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Aggies honor seniors, earn 10-2 win over Miners

Sean Williams/MDN Cienna Clemens (5) of the Velva Aggies swinging the bat during a game against the Wilton-Wing Miners on Monday afternoon. Clemens drove in four runs to lead the Aggies to a 10-2 win.

VELVA – It was a Senior Night celebration for the Velva/Drake-Anamoose Aggies softball team (9-2 overall, 6-1 Region 4) on Monday, as Karsyn Haman, Olivia Passa and Berkley Selzler were all honored for their contributions in helping the Aggies softball program become as successful as it is.

Taking their home field one last time, the Aggies welcomed the Wilton-Wing Miners (6-4 overall, 5-2 Region 4) to the diamond, as both teams entered play tied for third place in the regional standings.

Guided by a strong pitching performance and a string of extra-base hits, the Aggies and their seniors picked up an important regional win, as they took down the Miners by a final of 10-2.

It was only right that Passa, the Aggies’ star pitcher, was lined up to take the mound on Senior Night, and she put forth another brilliant performance. Showing early signs of a great outing, Passa struck out the side to start the game.

The strikeout streak went five batters deep, until Ella Witt was the first Miner to make contact against Passa on a groundout with two outs in the top of the second inning.

Starting and ending the game in dominant fashion, Passa struck out two in the seventh inning to close out the win for Velva. In each half inning of work, Passa managed to register at least one strikeout, as she gave the Miners a headache all afternoon long.

Going for the full seven innings, Passa allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits with three walks and 14 strikeouts. The senior gave it her all on Senior Night and was a key contributor in helping the Aggies pick up a win.

At the plate, the Aggies had a successful day as well. In the bottom of the third, they started providing run support for Passa and never looked back.

Cienna Clemens got the scoring started by driving in a run, then Passa had a heads-up base running play that allowed her to score on an error to give Velva a 2-0 lead. Selzler walked and later scored in the inning, giving Velva a 3-0 advantage after three.

The bats were just warming up at this point, as the Aggies managed to score five more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Clemens had a three-run double and was driven in on a double by Grace Balas, then Balas was driven in on a double by Kinley Peterson, giving Velva an 8-0 lead after the doubles were contagious.

Battling back in the top of the sixth, the Miners added their only two runs of the day on an RBI single from Kalyssa Schock, then Justus Bradford-Boos walked and stole home to make it an 8-2 game.

Not wanting to let the Miners build up momentum, Passa drove in two runs on a single in the bottom half of the frame, bringing the game to its final of 10-2 in favor of Velva.

Clemens led the way for the Aggies, going 3-for-4 with a double and four RBI, followed by Passa who went 4-for-4 with a walk and two RBI, Peterson who went 2-for-3 with a double, walk and an RBI, and Balas who went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

The Aggies will be back in action this afternoon, when they are scheduled to face the Central McLean Cougars at 6 p.m.

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