Gator Softball Preview: Bringing youthful enthusiasm and experienceBy: Ryan Bergeron

Last season, the Gator softball team lost to the Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal Titans twice during the regular season, but defeated them two out of three times when it mattered most--the Section 8A playoffs-- to capture the program’s eighth section title and state tournament berth. The team went on to finish sixth at state.

What was the difference come section tournament? Last year Gator senior Carly Mekash pointed to enthusiasm. When talking about this season’s team, Coach Christian pointed to this “youthful enthusiasm.”

“It seems like all the girls we have out (this season) really, really enjoy the game,” Coach Christian said.

He lost three seniors in Mekash, Montgomery DeZelar, and Kaitie Hamann from last season, but yet still features a young team-- one with just one senior, in Makenna Burslie, and one junior, in Ella Koebernick. His team might be young, but, as Coach Christian explained, that doesn’t mean these young girls don’t bring the experience.

“Sometimes you lose sight of the fact that these are sophomores, freshmen, eighth graders out there,” Coach Christian said. “... They might be young, but they’ve played a lot of ball, so there’s definitely game experience. Now, it might not be varsity game experience (for all of them), but they know how to play the game.”

He watched last season’s team-- featuring a “good veteran-youthful mix”-- grow with experience and, by season’s end, display an improved level of confidence.

“(We) really played our best ball come tournament time,” Coach Christian said. “... (We) played hard, played well together and really ended up getting some timely hits, which you need come tournament time.”

As for this season, his team’s youthfulness is a strength, but it also provides question marks.

“It will be interesting to see (with) the young girls that we played last year,” Coach Christian asked, “will they be able to take their game to the next level (this season)?”

Speaking of levels, during practice one day, Coach Christian said he complimented his team on its talent level. He mentioned how his team needs to improve on just some of the small things-- catching and accurately throwing. But, this high talent level will present him a challenge as a coach.

“I think I can push them or try to push them to a different level, make it so they don’t get bored,” Coach Christian said.

As he attempts to push them to that different level, many of the girls within the program will get the experience in both practices and games. This season, the Gators have 22 girls involved in seventh to twelfth grade.“Girls are getting a lot of reps (in practice),” Coach Christian said. “And, although we don’t have quantity (in players), what I think we have is quality.”

Here’s a position-by-position breakdown for this year’s Gator team. Before breaking down his team by position, he mentioned how one of his team’s strengths is that it has players capable of playing various positions.

Pitcher: The team returns sophomore Mariah Christian to the circle, having earned the pitching win during the Gators section-clinching victory.

“She’s (Mariah) definitely a competitor, doesn’t throw overly hard, but is pretty smart when it comes to pitching,” Coach Christian said.

Eighth grader Kinsley Hanson returns after gaining some pitching experience last season. Freshman Lauren Kvien will also toe the rubber this season after picking up some experience last summer. Both of these players, Coach Christian said, can throw well.

Sophomore Ella Heggedal will need a little more experience, throwing a little bit down at the state tournament. Sophomore Erika Howell also returns to this position after earning some pitching wins at the varsity level. Eighth grader Tessany Blazek also will toe the rubber-- being “probably one of our harder throwers,” Coach Christian said. Lauren Stenberg also provides the Gators with another “solid option” on the pitching rubber; consistency will prove key for her.

Coach Christian could see many of these pitchers getting in a couple innings each game.

“As you can see, we’re probably one of the few programs that has a true pitching staff, or maybe I should call it a throwing staff,” Coach Christian said. “... A lot of them just need some experience.”

Catcher: The Gators return freshman Jacey Wojchowski behind the plate.

“(She) has a really good arm. (She) needs to improve on calling a game, which takes time, needs to improve on her blocking a little bit,” Coach Christian said. “But, (she) really improved last year, so we’re hoping for big things from her.”

Koebernick will possibly back up Wojchowski at this position, having gained some experience there last summer and doing a “nice job.” Freshman Theron Kuznia just started catching last year, and has shown a “heck of an arm,” Coach Christian said, providing some grittiness to the team.

Eighth grader Cassie Dahl swings a “really good bat,” and just needs to work on her arm strength and game calling, Coach Christian said. Freshman Asher Burslie also provides the Gators with another catcher option.Third Base: The Gators return Hanson to this position after she did, what Coach Christian considered, a “really good job” last season.

“(I’m) hoping that she can improve her hitting a little bit,” Coach Christian said. “... (She) needs to become a little bit more consistent (offensively), but very strong defensively.”

Kvien could also see time here, needing to get more at-bats and continue to work hard. Dahl could also get some work there as well.

Shortstop: Mariah Christian will return to this position after having an “outstanding” year defensively last season. The biggest key with her, Coach Christian said, is trying to cut down her mistakes on the routine plays. Kvien and Asher Burslie could also see some time there.

“When Asher learns to get after it, she could be a very solid player,” Coach Christian said.

Second Base: Howell has looked strong so far this spring, after having an “outstanding” year last season. She also provides strong leadership, and Coach Christian hopes she can continue to improve offensively.

“I don’t know too many teams that were playing two freshman (Mariah Christian and Howell) at short and second at the state tournament and we did,” Coach Christian said.

Eighth grader Elizabeth Gust also plays at this position. She needs to work on her arm strength, but can play “solid.”

First Base: Koebernick will likely lead the way at this position after having a strong summer of hitting the ball. Coach Christian hopes for her to continue to improve her game.

When not catching, Wojchowski could see some time at this position. Kuznia and Asher Burslie could also play at this position this season.

Outfield: Coach Christian started with what he considered a “spark plug” and “human vacuum cleaner” in center field, Makenna Burslie.

