Coming full speed upon the horizon of the regular season and towards the impending Class A-West Region tourney, the Minot Majettes and the Mandan Braves jockeyed for position as two of the top teams in the area in a doubleheader Tuesday night at the South Hill Complex in Minot.

Currently sitting in second place in the West Region pecking order, the Mandan Braves (8-4 overall, 6-2 West Region) looked to regain their early season form heading into the post-season. After a hot start of 6-0 to begin the 2021-2022 campaign and more than doubling their opponents run output by a margin of 86-36 during this period of time, they have come up short in three of their last four match-ups while failing to produce double-digit runs.

Nipping at the heels of the Braves in the standings are the Minot Majettes (16-5 overall, 10-4 West Region), a team catching fire at just the right time and heading into the contest looking to extend an impressive nine-game winning streak. Perhaps even more notable is that during this stretch, the Majettes have mustered twelve or more runs in six of the nine contests.

Wasting no time, the breakneck momentum built over the past nine games by the Majettes picked up where it left off and never relented over the entirety of the first leg of the doubleheader. Offensive consistency across the whole of the lineup resulted in ten runs and twelve total hits over the course of five innings before the match-up was called for a 0-10 final. Junior Cierra Erickson (1B), senior Reese Rice (LF), and junior Taury Hight (CF) all accumulated two RBIs each, in addition to Erickson, Rice, senior Aynzlee Mosser (SS), and sophomore Avery Lunde (2B) all tying for a team-high two hits apiece.

Complimentary to the outstanding efficiency of the Majettes’ offense were their equally impressive pitching and defensive contributions. Junior pitcher Kirsten Galloway allowed a paltry three hits throughout the five innings to earn a complete game win in the start.

Looking to split the doubleheader and put an end to the Majettes now ten-game winning streak, the Braves gathered their composure and rallied behind the stellar pitching performance of senior LaReena Mosbrucker.

Commanding the mound over six of the seven innings, Mosbrucker tallied four strikeouts and allowed only two hits and one earned run before turning over the reins to senior closer Andrea Borchers for the save and a 4-2 victory.

In a complete role-reversal from the prior game, the Braves racked up ten hits throughout the course of seven innings, while the Majettes struggled with only a grand total of three.

For Mandan, sophomore Jenna Wandler (3B) starred at the plate with a team-high three hits and two runs in the contest.

The win marks the end of the regular season for the Braves, as they prepare for the upcoming Class A-West Region tournament. For the Majettes, they finish out the regular season at home with upcoming doubleheaders at the South Hill Complex in Minot against Williston today at 4:30 p.m. and Dickinson at 6 p.m. Friday.