James Jackson/MDN Des Lacs-Burlington broke out the full hitting arsenal in win over Bottineau on Tuesday at South Hill Complex in Minot.

Blue skies and pristine conditions were the backdrop for Tuesday’s Class B-Region 3 powerhouse match-up as #2 seed Des Lacs-Burlington and #3 seed Bottineau kicked off one of the two 4 p.m. regional tournament games at the South Hill Complex in the Minot.

Putting on a 7-32 scoring exhibition in a win Monday against #10 seed Tioga, the #2 seed Des Lacs/Burlington Lakers (11-2 overall, 9-1 Class B-Region 3) looked to replicate that type of production against a formidable adversary in Bottineau. During the regular season, the Lakers were able to win their only head-to-head matchup 15-8 as the road team against Bottineau.

For the #3 seed Bottineau Stars (11-4 overall, 8-2 Class B-Region 3), they come in to today’s contest in the wake of a well-balanced offensive and defensive performance against #6 seed Glenburn. The Stars managed to bring the game to a stoppage as a result of an eight-run explosion in the bottom of the fifth inning that culminated in a 4-16 final score. From an in-the-park home run by junior Emma Rybchinski to a stellar four hit, nine strike-out complete game win by junior Delani Tweed, the Stars full-compliment of weapons was on display.

From the earliest moments of the game, the Lakers’ deadly one-two combination of senior Mackenzie Rist and sophomore Cambrey Benno asserted their dominance and imposed their will on the Stars’ defense in every trip to the batter’s box.

After coming out of the gate with a two-run, top of the first inning, the Stars had no answer for the firepower that was to come from the Lakers. Highlighted by an inning that saw Rist hit for two triples and Benno go for a double, the whole of Des Lacs-Burlington united for nine total runs, taking a 2-9 edge over Bottineau.

In the bottom of the second, despite the Stars closing the lead to 4-9, both Rist and Benno hit for RBI triples and only gained more and more momentum with every at-bat.

Over course of the next four innings, Bottineau’s offense couldn’t keep pace with the overwhelming stride of Des Lacs-Burlington.

Although the Stars managed to bring their score up to six by the top of the fifth inning, the damage done by the Lakers was insurmountable, seeing the batting order pile up 23 total runs and bringing the game to a halt with a final score of 6-23.

Bottineau will move on to compete against the #5 seed Ray Jays in a same-day elimination game at 6 p.m. For Des Lacs-Burlington, they will battle the winner of the #1 seed Renville County versus #4 seed Rugby contest on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the South Hill Complex in Minot.