May-Port-C-G, Thompson ready to give Region 2 first softball title
May 28—GRAND FORKS — Central Cass and Kindred/Richland — both Class B Region 1 schools — dominated the first 12 years of North Dakota softball.
The two teams combined for nine Class B state championships in 11 years.
That changed last year when Beulah, from Region 4, and Thompson, from Region 2, played for the state title. It was the first time a Region 1 team didn't have a spot in the title game.
"It's just been more of a competitive balance across the state," Thompson coach Matt Chandler said. "Region 1 is still really strong. I just think we're seeing other teams make strides and getting to that level. Kids are spending more time on it. They're playing in the summer. When (softball) first started, it was just something for kids to do in the spring. Now, it's really grown into a high school sport where kids want to be competitive and grow in their abilities."
Region 2 teams want to continue showcasing their growth, and have two teams ready to turn previous state tournament experience into a state title. May-Port-C-G is making its fourth-straight state tournament appearance, this time as the No. 1 seed.
Unranked Thompson will play in its ninth state tournament. The Tommies face Beulah in the first round after losing 5-3 in the championship game last year.
May-Port has tallied two losses this season, both by one run.
The Patriots are looking to make another run to a championship game this season. Five of the six seniors on the softball team
have made deep state tournament runs
over the past year.
Last year, the softball team reached the state semifinals. This fall, the Patriots finished as state volleyball runner-up. They followed that up with a girls basketball state championship.
"The seniors have been doing it since they've been freshmen and sophomores," Patriots coach Keenan Konschak said. "It's great to have that experience in these big-time games."
Thompson is no stranger to winning, either. On paper, the team looks young, but "we have sophomores that are starting in their third state tournament," Chandler said.
"They know what to expect," he said. "It's just one game at a time, one pitch at a time and control the things that you can control. Don't let the moment get too big."
The Tommies will face Beulah for the fourth-straight year in the state tournament.
May-Port opens the tournament against unranked Velva-Drake/Anamoose. The two teams didn't play this season but saw each other for less than two innings last season before the game was rained out.
"There was a little bit of contention in that game for how that game played out in that inning and a half," Konschak said. "I know that's on these girls' minds, too. They want to get back at them."
Thompson is ready to make another run to the title as an unseeded team for the second-straight year.
"If you can make it there, you got a chance," Chandler said. "That's all we hope for every year. You get to the tournament and then anything can happen."
Coach: Keenan Konschak.
Record: 17-2.
State tournament matchup: No. 1 May-Port-C-G vs Velva-Drake/Anamoose, 4 p.m. Thursday in Jamestown.
Top hitters: Sr. C/1B Raina Satrom .529, 4 2Bs, 40 RBIs; sr. SS/P Danica Hanson .479, 11 2Bs, 36 RBIs; sr. CF/SS Maysa Larson .452, 8 2Bs, 13 RBIs; sr. P/1B Rylee Satrom .380, 4 HRs, 29 RBIs; soph. 3B/OF Hudson Zerface .302, 4 HRs, 19 RBIs.
Top pitchers: Rylee Satrom 10-1, 54 IP, 26 Ks, 0.91 ERA; Danica Hanson 7-1, 48 IP, 14 Ks, 2.48 ERA.
State tournament history: The Patriots will make their sixth state tournament appearance and fourth straight. May-Port-C-G hasn't won a state title.
Coach: Matt Chandler.
Record: 17-8.
State tournament matchup: Thompson vs No. 3 Beulah, 1 p.m. Thursday in Jamestown.
Top hitters: Sr. Dru Schwab .505, 13 2Bs, 30 RBIs; fr. Andie Schwab .413, 10 2Bs, 26 RBIs; fr. Cindy Eliason .432, 10 2Bs, 6 HRs, 36 RBIs; sr. Marleigh Kurtz .512, 9 2Bs, 26 RBIs; soph. Fiona Hendrickson .461, 3 3Bs, 3 HRs, 27 RBIs; soph. Kya Hurst .473, 15 2Bs, 4 3Bs, 37 RBIs; sr. Sydney Schwabe .443, 9 2Bs, 3 3Bs, 24 RBIs
Top pitchers: Sydney Schwabe 10-4, 78.1 IP, 68 Ks, 4.11 ERA; Dru Schwab 6-4, 60 IP, 38 Ks, 7.35 ERA
State tournament history: Thompson has played in two state title games in 2021 and 2023, losing to Beulah in the championship game last year. The Tommies have made nine trips to the state tournament.
