semifinals. Rothenberger gave up seven hits and two runs (one earned) and struck out three in the effort.
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Marissa Rothenberger celebrates in the dugout with teammates after Champlin Park’s dramatic win. (Amber Harding)
But it was Rothenberger’s hitting that really sparked the comeback. The junior led off the fifth inning with a double that began Champlin Park’s rally to tie the game at 2 apiece. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, Rothenberger — who went 2-for-3 at the plate — opened the inning with another double. Rothenberger was replaced by a “courtesy runner,” who eventually scored the game-winning run on a two-out, walk-off hit from junior outfielder Ava Parent.
Champlin Park will face No. 4-seeded Bloomington Jefferson in the championship game on Friday at the University of Minnesota’s Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. Jefferson upset top-seeded Forest Lake earlier Wednesday.
But while Champlin Park celebrated its walk-off win, the scene in the White Bear Lake dugout was far different. Many of the girls were visibly emotional, some in tears, as the reality of the season-ending loss set in.
One player turned to her father and asked, “Why can’t you do something?”
TRACKING THE TRANS ATHLETE HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS CONTROVERSIES SHAKING THE NATION OVER THE LAST YEAR
No parents were willing to go on record, but OutKick spoke with two White Bear Lake dads in the stands who expressed deep frustration with the system that allowed their daughters to compete against a male athlete — namely, the Democrat politicians who prioritize ideology over fairness.
“You’re looking at a whole team of future Republicans,” one man said.
Another dad agreed, saying this might be an eye-opening experience for the parents: “They’re like, “Oh, they’re crushing my kid’s dreams? Maybe I made the wrong choices.”
Despite President Donald Trump’s executive order, the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) allows student-athletes to compete in events consistent with their gender identity, regardless of biological sex. MSHSL said that the eligibility of transgender student-athletes is “determined by state law, through the Minnesota Human Rights Act and the Minnesota Constitution.”
Despite national governing bodies — like USA Softball and the NCAA — instituting female-only eligibility policies, such state-level laws create enforcement loopholes that leave parents and female athletes feeling helpless.
And today in North Mankato, Minn., that helplessness was written all over the faces of the White Bear Lake players.
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Transgender pitcher Marissa Rothenberger (Amber Harding)
As one girl walked off the field, her father met her behind the dugout. “That’s not fair,” she said.
“That’s Minnesota,” he replied.
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