DICKINSON, N.D. – Valley City State exploded for 12 runs in the sixth inning to defeat Mayville State 17-3 in an elimination game Friday at the North Star Athletic Association Softball Championship, hosted at the Sanford Sports Complex.
With the victory, Valley City State (25-22 overall) stays alive in the NSAA tournament. Mayville State ends its season with an 11-38 record.
The Vikings broke open a 5-2 game with a dominant offensive outburst in the top of the sixth, sending 17 batters to the plate and capitalizing on eight hits, three Comet errors and four walks. Ten of the 12 runs scored in the frame came with two outs.
Senior first baseman Logan Gronberg led the charge, finishing 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored. Gronberg delivered run-scoring singles in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings and reached base in all four plate appearances. Freshman infielder Kylee Banerd drove in four runs with a double and two bases-loaded walks. She also scored once and reached safely in all three plate appearances.
The Vikings racked up 14 hits and drew six walks while committing just one error. Ten different players reached base, and eight scored at least one run. Senior catcher Ashlyn Diemert collected four hits and scored three times from the leadoff spot. Senior pitcher/designated player Maddy Zander went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and also scored twice.
Zander also contributed in the circle, throwing three innings of relief to earn her second save of the season. She entered after sophomore Cooper Klaahsen pitched the first three innings, allowing just one run on one hit with four strikeouts. Klaahsen improved to 5-4 on the season.
Mayville State opened the scoring in the bottom of the third. After Mackenzie Hughes reached on a single and advanced on an error and wild pitch, Lindsey Tulla delivered an RBI single. Madison Terres followed with a groundout that plated another run, giving the Comets a brief 2-0 lead.
Valley City State responded immediately in the fourth inning. Zander led off with a double, later scoring on Gronberg’s single. After an error and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, freshman shortstop Katelyn MacNeill roped a two-run triple to right-center to give the Vikings a 3-2 lead.
The Vikings added two more in the fifth on RBI hits from Gronberg and Banerd. Then came the sixth inning, where the game was put out of reach. The inning featured key hits from Zander, Diemert, Gronberg, Banerd and MacNeill. Senior Alyssa DePoorter contributed a three-run double to the gap in left-center to make it 10-2, and MacNeill added an RBI single moments later.
Three straight Mayville State errors extended the inning, and Valley City State continued to capitalize with patient plate appearances and aggressive baserunning. Banerd capped the rally with a two-run double to right-center, pushing the lead to 17-2.
Mayville State added one final run in the bottom of the sixth on a solo home run by Terres, but the Comets were unable to extend the game past the run rule. Terres finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs, while Hughes, Tulla and Ryanne Bass each collected one hit.
Mayville State used three pitchers in the game. Lacey Mathiowetz started and went 4.1 innings, allowing five earned runs. Autumn McGough and Baileigh Momberg combined to pitch the final 1.2 innings, surrendering 12 runs, though only eight were earned.
Defensively, Valley City State played a clean game apart from a third-inning error. The Vikings turned in several solid plays in the field to support their pitchers and control Mayville’s offense, which managed just four hits and left four runners on base.