BLACKDUCK – On Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in Mankato, the Blackduck High ÍáÍáÂþ» softball team will do something that’s never been done before in the program’s history.
The Drakes will play in a state tournament game.
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Blackduck entered the Section 5A Tournament as the top seed, swiftly advancing to the semifinals with ease. The Drakes beat Laporte 10-0 in their first-round contest, then knocked off No. 4 Mille Lacs 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
In their first of three games against Hill City/Northland, Blackduck lost 7-1 and fell into the elimination bracket. Needing to win three games to clinch their first-ever section title, the Drakes buckled in and went on another winning streak.
It started with a 12-5 win over Pine River-Backus on May 27 to earn at least one rematch with Hill City/Northland, a game in which Blackduck won 7-0.
The Drakes scored four runs in the first inning against the Storm, thanks to an RBI single from Isabel Ziegler and a two-RBI double from Anna Swedberg. Blackduck made it 5-0 via an error in the second inning, helping the Drakes force a do-or-die game for the 5A crown.
The second leg of the Section 5A championship was a little more dramatic. Trailing 1-0, McKenzie Bullock gave BHS the lead in the bottom of the third inning.
Bullock’s big swing preceded a six-run fifth inning. Ziegler and Izzy Rudnicki each doubled in two runs, Brooklyn Nord singled in another, while an error brought home the sixth run.
Hill City-Northland chipped away at the lead, scoring five runs in the top of the sixth inning, but two more insurance runs from the Drakes put the contest out of reach heading into the top of the seventh.
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In total, Blackduck had 13 hits in its four-run win over the Storm. Bullock had the championship-securing win in the circle, throwing two innings and allowing zero runs with three strikeouts and a walk. Swedberg started in the circle for the drakes, allowing two earned runs on three hits in five innings with five strikeouts and three walks.
Blackduck (22-3) earned the No. 8 seed in the Class A state tournament and will take on top-seeded United South Central (23-1) on Wednesday afternoon. Due to the weather in Mankato at Caswell Park, all state tournaments were delayed. The Class A state tournament is single elimination with a consolation bracket.
The Drakes also became the first girls program in BHS history to earn a team state bid.
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