Dickinson High routs Turtle Mountain in 55-run, doubleheader outburst
Apr. 28—DICKINSON — A pair of run-rule-shortened wins for the Dickinson High School Midgets on Saturday, April 27 propelled them to 13-2 and sets up a Tuesday, April 30 thriller with Beulah as the defending Class A North Dakota State Champions will square off on the road at the Miners' home-turf. BHS is likewise the defending Class B North Dakota State Champion in their own right, so Saturday's 21-1 win in the opener over the Bravettes — which was followed by a 34-1 thumping in the nightcap — served as a tune-up for this-week's festivities and potential fireworks.
After piling up 10 first-inning runs and adding 9 more in the second frame, Dickinson left nothing in doubt in the second half of the twin-bill, scoring 15 down the stretch — which included another double-digit inning in the fourth — while sending 15 batters to the plate in the first, second and fourth frames along the way. To put matters into context, the Bravettes only featured 15 total batters through the first three innings themselves as starting sophomore righthander Madison Wegleitner earned the win on two innings of work with 3 strikeouts and zero walks and no earned runs. The staff of sophomore standout Kyndall Peterson and Gabby Sobolik finished off the game and accounted for 5 more Ks and only 2 walks with zero hits the rest of the way in Game 2.
The Midgets were hot with the sticks on Saturday, as senior first-baseman Ava Jahner went a 3-for-5 with 5 runs and 5 RBI in Game 2 while adding a trio of doubles and racking up 6 total bases. Senior centerfielder Jenna Decker also was a terror at the plate, notching a 4-for-5 nightcap with 3 runs and 2 RBI while adding a double and a triple and 2 stolen bases. Sophomore sensation Myah Merry split time at her old position of catcher and her new spot at shortstop while going 3-for-5 with 3 runs and 2 RBI and Sobolik added to the Midgets' superlatives with a series of threes: 3-for-3 at the plate with 3 runs and 3 RBI to help her own cause on the mound.
"I think we played good, but I think we got a little dead in the end," said Merry, who is one of the younger athletes on the team but settling into a leadership-role of her own. "It's good playing in a new spot ... it's different, but it's fun."
In the interim, junior third-baseman Priscilla Alvarez was 2-for-2 with 2 runs and 3 RBI and Morgan Koffler had a solid, 2-for-4 day with 2 runs and 2 RBI out of left field and Madelyn Bren struck for 2-for-4 at the plate while crossing the dish 3 times and adding an RBI to the mix.
DHS accounted for 7 bags-worth of theft on the basepaths in Game 2 and 5 more in Game 1 and outhit the Bravettes, 38-2 during the two-game set.
The opener of the series saw much of the same, although with slightly lower numbers than in the nightcap, as the Midgets scored 3 runs in both the first and second innings while breaking loose for 7 in the third frame and 8 more in the closing two innings to complete the game for the win. Jahner started on the mound and the senior righthander mowed down 4 Turtle Mountain batters on a series of zeros in walks, hits and earned-runs. Reagan McMahen came on in relief for a pair of innings and Sobolik closed out the affair as the staff combined for 8 Ks and zero earned runs with no walks to show in the opener and only 1 hit.
Jahner started off her afternoon at the plate in Game 1 with a 2-for-3 outing that featured a trio of runs and an RBI with a double, while Decker had 2 steals and doubled with a couple of runs and drove one in for the Midgets. Meanwhile, Peterson ramped up her production in the opener during a 3-for-4 performance, including a double and a trio of RBI and runs to go along with a team-high 4 total bases, with Koffler going off on 2-for-4 hitting with a double, 3 runs and 3 RBI as well. Junior catcher Mackenna Medina drove in 3 and scored on a 1-for-3 effort at the plate and Bren was 2-for-2 with a triple while crossing the plate twice and driving in a run, and McMahen helped her cause on the mound with a pair of RBI and a run in the shortened opening contest.
While Tuesday's road-trip to Beulah is a non-conference matchup, bragging-rights will be up for grabs for both teams as the postseason comes careening towards North Dakota fast-pitch teams.
"I think it will be a good game — especially because they are the defending state-champs for Class B — so I think it will be a good game for us to work on," Merry said. "I think (so far) we're doing good and our early downfall was with Williston when we lost that game, but other than that I think we're playing really good this year."
For more information about softball in North Dakota, please visit
https://ndhsaanow.com/tournaments/softball
, and to find out about Dickinson High School athletics, just keep reading The Dickinson Press and/or visit their website at
https://www.dickinson.k12.nd.us/schools/dhs/athletics/index
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