Bottineau Peyton Robertson throws the ball to first after fielding a ground ball during a Region 3 Tournament game against Bishop Ryan/Our Redeemer’s on Tuesday, May 19, at Scheels South Hill Complex. Mike Kraft/MDN

It wasn’t the 11-inning epic the two teams put together during their first matchup during the regular season, but the end result was the same and that was perfectly fine with the Bottineau softball team.

The third-seeded Stars needed just seven innings this time around to get past No. 6 seed Bishop Ryan/Our Redeemer’s and advance to the semifinals of the Region 3 Tournament. Bottineau scored seven unanswered runs and got another stellar pitching performance from its ace in a 7-1 over the Lions on Tuesday, May 19, at Scheels South Hill Sports Complex.

Bottineau will play No. 7 seed Rugby in the semifinal round on Wednesday, May 20. The Panthers upset second-seeded Renville County in a slugfest, 27-24.

As has been the case all season, the Stars turned to Peyton Robertson to get the job done in the circle, and the sophomore delivered for her team. Robertson tossed 116 pitches over seven innings, allowing one run on seven hits, striking out 10 and walking two. Robertson has started 18 of 20 games this season, hurling 116 innings. She pitched all 11 innings against the Lions in their first meeting.

“I just wanted to get back at them,” Robertson said. “That 11-inning game really kicked us. I was really hoping today we could win it easier. My arm is a little sore, but I keep going and pushing.”

The lone run Robertson allowed came in the top of the third inning off the bat of Anna Hall, who delivered a two-out RBI single to second to score Hayden Deeter. Robertson had struck out the side in each of the first two innings.

Bottineau’s bats woke up shortly after, taking a 5-1 lead with a five-run bottom half of the third. The Stars left the bases loaded in the second, but didn’t squander the same opportunity the following inning. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Maven Tweed scored on a passed ball and Kennady Handeland followed with an RBI single to give Bottineau a 2-1 lead. Norah Gorder added an RBI single the next at-bat and Kaidyn Oakland recorded her first triple of the season to plate a pair of runs to cap off the inning.

“It was pretty good since I’ve been struggling with the bat,” Oakland said. “It was really encouraging to get it. In practice, we’ve really focused on our batting and have been thorough with everything.”

The Stars added two more runs in the fourth.

The Lions put runners on base in all seven innings, but stranded eight.

“I just thought we were a little tight out there,” Bishop Ryan/ORCS coach Greg Passa said. “We’re a really young team and that inexperience really showed out there. It felt like our bats did come around at the end and we kind of hit it right at them, but it was just a little too late.”

Kinlee Tweed led the Stars with three hits including a triple and scored twice Handeland and Gorder each collected two hits.

“Our girls were hitting better,” Bottineau coach Carrie Tweed said. “They came out ready to swing the bat and hit the ball and put it in play. That made all the difference tonight.”

Kristin Brunner went 2-for-4 with a double to lead Bishop Ryan/ORCS’ offensive production.

Tuesday’s contest was much less stressful for the Stars compared to their last outing with the Lions on May 7, which required 11 innings and two late-game comebacks with an 11-10 victory. Bottineau scored two in the seventh to force extras and matched Bishop Ryan/ORCS’ three runs in the eighth to extend the game further. Oakland ended the game with an RBI single to right to score Harmony Bliss in the 11th.

The Stars were one of the two region representatives at the state tournament along with Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark last season, but this year’s team is vastly different, having graduated nine players from that squad.

“We’re a young team and we’re going to have some good years in the future, but they are coming out to play,” Carrie Tweed said.

The Lions entered the Region 3 Tournament having scored 58 runs over their last four games, but were held to a season-low against the Stars, matching their previous mark in a 10-1 loss to Velva-Drake-Anamoose in their season opener.

Bishop Ryan/ORCS falls into the loser’s bracket and will have to win out the rest of the way to earn a trip to the state tournament. The Lions play Renville County at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, at Scheels South Hill Sports Complex.

DES LACS-BURLINGTON/LEWIS & CLARK 20, STANLEY 0

Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark showed why it’s the team to beat in Region 3 and perhaps the state, taking care of No. 9 seed Stanley, 20-0, in the opening round of the tournament.

The Lakers needed just three innings to secure their spot in the semifinals, where they will play No. 4 seed Ray. Stanley will play an elimination game against No. 5 Glenburn .

DLB-L&C scored four runs in the first, seven in the second and ended the game with nine more in the third. Elyssa Lindahl homered twice and registered four RBIs. Logen Ystaas was a perfect 4-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, four RBIs and four runs scored. Harper Feller also doubled and Ella Smith and Piper Feller each tripled.

The Lakers compiled 11 hits as a team and took advantage of seven errors by the Blue Jays.

Jerzee Marquart pitched a three-inning perfect game, striking out eight of the nine batters she faced. Only McKenzie Bohrer was able to put the ball in play against Marquart.

RUGBY 27, RENVILLE COUNTY 24

Runs weren’t hard to come by for either Rugby or Renville County, but the Panthers managed to come out on top of the slugfest to advance to the semifinal round to play Bottineau. Renville will play an elimination game against Bishop Ryan/Our Redeemer’s.

The two teams combined for 38 hits, with 17 of 18 batters registering at least one hit and all 18 recording RBIs.. Kiley Bryans homered for Renville County and Marleigh Henry, Olivia Ogaard and Rylee Hedberg all doubled. Kenley Schmaltz and Sophie Brandt each tripled for the Panthers.

Schmaltz and Brandt combined to go 8-for-11 with seven RBIs and nine runs scored. Livvy Johnson led Rugby with a 5-for-6 performance, driving in three runs and scoring four times.

The Panthers fell behind 14-6 after two innings before scoring 15 of the next 16 runs, including 10 in the fifth. Renville County responded with six runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game 21-21. They took a 24-23 lead into the seventh, but Rugby plated four runs to take the lead for good. Brant delivered the go-ahead two-run triple and Schmaltz brought in two more with a single.

The Panthers scored in all seven innings.

Bryans led Renville County with a 3-for-6 showing at the plate, driving in three. Ogaard registered a team-high five RBIs.

RAY 13, GLENBURN 3

No. 4 seed Ray scored six runs in the bottom of the third to break open the game and secure a spot in the semifinal round, defeating No. 5 seed Glenburn, 13-3, in six innings.

Abby Olson went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Peyton Evans also collected three hits for the Jays. Brinlee Cancade tripled and Aletta Nelson, Autumn Bloms, Brooklyn Edwards and Sailyr Bothe all doubled.

Eight Jays batters collected a hit. Ray finished with 13 hits as a team.

Emma Jones went 2-for-3 with a home run and Julia Young hit a pair of doubles and had two RBIs for the Panthers.

Ray will play top-seeded Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark in the semifinals, while Glenburn plays an elimination game against Stanley.