Kari Gibb/MDN Sophomore Tiecyn Hertz (3) throws the historic first pitch for the Minot North Sentinels as they hosted Grand Forks Red River Raiders at the MSU Bubble on Thursday.

The home game for the Minot North Sentinels was full of ‘firsts’ for the school, coaches, athletes and parents. First pitch, first out, first hit – by the time the first inning was over, the GF Red River Raiders had a 1-0 lead in the game of firsts.

The initial energy wore down for the home Sentinels by the third inning and the visiting Raiders built a 18-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth inning for Minot North’s last at bat.

The 18-0 score proved the first final for the fledgling team.

“We knew we would face difficult situations,” said Minot North softball head coach Roger Coleman. “The girls have not seen live pitching like that yet. They have not seen batters like that yet either. This will be a growing process for sure.”

Minot North has two juniors, three sophomores and six freshmen on the varsity roster. The young team showed both moments of competitive capability as well as struggles that come from being a first year program.

“We are excited to start a program from scratch,” said Coleman. “We are working as a team and as coaches to set up the program how we would like it to be, but we know we will not be state contenders right out the gate.”

The growth that will come from the younger players competing at the varsity level will be unmeasurable as they progress through their high school years.

“We know there will be bumps in the road,” said Coleman. “There are always lessons to learn. We need to focus on improving daily. As we focus on ‘us’ and how we play, and who we are – it will be exciting.”

The Sentinels (0-1) will face Grand Forks Central (0-2) today at the MSU Bubble and host Turtle Mountain Monday at the South Hill Complex in Minot.