DICKINSON – Two games that couldn’t have been more different had the same result at Bravera Field for the Dickinson Midgets with an 11-1 run-rule defeat in the nightcap. This was preceded by an extra-inning, heartbreaking 4-2 squeaker in the opener of the doubleheader series versus West Dakota Association rival Jamestown on Friday. The Blue Jays came to play, and busted loose for 5 runs in the first inning of Game 2 on the strength of an RBI single from Katie Falk, as well as RBI doubles from Jada Walter and starting pitcher Makenna Nold.
“It's been a long time since we were run-ruled, that's for sure,” DHS manager Amanda Mickey said. “But hats-off to Jamestown, they did a great job today and we definitely need to work on a lot of things next week.”
The game settled down a little after Morgan Koffler drove in Jenna Decker in the bottom of the first frame on a sacrifice fly to cut into Jamestown’s lead, but the fifth inning brought more fireworks for the Blue Jays as two consecutive batters were hit-by-pitches and Walter singled home pinch-runner Violet Bohl before a walk to Katie Falk loaded the bases. Then Nold again helped her own cause in a big way, planting the ball over the fence in right-center field for a grand-slam homer that put the game out of reach. The second half of the twin-bill ended in the next inning at 11-1 when Nold brought home Rylee Joseph on a sacrifice fly after Joseph reached on an error. He subsequently moved around the basepaths to third on another hit batter and a fielder’s choice from Walter.
Nold ended up with a complete-game no-hitter with 10 strikeouts to improve the Blue Jays’ record to 24-8 and 16-2 in the WDA.
“We've been playing well, and obviously with respect to the Dickinson program — and I think our program is getting up there, too — the last probably five or six games have been a one-run difference in those games,” Jamestown manager Mike Soulis said. “Finally, we kind of broke through and got on the other side of that one run but today was just a great game.
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Soulis added, "The pitchers pitched well, and it was fun to be a part of and it's a lot more enjoyable when you get the one or two more runs. We had some adversity and there's two ways you can handle adversity and we chose to keep climbing and battling. ”
Game 1 featured more twists and turns than a California beach highway, with both teams locked in a stalemate through the first four innings. Starting junior Midget right-hander Ava Jahner mowed down five batters on strikeouts and held Jamestown hitless. Jamestown broke the deadlock in the top of the fifth inning, however, on an RBI-double from Game 2 starter Katie Falk that scored Walter and gave the Jays a slim, 1-0 lead.
In the meantime, Falk also held the Midgets (22-7 overall, 12-6 in WDA) in check with five strikeouts in the first four innings, before Braelynn Farnsworth reached first on a line-drive single. Decker came to the plate at the top of the order and blasted the ball over the left-field wall on a rope to give DHS a 2-1 advantage at the end of five innings. Dickinson almost held on for the win and had two outs in the top of the seventh, when Jamestown’s Katie Falk blooped a single into shallow left-field and Bohl came on to pinch-run for her as Nold walked and moved Bohl to second. Torrie Mack reached on an error, scoring Bohl, and the game went into extra innings.
DHS loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth and had Gabriella Sobolik in scoring position at third in the 10th inning, but to no avail. The Midgets couldn’t get that final, winning run across the plate.
The Blue Jays took advantage in the top of the 10th on an RBI-double from catcher Ella Falk that scored Avery Graves and another RBI from Katie Falk.
The Midgets will now play host to the WDA Postseason Class A Tournament and at press-time the games will reportedly be starting on Thursday, with the first game at 10 a.m. Please check in with The Dickinson Press for updates about the tournament.
"We're excited for WDA to be here because we're excited for the teams to be able to see this gorgeous complex and have a good tournament here," Mickey said. "We'll work hard, and grind out these games and get Ava back in that circle.
Mickey added, “It's a whole new season starting on Monday and so we're looking forward to it."
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For more information about the Dickinson High School softball team, please keep reading The Dickinson Press and/or visit wdasports.org/dickinson-softball-2023.html.
Box Scores:
Game 1
JHS 000 010 100 2xx – 4 5 1
DHS 000 020 000 0xx – 2 8 3
Batting
JHS – 2B: E Falk, K Falk. TB: E Falk 2, K Falk 4, R Joseph. SB: J Walter.
DHS – 2B: Gabriella Sobolik. HR: Janna Decker. TB: Decker 5, Ava Jahner, Sobolik 3, Braelynn Farnsworth, Morgan Koffler 2. HBP: Baylee Berg 2, Sobolik. SB: Decker, Berg, Sobolik.
Pitching
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JHS – K Falk: 10IP, 8H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 10K
DHS – Jahner: 9IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 10BB, 12K. Kyndall Peterson: 1IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 1K.
Game 2
JHS 500 51x – 11 6 1
DHS 100 00x – 1 0 8
Batting
JHS – 2B: J Walter, A Graves. HR: M Nold. TB: E Falk, J Walter 2, A Graves 3, M Nold 5. HBP: E Falk, J Walter, R Joseph.
DHS – SAC: Koffler. HBP: Berg.
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Pitching
JHS – Nold: 5IP, 0H, 1R, 0ER, 4BB, 10K
DHS – Peterson: 5IP, 6H, 7R, 2ER, 2BB, 3K. Madison Wegleitner: 0IP, 4R, 3ER, 1BB, 0K.
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