Favorites prevail in first round of the Class A softball state tournament
Alex Eisen/MDN West Fargo infielder Lauren Diemert (left) gets the force out at second base before MHS senior Hailey Espe (right) could slide in safely Thursday at the South Hill Softball Complex.
There weren’t any surprises. All the higher seeds advanced Thursday in first round of the Class A softball state tournament in Minot. Game recaps below.
West Fargo 12, Minot High 2 (6 innings)
West Fargo opened strong, dipped into a lull and finished with a bang.
The Packers (22-5) upended the defending Class A state champions and state tournament hosts Minot High (20-14) in six innings, 12-2, for a spot in the state semifinals.
Freshman Sophie Ochocki delivered the final blow with a walk-off, three-run home run to force the mercy-rule win.
Alex Eisen/MDN The Bismarck Century Patriots celebrate at home plate after sophomore Malee Wittenberg hit a solo home run against West Fargo Sheyenne in the first round of the Class A softball state tournament.
The memorable blast meant even more to Ochocki, as it was her first varsity home run.
“This is awesome, I’m just happy for the team,” Ochocki said. “(The pitch) was low and inside a little bit. I just swung at it.”
After a two-out RBI single by Mariah Peters in the first inning, the Packers piled on with five runs in the second inning. Four of those runs can in a span of nine pitches, as West Fargo put together a rapid two-out scoring spree that featured RBI hits from Lauren Diemert, Tori Nichols-Kraft, Ashlyn Diemert and Mikayla Johnson.
“It was the start we were hoping for, then we quit producing,” West Fargo head coach Pat Johnson said. “But, at the end, it came all back together. Hopefully, we got all the kinks worked out. One of the first times we have been on turf this year, and that makes a difference.”
The Majettes finally got to Packers starting pitcher Courtney Boll in the fifth inning. MHS pitcher Paige Ackerman knocked through an RBI single and Hailey Espe had an RBI groundout, 6-2.
“We weren’t mentally ready to go and I guess I’ll take the blame for that,” MHS head coach Gerard Cederstrom said. “(West Fargo) is good. They compete. So, they didn’t win a state title last year, they’re still a good program. Those kids know how to compete.”
A six-run sixth inning ended the contest early. Following a bases loaded walk to Mariah Peters and a two-run single by Brooklyn Myrvik, Ochocki went deep to end the contest in style.
“She is pretty excited, being her first home run ever,” Johnson said. “We preach making good, solid contact and by gosh she finally did it (to hit a home run).”
Eight out of the nine players in the Packers’ lineup picked up a hit. West Fargo outhit Minot, 14-5. Minot was led by junior Jailee Britt, who went 2-for-2 with a run scored.
West Fargo will face West Region No. 2-seeded Bismarck Century in the state semifinals at 4 p.m. this evening. Minot gets West Fargo Sheyenne in a consolation game at 1 p.m.
Century 11, West Fargo Sheyenne 1 (5 innings)
Unloading on back-to-back pitches in the third inning, Century’s Malee Wittenberg and Miah Rauhauser took the same trip around all the bases on a pair of solo blasts over the left field fence.
The Century Patriots (27-6) were well on their way to an 11-1 five-inning victory over West Fargo Sheyenne (14-11) Thursday afternoon in the first round of the Class A state tournament in Minot.
“I don’t really know, I was just like, ‘OK, I’ve seen this pitcher before and I have done it before,'” Wittenberg said about her home run. “I am just going to hit it like I’m used to. Try to get a line drive and hope for the best. But, I got a home run out of it instead.”
Century started strong with three runs in the first inning, added an RBI single by Madi Grad in the second and exploded for five more runs in the third.
Back-to-back towering home runs by Wittenberg (eighth of the season) and Rauhauser (second of the season) in the third inning were followed by a two-run triple by Brooklyn Morris.
“That was amazing,” Wittenberg said. “It’s awesome when one of your teammates can hit a home run too.”
