BEMIDJI 鈥� The Titans knew Parkers Prairie had a little more to give.
While the first game of Thursday鈥檚 doubleheader ended in just five innings, an 11-0 win for the Bemidji American Legion softball team, the second game provided more drama. The Titans pulled out a 5-3 win in nine innings to sweep the slate at the BHS softball field.
ADVERTISEMENT
In the top of the ninth inning, Kenley Anderson put Bemidji in business with a leadoff double. Hannah Backus walked, then advanced to second while Anderson moved to third on a wild pitch.
Brooklyn Nord delivered the Titans鈥� big hit. She laced a two-RBI single down the right-field line to put Bemidji ahead by two. Aside from a two-out single, Bemidji got out of the bottom of the ninth inning with another win.
鈥淏rooklyn is a kid where everything you tell her, she just soaks it in,鈥� head coach Sylvia Grimm said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 such a sponge, and she does what she learns well. I don鈥檛 know how many pitches she fouled off all game, but every at-bat, she was hard to get out. It was bound to happen that she鈥檇 connect on one.
鈥淪he was covering her face like she was shy at second base. But she鈥檚 the hero, and we love that little freshman out there taking big swings like that.鈥�
Parkers Prairie took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning via a double, a single and an error. Bemidji got one run back in the top of the second. Backus was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded before Jessa Anderson鈥檚 RBI single tied the game in the third.
Jessa Anderson led off the top of the fifth inning with a single before coming around to score on Maya Schmidt鈥檚 RBI double. After Schmidt gave Bemidji its first lead, she then became the subject of a baserunning dispute.
Aleah Shogren was robbed of an RBI single with a diving catch in right field. On third base, Schmidt advanced home and believed she gave the Titans a 4-2 lead. Parkers Prairie appealed her tag at third base. The umpire ruled Schmidt did not successfully tag up, effectively ending the inning with Bemidji ahead 3-2.
ADVERTISEMENT
In the bottom of the fifth, Parkers Prairie tied the game with a double that turned into a Little League home run.
鈥淵ou have to control the controlables,鈥� Grimm said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 control the calls. You can鈥檛 control the other team. We can control how we react, and I thought the kids did a good job of channeling that angst into energy on the field.鈥�
Tied 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Jessa Anderson robbed Parkers Prairie of a base hit with a diving catch in centerfield. However, Parkers Prairie put runners on second and third with one out after a walk and an error.
In Parkers Prairie鈥檚 best chance to retake he lead, Anna Swedberg prevented the runs from scoring with a pair of her 13 strikeouts. She finished with nine innings pitched, allowing seven hits, one earned run and one walk.
Shogren took the rubber in game one. She also threw a complete game, surrendering three hits and one walk with eight strikeouts.
鈥淎nna has come a long way in the last couple of years,鈥� Grimm said. 鈥淎leah just keeps getting better forever and ever. It鈥檚 unique. I鈥檓 learning how to coach (two ace pitchers). I鈥檓 trying to learn how to situationally put them in. Who do I throw in the first game? Are they saving their ace for the second game? Who even is my ace? The kids are just rising to the challenge, and I鈥檓 going to let them decide the answers to those questions.鈥�
In the first leg of the doubleheader, Bemidji padded a 6-0 lead before recording its first hit.
ADVERTISEMENT
Nord reached with a walk in the bottom of the first. She came around to score on a wild pitch to give the Titans a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second, Bemidji鈥檚 first three batters walked, with two of them scoring on passed balls before the inning ended. Braylee Benson scored on an error in the fourth inning after reaching first with a walk, then Backus and Nord scored on an error to make it 6-0.
Bemidji鈥檚 first hit came off Kayleigh Lory鈥檚 bat in the fourth. It was just the beginning of an eight-run frame for the Titans.
RBI singles from Kenley Anderson and Benson pushed Bemidji鈥檚 lead to 11-0, effectively ending the game by mercy rule.
鈥淲e recognize that we needed to find ways to score runs after our tournament last weekend,鈥� Grimm said. 鈥淲e left a lot of people in scoring position. The kids took it seriously. We worked on offense a lot in practice yesterday, and it paid off. They got bunts down, got timely hits and got aggressive on the bases. It鈥檚 hard to beat a team that鈥檚 relentless like that.鈥�
Through seven games this season, Bemidji holds a 6-1 record. However, over half of the Titans don鈥檛 live in Bemidji.
Coming off a Section 5A championship and the program鈥檚 first-ever trip to the state tournament, Blackduck High 歪歪漫画 softball players are in full force in the Titans鈥� dugout. Grimm, who coached many of them last summer in Legion play, welcomes the Drakes with open arms.
ADVERTISEMENT
鈥淭hey learned how to win this spring,鈥� Grimm said. 鈥淭hey come to the ballpark and think it鈥檚 their game to win. They鈥檙e kids that play like you have to beat them, because they鈥檙e not going to beat themselves. It鈥檚 awesome, and they鈥檙e excited to be here. They want to learn. We have a bunch of 12U kids in our dugout, too, who want to learn and get better. The community is buying in, and I鈥檒l take every single kid I can.鈥�
Blackduck鈥檚 softball success also raises the bar for their Bemidji peers.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e only as strong as your weakest link, and our weakest link isn鈥檛 very weak right now,鈥� Grimm said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just going to keep learning. Hopefully, the success makes kids want to play Legion and the program can keep growing. The Blaze program is growing like crazy. I hope we can get more Bemidji kids out here because we鈥檙e a lot of Blackduck right now.鈥�
Bemidji 11, Parkers Prairie 0 (F/5)
PP 000 00 鈥� 0-3-5
BEM 120 08 00 11-4-0
WP: Shogren (5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K)
ADVERTISEMENT
Bemidji 5, Parkers Prairie 3 (F/9)
BEM 011 010 002 鈥� 5-9-3
PP 200 010 000 鈥� 3-7-0
WP: Swedberg (9 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 K)
The Trust Project
