Mandan’s Jorja Wandler (10) celebrates with Hadley Harris after Harris’ diving catch in center field in the sixth inning of the Braves’ Class A state quarterfinal game against West Fargo on Thursday, May 28, at Scheels South Hill Sports Complex. Mike Kraft/MDN

The state tournament resumes between the Mandan and West Fargo softball teams could not have been more polar opposite entering their quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, May 28, at Scheels South Hill Sports Complex.

On one side, the Packers have won a state-record 10 titles, recorded more than 30 victories and were making their 16th tournament appearance in 17 years. On the other side, the Braves were back in the state tournament for just the second time and were still in search of their first win.

Mandan now has that win it’s been seeking. Kaebry Weekes delivered a two-run single in the top of the fifth inning to give the Braves the lead and Aubrey Karsky held the Packers to just three hits in a 3-1 victory to advance to the state semifinals. Mandan will play Dickinson on Friday, May 29, at 4 p.m.

“It feels great and it’s something we’ve been working really hard for and these girls have been battling all season and they deserve that win,” Mandan coach Mike Gustavsson said. “They went out and played a great game today.”

While this was only the second state tournament appearance for the Braves, it wasn’t their first time meeting up with West Fargo. The two teams met in the quarterfinal round in 2024, with the Packers coming away with a 10-9 victory. Mandan exited the tournament the next day with a 13-8 loss to West Fargo Sheyenne.

The Braves (18-11) turned their fortune around two years later with many of the same players, including both Weekes and Karsky. Weekes finished 1-for-3 at the plate, but that one hit proved to be the difference in the game. With the score knotted 1-1 after four innings, Weekes stepped to the plate with no outs and runners on second and third. Taylor Arnegard led off the inning with a double to left and Hadley Harris followed with a single to first. Arnegard advanced to third and Harris moved up to second on an error during the play. On a 3-2 pitch, Weekes laced a hard-hit ball to right, scoring both Arnegard and Harris to give the Braves a 3-1 lead.

“Honestly, I was just thinking about hitting the ball,” Weekes said. “There was a girl on third, girl on second also. We wouldn’t be in that position if the girls before me didn’t hit like that also. I was just waiting for my pitch and sat on it and got a good hit out of it.”

That was all the run support Karsky needed, especially with the play of her defense behind her. Karsky got West Fargo’s Ella Amundson to ground out with runners on first and second to end the fifth and retired the Packers in order in both the sixth and seven to pick up the win in the circle. Twelve of the final 13 outs were made by the defense behind her, including a diving grab in center by Harris to end the sixth.

“I thought that maybe I had a chance to get there and I just ran for it and gave all I could,” Harris said. “If it got past me that girl probably could have gotten a triple, so I just wanted to catch that for my team and for my pitcher, who worked really hard today.”

Karsky allowed just one run on three hits, striking out three and walking two. The razor-thin margin of error with the game being as close as it was helped keep Karsky focused.

“A little more pressure keeps me going,” Karsky said. “If it was a little different score, I don’t know how it would have ended. I had a great defense today. They helped me out. I only had two walks, but besides that they made all the plays behind me.”

Karsky was efficient in the circle, needing just 73 pitches to get through all seven innings.

“Our pitching was top of the line,” Gustavsson said. “Aubrey was throwing strikes, not putting anyone on base and she knew her defense was behind her. You keep throwing like that, you always have a chance to win.”

Along with making diving plays in the outfield, Harris was also a major contributor in the batter’s box. She led the team with a 3-for-4 performance, scoring a run.

The Braves grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Grace Bugbee drove in Reese Keller with an RBI single to short. The Packers (15-13) responded in the bottom half of the frame. Gretchen Klein scored on an error at first base following a bunt from Bree Jackson.

“At first, it was very nerve-racking,” Weekes said. “We don’t look at records a whole lot, but the team and the players and how they play as a team. Coming into it, we knew we could compete with them and that’s all we did. We competed face-to-face with them and ended up with the win.”

The Packers were back at the state tournament after missing out in 2025 for the first time in program history. While the result wasn’t what they were hoping for, many amidst the youthful West Fargo lineup that features six freshmen and two sophomores got to experience playing on the biggest stage for the first time.

“We have a really young team,” West Fargo coach Brooke Mears said. “Some of these girls haven’t been at a state tournament before, so for them to rally to get back here is phenomenal and I think we’ll rally back tomorrow.”

West Fargo plays Fargo Davies in a consolation game at 11 a.m.

DICKINSON 9, FARGO DAVIES 2

It took a few innings, but top-ranked and WDA Tournament champion Dickinson found its offense in plenty of time to get by Fargo Davies, 9-2, in its quarterfinal matchup at the Class A state tournament. The Mavericks scored seven unanswered runs over the final three innings to advance to the semifinals, where they will play Mandan at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 29.

