Members of the Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark softball team celebrate after winning the Region 3 Tournament championship against Bottineau on Thursday, May 21, at Scheels South Hill Sports Complex Mike Kraft/MDN

TJ Stewart knew he had big shoes to fill when he became the new head coach for the Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark softball team at the beginning of the season, taking over for Peggy Person, who built the Lakers into a regular participant at the state tournament.

Person spent seven years as the Lakers’ coach, advancing to the state tournament every season, which included a runner-up finish in her final year at the helm.

The Lakers didn’t skip a beat under Stewart’s leadership, as DL-B/L&C punched its ticket to its 10th straight state tournament with a 10-1 victory over Bottineau in the Region 3 Tournament championship game on Thursday, May 21, at Scheels South Hill Sports Complex. The top-seeded Lakers outscored their opponents 48-1 en route to their third consecutive region title.

“It feels great,” Stewart said. “We come to work every day ready to play with great attitudes. It’s fun to see that success when you do things right. “Coach Person left us with a legacy that we knew we were going to be down a couple girls due to injury and we just had to build some of our young girls up to make them fill those roles.”

Bottineau (14-9) proved to be the Lakers’ toughest competition of the tournament, requiring them to play a full seven innings for the first time over the three days of competition. But the Lakers (16-4) did what they have done throughout the tournament by jumping out to an early lead. While they didn’t have that signature big inning, DL-B/L&C still plated three runs in the first and third innings to build a 7-0 lead.

Piper Feller got the offense going in a big way, hitting her sixth home run of the season in her first at-bat of the game. Earlier in the at-bat, Feller sent a shot over the fence, but in foul territory. She left no doubt a couple pitches later by hammering a line drive to straightaway center field.

“Once I hit the one foul, it doesn’t count so I had to get one fair and make it count,” Feller said.

Following a pair of walks, Ella Smith delivered a two-run triple to center field, scoring Harper Feller and Elyssa Lindahl. All three runs came with two outs.

Smith added her third RBI in the third and Jerzee Marquart followed with a two-run inside-the-park home run.

The Lakers built a 9-1 lead in the fifth when Aleia Fluhrer tripled to plate Lily Schepp and came around to score herself during the play on a throwing error.

Lindahl capped off the scoring in the sixth with an RBI double to left. Eight of DL-B/L&C’s 12 hits went for extra bases.

With just two seniors on the roster in Lindahl and Logen Ystaas, this year’s Lakers team is much younger than most who have participated in the state tournament. The Lakers have had to overcome both youth and injuries, losing Sierra Yale to an ACL injury before the season started, suffering the setback during basketball.

“We just didn’t know how the season was going to go,” Lindahl said. “We were trying out new things with all the injuries we had, switching people up in different places, so seeing how far we’ve come over the season is really exciting, especially with this region championship.”

The pieces came together, receiving contributions from all 16 varsity players ranging from seventh graders to seniors. As a result, the senior class gets one final crack at the state tournament.

“I can’t even put it into words,” Ystaas said, “It’s just incredible how this team has come together and how we’ve grown as one. It’s crazy to think about how I’ve been to state every year since I was a seventh grader. We’re just a lot younger, so I feel this one means a lot more for me because I’m a senior, so this is my last one so obviously I want to go out on a win.”

Eight Lakers recorded a hit. Piper Feller finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Ystaas and Smith both registered a pair of hits. Smith finished with a game-high three RBIs.

Piper Feller tossed her second consecutive one-hitter, allowing an unearned run. She struck out 15 and walked five. She struck out at least two batters in all seven innings and struck out the side in the opening two frames. The Lakers’ pitching staff allowed one run on one hit throughout the tournament.

The Stars did manage to score a run on the Lakers, something no other team in the tournament managed to do. That run came in the fourth inning. Sienna Nelson walked to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a ground out. She moved to third on a passed ball and scored on another.

“The better the competition, the better it makes any girl,” Stewart said. “It’s all about development. Nobody wants to play games that aren’t competitive. We always want that competitive experience and Bottineau gave it. They have a really good squad.”

Maven Tweed had the lone hit for the Stars — a single to left in the fifth inning.

Glenburn wins four straight elimination games for first state tournament appearance

The chances of making it to the state tournament looked bleak for Glenburn after dropping its tournament opener to Ray back on Tuesday. For the fifth-seeded Panthers to advance, they needed to win four elimination games over the course of two days.

And that’s exactly what they did.

The Panthers capped off an unlikely run through the loser’s bracket with a 17-6 victory over Bottineau in the Region 3 state qualifier on Thursday, May 21, at Scheels South Hill Sports Complex.

Glenburn (13-8) amassed 25 hits, scoring six runs in both the second and seventh innings to earn its first trip to the state tournament in program history. All nine batters recorded a hit, with Ava Stevens, Mila Jones and Julia Young finishing with four hits each. Mila Jones homered and had a triple to go along with four RBIs, while her sister Emma Jones tripled twice and drove in three runs. Stevens had a triple, two doubles, four RBIs and three runs scored.

The Panthers recorded seven hits during a six-run second inning. They scored four runs with two outs, getting a two-run triple from Emma Jones, an RBI single from Aubrie Quick and an RBI double off the bat of Stevens. Glenburn punctuated the victory with eight more hits and six more runs in the seventh.

The Stars cut the lead to 6-3 at the end of the third inning, as Harmony Bliss delivered a two-run triple in the second and Kennady Handeland drove in a run with a single to center in the third. But that was as close as Bottineau would get, as the Panthers scored three runs in the fourth to build a 9-3 advantage and tacked on two more in the sixth.

Glenburn’s Region 3 Tournament run got off to a rocky start, falling 13-3 to No. 5 Ray in six innings, dropping them into the loser’s bracket. The Panthers came back the following day and eliminated both No. 9 Stanley and No. 7 Rugby to play another day. They took care of No. 2 seed Renville County earlier in the day before punching their ticket to state against the third-seeded Stars.

The Panthers outscored their final four opponents 52-13.