Midgets' hard hitting offense earns sweep over Patriots

Josiah C. Cuellar, The Dickinson Press, N.D.
Updated ·4 min read

Apr. 12—DICKINSON — Dickinson High School softball team put up strong numbers in the batter's box, outhitting their opponents Bismarck Century in both games of their home doubleheader on Tuesday, April 11. Despite this wins, the Patriots would show top-notch resiliency, finding holes on the Midgets' infield and leaving many of Dickinson's runners stranded. By the end the of the night, the Midgets would remain undefeated with 7-4 and 11-7 wins.

Dickinson's head coach Amanda Mickey said that she wants to see their defense and offense complement one another, as the season moves forward and the challenging dog days ahead push the team.

"Defense just really struggled today and it was a little bit of the opposite from yesterday," Mickey said. "I feel like we went backwards instead of forward, but we got two W's and we are going to get better for the rest of the week and that is all that matters."

The pitching staff's younger pitchers were once again put to the test. Freshman Kyndall Peterson held the circle for the entirety of game one and Reagan McMahen started in game two, before being relieved by junior Ava Jahner in the third inning.

Peterson struck out nine batters, but allowed four runs off of eight hits. McMahen saw five runners pass the home plate, earning three of the runs and striking out five batters.

Jahner put a halt to Century's scoring and extended their two-run lead of 5-3 going into the fourth inning. The Midgets quickly responded, scoring three runs in the fourth innings to re-establish their lead with relinquish.

"I think they are capable of the varsity level, it is a matter of them believing in themselves that they are capable of it," Mickey said. "I thought the young pitchers today did a fabulous job. Reagan McMahen did a great job in the second game, her defense just didn't back her up and that is why we had to resort to Ava."

Dickinson had 12 hits in the first game: two homers, two triples and three doubles. Jahner and her senior, Bailee Berg, led Dickinson in hits with three each. The two each hit a home run and a triple, Jahner's long ball in the sixth inning, brought Berg home, to complete Dickinson's scoring.

"[I contributed] getting base hits," Jahner said. "Because my teammates were already out there waiting for me on the bases so I just had to get the bat on the ball, to get in some runs."

The Midgets will be in Montana for their next outing, facing Dawson County Red Devils on Thursday, April 13 and will then be back at home Friday to face Williston. Both Jahner and coach Mickey agree that facing a team outside of their conference will be a good way to test their mettle and will be the first time the two programs have faced each other since Mickey has taken over the Dickinson program.

"It is definitely important to play other types of teams because we all play different types of ball," Jahner said. "We are used to playing just these teams in our region, so it will be nice to play someone else."

Dickinson 7, Century 4

DHS 002 032 0XX —7 12 2

CHS 000 110 2XX — 4 8 2

Hitting

DHS: Berg 3-5, 2RBI, 3B; Jahner 3-5, 3RBIs; Peterson 2-4; Koffler 1-4, 2B; Farnsworth 2-4, RBI, 2B; Sayler 1-3.

CHS: Bird 2-3, 2B; Schumacher 2-4, RBI; Grimm 1-4, RBI; Baerlocher 1-4; White 2-3, RBI, 2B.

Pitching

DHS: Peterson (WP) 7IP, 8H, 4R, 2ER, 1BB, 9K.

CHS: Schumacher 5.1IP, 12H, 7R, 7ER, 4BB, 4K; Weber 1.2IP, 1BB, 1K.

Dickinson 11, Century 7

DHS 030 322 1XX —11 10 3

CHS 104 001 1XX — 7 6 5

Hitting

DHS: Decker 1-4, RBI, SB; Berg 1-5, 2RBIs, SB; Jahner 3-4, 2RBIs, 2BHBP; Peterson 2-5, RBI, SB; Merry 1-1, SB; McMahen 1-4; Wegleitner 1-3, 3RBIs, 2B, HBP;

CHS: Grimm 2-3, RBI, HBP; Baerlocher 1-3, 2RBIs, HBP; Oswald 1-4, RBI; White 1-3, 2RBI, 2B, SB.

Pitching

DHS: McMahen 2.1IP. 5H, 5R, 3ER, 2BB, 5K; Jahner(WP) 4.2IP, 1H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 9K.

CHS: Tollefson 5IP, 9H, 10R, 8ER, 4BB, 4K; Weber 1IP, 1H, 1R.