Kyndall Peterson led the Mavericks with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, tripling and plating four runs. Gabriella Sobolik doubled, recorded an RBI and scored three times.

Scoreless through the opening two innings, Dickinson (29-3) broke through with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to grab a 2-0 lead. Peterson singled home Mayzie Koffler with a fly ball to left field and Regan McMahen would later draw a walk with the bases loaded to bring in another run.

The Eagles (20-8) came back with two of their own in the top half of the fourth to tie the game. Emery Motschenbacher led off the frame with a double to left and came around to score on an RBI single off the bat of Sophia Rerick two batters later. Alyssa Morgenroth scored the game-tying run later in the inning off a single from Myka Sauvageau.

Fargo Davies collected four hits the rest of the way, but came up empty in the runs category. Meanwhile, the Mavericks turned six hits and a handful of Davies errors into seven runs over their final three innings worth of at-bats. Dickinson reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fourth, taking advantage of a Davies miscue. An error at second base allowed Heather Tibor to score to give the Mavericks a 3-2 lead.

Dickinson added to its lead on its next at-bat, as Sobolik doubled in Koffer and Peterson followed with an RBI single to right field.

Koffler extended the lead with an RBI single in the fifth and Peterson’s triple plated two more with Koffler and Sobolik touching home on the play, giving the Mavericks an 8-2 lead after five innings of play. A sacrifice bunt from Myah Merry rounded out the scoring for Dickinson.

McMahen and Peterson split time in the circle for the Mavericks. McMahen got the start, throwing the first four innings, allowing two runs on three hits, striking out seven and walking one. Peterson pitched the remaining three innings, not allowing a run on four hits.

The Eagles drop into the consolation round and will play West Fargo at 11 a.m.

WILLISTON 15, FARGO SHANLEY 0 (F/5)

Williston showed exactly why it is the defending state champion and that it doesn’t intend on handing over that title to anyone. The Coyotes amassed 15 runs on 14 hits, with eight players registered both a hit and a run scored and six recording RBIs in a 15-0 victory over Fargo Shanley.

Williston will play West Fargo Horace in the semifinal round.

Rylee Irgens finished 3-for-3 with a home run, two doubles, five RBIs and four runs scored to lead the Coyotes. Alli Wilcox went 3-for-3 with a double, 3 RBIs and a run scored, while Mekiah Klunker and Akayla Slagle both recorded two hits. Williston had seven extra-base hits in the game.

The Coyotes (29-3) scored at least two runs in all four innings they batted. They put up five runs in both the second and third to break the game open. Irgens collected her first two RBIs in the game with a double in the second to score Julie Heller and Slagle. Wilcox followed with an RBI single to center.

Chloee Stundahl and Klumer delivered back-to-back RBI doubles in the third to give Williston a 12-0 advantage. Irgens home run came in the fourth with Harper Stundal on base.

Alana Thomas picked up the win in the circle, allowing two hits over five innings, striking out four and walking one.

Ava Klein and Emmalise Maher both singled in the first inning for Shanley. The Deacons (13-8) had just one baserunner after the opening frame.

Shanley plays a consolation contest against Bismarck Legacy on Friday, May 29.

WEST FARGO HORACE 6, BISMARCK LEGACY 3

West Fargo Horace delivered the East Region its lone victory of the day in its first-ever state tournament game thanks to a dominant performance in the circle from Josie Carriere in her team’s 6-3 victory over Bismarck Legacy.

Carriere struck out a career-high 18 batters to earn the win in the circle. She went all seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits, walking just one. She finished with 118 total pitches – 82 for strikes. Carriere recorded at least one strikeout against all 10 Sabers batters she faced. She struck out the side in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings.

The Hawks will play Williston in the semifinals, while Legacy plays a consolation game against Fargo Shanley on Friday, May 29.

The Hawks (23-8) found themselves down a run before their first at-bat, however, as Legacy’s Piper Freborg scored on a wild pitch. Horace responded with two runs in the bottom half with an RBI single off the bat of Tristyn Struck and an RBI ground out from Carriere.

A four-run fifth inning provided some cushion for Horace. Katrin Flanagan and Braelynn Brown drew back-to-back walks to lead off the frame and Tristyn Struck plated Flanagan with a single to short. Austi Brandt also singled home a run and the Hawks rounded out their offensive production for the day on a fielder’s choice from Leah Holten.

The Sabers (17-11) got two runs back in the sixth, but that was as close as they would get. Kyen Haggin and Rawni Roemmich delivered run-scoring hits in the frame.