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Majettes bounce back, split first two games in West Region tournament

The Majettes’ softball team has wrapped up the regular season, earning themselves the No. 2 seed in the West Region tournament that started on Thursday. The tournament is taking place at the Sanford Sports Complex in Bismarck, as the teams look to qualify for the state tournament.

Awaiting the winner of a play in game, the Majettes were not sure who their first opponent would be until Monday. It was Century that topped Turtle Mountain to move on and face Minot.

These two teams met earlier in the regular seasons with the Majettes sweeping the Patriots in a doubleheader. This time, however, it was the Patriots that captured a 3-2 win over the Majettes.

Both starting pitchers in Kirsten Galloway for Minot and Brooklyn Morris for Century, got the game started with authority as Galloway picked up two strikeouts in the first inning and Morris collected three strikeouts.

They delivered an outstanding performance, as both teams struggled to develop scoring threats through the early portions of the game, but it was the Patriots who struck first in the bottom of the third. Singles by Koia Krenz and Brooklyn Morris put two on with one out. Halle Mattern drove in both on a double, giving the Patriots a 2-0 lead.

Scoring first in a game where both pitchers were locked in deemed important in this one, however, the Majettes would answer the Patriots first strike in the bottom of the inning. With two outs in the inning, Aynzlee Mosser sent one to deep center field for a solo home run, making it a 2-1 game.

The strong pitching would continue after the third inning, as both teams were unable to put another run on the board until the seventh inning. In the top half of the frame, Lexi Wesson hit a solo home run to give the Patriots an important insurance run and a 3-1 lead.

Abigail Barnum and the Majettes, however, weren’t going down without a fight. Barnum led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a solo home run, but that would be all the Majettes could string together, losing to the Patriots 3-2 in a tight knit battle.

Minot was led by Kirsten Galloway on the mound, who racked up 12 strikeouts in seven innings of work. Offensively, Aynzlee Mosser went 1-for-2 with a walk, home run, and an RBI, Avery Lunde went 2-for-3 with a double, and Abigail Barnum went 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI.

Century was led by Brooklyn Morris on the mound, who piled up 10 strikeouts through seven innings. At the plate, Halle Mattern went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs, Lexi Wesson went 1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI, and Ashlyn Schumacher went 1-for-3.

Century 3, Minot 2

C 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 – 3 6 0

M 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 – 2 7 0

WIN: Morris (7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K). LOSS: Galloway (7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 12 K); 2 OR MORE HITS: M – Lunde, Barnum; DOUBLES: C – Mattern. M – Fjeld, Lunde; TRIPLES: None. 2 OR MORE RBIs: C – Mattern.

On Friday, the Majettes were back in action looking to bounce back from their opening game loss. This one would have a similar, yet much different story to it as the Majettes topped the Mandan Braves 13-2 in five innings.

Just like the first game, Kirsten Galloway played a key role in helping boost the team, but this time she came out with a victory on the mound. She went the distance once again, piling up seven strikeouts to keep the Braves silent throughout the day.

In the second inning, the Majettes put two runs on the board to break the scoreless tie and get the offense going. Ellington Anderson singled to start the inning. Aynzlee Mosser doubled to drive in Kinsey Fjeld, who reached on a fielder’s choice, giving the Majettes an early 1-0 lead.

Mosser would come home to score on a passed ball in the same frame and the lead was now at 2-0 in favor of the Majettes. They got going early, but then would go quiet for a few innings before drastically changing the outlook of the game.

The Braves got their momentum back in the top of the fourth when Andrea Borchers and LaReena Mosbrucker collected consecutive singles to start the frame. With Savannah Gustavsson at the dish, she grounded into a fielder’s choice with one run scoring on the play to make it a 2-1 game. Faith Eberle would follow that up with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2.

Just when it seemed like this was going to be another close one for the Majettes, they completely flipped the script by putting 11 runs on the board in the bottom half of the frame.

Highlights from the big inning include: an Avery Falcon RBI single, Cierra Erickson three-run single, Tayler Falcon RBI single, and an Isabelle Anderson two-run double that would lead to her stealing home. The long, late rally gave the Majettes a 13-2 lead and put the game out of reach.

With Galloway still on the mound in the top of the fifth inning, she faced the minimum and now the Majettes’ season will live to see another day.

Leading the way for the Majettes was Cierra Erickson who went 1-for-2 with a walk and three RBIs, Isabelle Anderson who went 1-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, and Aynzlee Mosser who went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

For the Braves, they were led by Andrea Borchers who went 1-for-1 with a walk, and Savannah Gustavsson and Faith Eberle who drove in one run each.

The Majettes will play again today, where they will take on Jamestown in a state qualifying game. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.

Minot 13, Mandan 2

MN 0 0 0 2 0 – 2 3 2

MI 2 0 0 11 X – 13 12 0

WIN: Galloway (5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). LOSS: Borchers (3.2 IP, 10 H, 11 R, 10 ER, 2 BB, 1 K); 2 OR MORE HITS: MI – Anderson, Mosser, T. Falcon, A. Falcon; DOUBLES: MI – Mosser, Anderson; TRIPLES: None; 2 OR MORE RBIs: MI – Erickson, Anderson.

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