McKenna Nygaard went 1-for-3 and drove in two runs in Minot High’s loss to Bismarck Century in the WDA Tournament play-in round on Saturday, May 16. Mike Kraft/MDN

The Minot High softball team scored four runs in the top of the first inning to build an early lead, but surrendered 10 of the final 11 runs in a 10-5 loss to Bismarck Century in a West Region Tournament play-in game on Saturday, May 16, at Sanford Sports Complex in Bismarck.

The Patriots advanced to play top-seeded Dickinson in the WDA Tournament quarterfinal round, which begins on Thursday, May 21, at Williston State College. The loss for the Majettes snapped a three-year streak of advancing to the state tournament. Minot High last missed out on a state tournament berth in 2022.

The Majettes (10-18) collected four of their six hits for the game in the first inning, and took advantage of two Century errors to get out to a 4-0 lead before the Patriots came to the plate for the first time. A leadoff single by Grace Burdick followed by back-to-back Century miscues loaded the bases with no outs and McKenna Nygaard got the Majettes on the scoreboard with an RBI single to second base. Taryn Dalton followed with a two-run single to plate Daysi Alm and Darby Mowbray. Bella Conklin capped off the inning with an RBI double to left field.

The Patriots (8-17) cut the deficit in half with one swing of the bat from Londyn White, who homered on the first pitch she saw from Fisher Anderson in the bottom of the first. Century tied the game 4-4 with two more runs in the third. White tripled in Haley Dockter and scored herself following an RBI double from Olivia Charles.

A three-run fourth in which the Patriots didn’t record a hit but instead scored off of two Minot High errors and three walks put the Patriots in front for good. Minot High committed six errors in the game.

White added her second home run of the contest in the sixth – a two-run shot to right field – to give the Patriots a 9-5 lead. White finished 3-for-4 with two home runs, a triple, six RBIs and three runs scored.

Nygaard and Dalton each registered a pair of RBIs for Minot High. Alm scored twice.

Mowbray, the lone senior on the roster, went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored in her final game in a Minot High uniform.