The Patriots added two RBI sacrifice flies to reach double-digit runs, while Sheyenne got on the scoreboard with an infield RBI single by Alexa Weber in the fifth.
Maddy Zander ended the contest early with another RBI sacrifice fly in the bottom half, 11-1. Zander pitched a complete game in the circle for the Patriots.
Century returns to the state semifinals for a second straight season. The Patriots also got some revenge in the process, as West Fargo Sheyenne beat them to take third at state last year.
Valley City 10, Dickinson 3
Sophomore hurler Hailey Schaefer was dealing strikes. The Valley City ace racked up 14 strikeouts to lead the Hi-Liners to a 10-3 victory over Dickinson in the first round of the state tournament Thursday at the South Hill Softball Complex in Minot.
“That’s high expectations to put on somebody, but Hailey (Schaefer) is throwing really well right now,” Valley City head coach Hilary Flatt said. “So, we expect her to do a good job every time… Her and (catcher) Jessie (Undem) are working really well together. Jessie knows what to call, and Hailey knows what to throw.”
Schaefer got the run support she needed rather early on when the Hi-Liners (17-8) went off for five runs in the second inning. Grace Scherr, Eliza Johnson and Becca Johnson collected the RBIs. Scherr got another RBI hit in the third to push the lead out to 6-0.
“That was huge,” Flatt said. “This is a very nervous team, myself included. But, once the girls did that and got a big inning, we settled in.”
The Hi-Liners could have ended the game early with a 10-run mercy rule in the fifth after Thompson had an RBI groundout and Schaefer hit her second double for two more runs. But, Valley City left run No. 10 on third base and sent Schaefer back to the circle.
Dickinson’s Taya Hopfauf, who had to get stitched up earlier in the game after getting a cut on her face off a collision behind the plate trying to catch a foul ball, returned with a vengeance. The freshman launched a solo home run to left center field to score the Midgets’ (24-10) first run of the state tournament in the sixth inning.
A deep fly ball to center field by Reese Hauck plated two more runs later in the inning.
Scherr’s fourth hit in the bottom half brought in her third RBI and the final run of the game, 10-3.
Valley City advances to the state semifinals for the second time in program history. The Hi-Liners’ best finish at state was third in 2016.
Bismarck High 10,
Fargo North 2
In the third state tournament softball game played Thursday at the South Hill Softball Complex, Fargo North forced the first and only lead change of the entire day on a sacrifice bunt by Alex Hamre that brought in two runs.
West Region top-seeded Bismarck High (27-3) broke out the bats from that point on to put Fargo North (13-16) away with a 10-2 victory to reach the state semifinals.
“We did start slow and have some jitters,” Bismarck High head coach Kurt Grensteiner said. “Offensively, we have to get going a lot quicker because what has got us here is our offense… It’s something we have to clean up for tomorrow.”
Trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning, the Demons put up nine runs over the next three innings to pull away. In the sixth inning, Maddie Steckler smacked a two-run home run and starting pitcher Logan Gronberg went yard as well with a solo shot.
“We have really hit a lot (of home runs) during the year,” Grensteiner said. “I think if we stay aggressive and hit the ball out front, we will hit the ball further and longer. It’s just about timing them up.”
Gronberg threw a complete game, giving up two hits and striking out seven batters. Sophia Cody and Gabi Olek picked up Fargo North’s hits.
“(Gronberg) is tough to beat with her different speeds, and she started locking them down later in the game,” Grensteiner said. “I think some of it was the pitch calls from her coach, me. I learned the second time through (the lineup), too.”
The Demons had six players finish with two hits each: Gronberg, Steckler, Emma Barta, Lakyn Stork, Payton Gerving and Macy Welsch.
Bismarck High will play Valley City in the state semifinals at 6 p.m. this evening at the South Hill Softball Complex. Fargo North drops into a consolation semifinal against Dickinson at 11 a.m. this morning.
Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.
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