Williston’s Julie Heller comes in to score as Minot North catcher Eliese McCann looks on during the fifth inning of Game 2 of a doubleheader on Monday, May 11, at Scheels South Hill Complex. Mike Kraft/MDN

Few teams across the WDA can put runs on the board quite like the Minot North softball team.

With 210 runs scored in their 21 games and 161 runs in their first 16 conference contests, the Sentinels rank in the top four in offensive production in the WDA. The only problem was Minot North was up against the top-ranked offense in defending state champion Williston, which brought their offensive firepower to the Magic City on Monday, May 11.

The Coyotes amassed 29 runs and hit nine home runs in a doubleheader sweep of the Sentinels at Scheels South Hill Complex as they continue to battle with Dickinson for the No. 1 seed in the conference playoffs in the final week of the regular season. Williston won the opener, 21-8, in six innings before completing the sweep with an 8-3 victory in the nightcap.

Mekiah Klumker was a one woman wrecking crew for the Coyotes, going 6-for-8 with five home runs, a double, eight RBIs and six runs scored in the doubleheader. She also was the winning pitcher in Game 2, striking out 10 for the complete-game victory.

“She was definitely feeling it,” Williston coach Jesse Stundal said. “I was telling (Minot North coach) Roger (Coleman) that I didn’t want to talk to her because I didn’t want to put anything in her head. For her, she’s been struggling a bit as of late, so to see her swing freely and not think at the plate was a great thing. And pitching, we know she’s always around. She throws harder than our other pitcher. She had a great game on both sides today.”

The Coyotes – who average more than 13 runs per game – recorded their 20th game of the season scoring more than 10 runs and their fifth surpassing the 20-run threshold in the opening game. They did it thanks to the long ball, launching six over the fence. Akaya Slagle and Klumker each hit two and Alli Wilcox and Chloee Stundal both added another. Thirteen of their 21 hits in the game went for extra bases.

Williston (24-2 overall, 16-2 WDA) scored runs in five of six innings, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning and tacking on six more in the second. Stagle launched a two-run home run in the opening frame and Wilcox and Klumker went back-to-back in the second. Klumker added her second in the third and Stundal followed two batters later with another.

“I really tried to focus on the seams today,” Klumker said. “Usually I try to just focus on the ball, but today I was focusing on the seams.”

Klumker’s third hit of the contest stayed in the field of play, but resulted in an RBI double to plate Wilcox to give the Coyotes a 17-4 lead in the fourth. Eight WIlliston batters collected hits and recorded RBIs, while all nine plated runs. Alana Thomas went 4-for-4 with a double, RBI and a run scored. Klumker, Wilcox, Stundal and Alex Austreim all had three hits each.

Minot North (12-11, 8-10) showcased its home run potential as well. The Sentinels scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning, getting a three-run home run from Kate Coleman. Cole Kotaska doubled home a run with two outs.

Aven Kelly registered her team-leading eighth home run – a two-run shot – in the bottom of the fifth to pull the Sentinels within 17-8 and momentarily avoid the mercy rule. An RBI single by Stundal and a three-run home run by Slagle did result in the game ending via mercy rule in the sixth.

“The biggest thing is that we competed no matter what,” Roger Coleman said. “We threw strikes and they just hit balls over the fence and there’s not really any defense for that. I didn’t think we hurt ourselves too much. They’re a good team and we competed for both games and that’s all we were asking for.”

Coleman finished Game 1 2-for-4 with a double, four RBIs and two runs scored. Tiecyn Hertz went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored.

Klumker shouldered the load in Game 2, both at the plate and on the mound. She homered during her first three at-bats as part of a 3-for-4 performance, driving in five runs and scoring three times.

“She was slinging it and hitting the ball over the fence,” Roger Coleman said. “We know she’s a good player. She probably surprised herself with hitting the ball that well. Coach said she got a new bat and that thing was working for her.”

Klumker held the Sentinels to three runs, their second-lowest scoring output of the season. They were limited to one run against Dickinson earlier in the season. Klumker tossed 134 pitches – 75 for strikes – across seven innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.

“Some people say that I pitch too hard and that I pitch too wild, but some of those things are good for people,” Klumker said. “They are definitely good for me because they will swing at junk and that’s what’s good for me.”

The two teams traded a pair of runs in the opening frame, with Klumker sending a 1-0 pitch over the fence in her first at-bat for a two-run home run. Minot North countered with an RBI single by Eliese McCann and a bases-loaded walk issued to Kotaska.

Klumker put the Coyotes in front in the third with another two-run shot and hit a solo home run in the fourth for a 7-3 advantage. Harper Stundal singled in a run in the fifth, but the Sentinels kept the Coyotes off the board the rest of the way, holding them under 10 runs for just the sixth time this season.

“We’ve seen that a little bit this season where Game 2 for us we’ve been throwing Mekiah a lot more, so that may be the game where the other team doesn’t score as much and for some reason we’ve been mirroring that a little bit,” Jesse Stundal said. “We rely heavily on our defense. We do score a lot of runs. Our pitchers both have low ERAs, so defensively, we’re pretty solid all around the infield and outfield.”

The Coyotes didn’t commit an error during the doubleheader.

Hertz, Coleman and McCann all finished with two hits.

Chloee Stundal registered a pair of doubles and Harper Stundal recorded the only Williston RBI not to come from Klumker.

With the pair of wins, Williston briefly takes over sole possession of first place in the WDA, but Dickinson has two games in hand and controls its own destiny for grabbing the No. 1 seed for the postseason tournament.

Minot North drops into the first play-in spot at No. 7 and closes out the regular season with a doubleheader at Bismarck High on Tuesday, May 12, beginning at 4:30 p.m. The Sentinels would need to sweep the Demons and have Jamestown lose both its games against Bismarck Legacy to avoid the play-in round.