“No offense to the outfielders we’ve had in the past because we’ve had some really good ones, but (Assistant) Coach (Dave) Blazek says, ‘Makenna, defensively, is the best that he’s ever coached.’”

Coach Christian is hoping, Makenna, being she’s the only senior in the program, provides some leadership. The Gators are leaning towards having her bat in the lead off spot again.Sophomore Bella Monsrud put in much work in the weight room this past winter and has played well so far this spring. She’s catching the ball fine, but, Coach Christian said, offensive consistency will be a key-- a matter of confidence with her. Ella Heggedal hasn’t played much time in the outfield, but the coaching staff is looking to get her more time out there. Her speed will help her in this role. Coach Christian added how a key for her will also be offensive consistency.

Sophomore Emma Heggedal will also see time in the outfield. A slap hitter for the Gators, she struggled some this summer, Coach Christian said, due mostly to confidence. Making plays consistently on defense will prove key for her.

Tessany Blazek is relatively inexperienced in the outfield, but has the speed to track down balls and is physically strong, Coach Christian said.

Asher Burslie and Dahl could also see time in the outfield. Coach Christian considered eighth grade outfielder Ava Novacek one of the most improved players from last season, needing just more game experience. The Gators also have five seventh grade players who could assume various positions.

Dave Blazek, Meghan Kvien, and, on a volunteer basis, Lynsi Emery will assistant coach this season.

Pressure to Repeat:Following last season, Coach Christian heard others mention how his team will be back. Asked if his team feels any pressure after winning that section title to reach the same or higher goals this season, he said his team has discussed this very topic a little bit already. The Gator coaches have told the team that getting to the top of the section it not an easy task or an automatic thing.

“First of all you need talent, which I think we have, but you need a little bit of luck too,” Coach Christian said. “Now, you can make some of your own luck, but I remember when we first went to state in 2000, where we won on a hit that probably went 25 feet, just landed in the right spot.”

Coach Christian said his team is just worried about improving every day. “If we sit there and think about state and, oh, we’ve got to do this, it’s probably not going to happen,” Coach Christian said.

To capture another section title, the team will need strong pitching and timely hitting, Coach Christian said.

“Probably more important is to come together as a team, where everybody’s working for that common goal,” the Gator Head Coach added.Mekash pointed out how the team did just that-- came together with one goal-- to achieve a section championship last season.

Although winning did show up on some of his players’ goal cards, as Coach Christian mentioned, the most common goals they wrote down didn’t even focus specifically on winning and losing.

“The goal that is on everybody’s card is no drama, come together as a team,” Coach Christian said. “... The other goal that most of them have is to just become the best team we can be and that’s really the stance we take, that if somebody else is going to beat us, it’s going to take a really, really solid game on their part.”

Opposing teams will be playing a Gator team young in age, but not short on experience, enthusiasm, or passion for the game.

Copyright of The Tribune (Greenbush, Minn.)

Gator girls finish 1-1 in season debutBy: Ryan Bergeron

Gators 12 Spuds 2 (six innings)On a cold spring morning, the Gator Softball team opened its 2019 season at home on April 6 versus the Class AAA Moorhead Spuds. In this cold weather, the Gator bats heated up late, turning a 5-2 lead into a 10-2 lead with a five-run, five-hit fifth inning. The Gators added two more runs in the sixth to win by 10-run-rule.

“I thought we had pretty strong at bats,” Gator Head Coach Kent Christian said via email about his team’s late offensive surge. “(We) worked the count and didn't put ourselves in a hole. (It) was pretty decent for the first game of the year.”

In the five-run fifth inning, the Spuds retired the first two Gators batters, but the next six Gator batters reached to open up the game. Lone Gator senior Makenna Burslie started the two-out rally with a triple, advancing to home on the play off a Spud error. Mariah Christian followed with her own triple and came home on an Erika Howell RBI double.

Later in the inning, with runners now at first and second, Kinsley Hanson recorded an RBI double, and Lauren Kvien capped the five-run inning with a two-run single to give the Gators the 10-2 edge.

A two-run sixth-inning double for Makenna Burslie sealed the Gator win via ten-run-rule.

Early on, the Gators picked up six hits, but took advantage of five Spuds walks and three hit batters to jump out to a 5-1 after three innings. In a three-run first inning, Hanson and Kvien drove in the first two runs after each getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Bella Monsrud drove in the final run of the inning on an RBI single.

In the second, the Gators added a run on an Erika Howell RBI double and the Spuds responded in the top of the third with an RBI groundout to cut the Gator edge to 4-1. A Makenna Burslie RBI bases loaded walk gave the Gators a 5-1 lead and the Spuds responded again in the top of the fourth with another RBI groundout to cut the Gator lead to 5-2, setting the stage for what was to come in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Offensively, Makenna Burslie, Howell, Hanson, and Kvien each finished two for three and Christian two for four at the plate to pace a Gator offensive attack that finished with 13 hits. Maddie Spaeth led the Spuds with her two for two day at the plate, respectively.

Meanwhile, Mariah Christian pitched six complete innings to earn the pitching victory. In the win, Christian gave up two earned runs on six walks and five hits, and struck out one. The defense behind her made one error in the game.

“Our pitchers won't be able to get away with that many walks. We have to give our defense a chance,” Coach Christian said via email. “I thought Mariah competed well. She did (not) have any command of her change-up so she was limited in what she could do. Defense made the plays they needed too but we most certainly have to tighten it up.”

Riane Mohagen took the pitching defeat for the Spuds, surrendering seven runs, six earned, on eight hits, five walks, and four hit batters in four innings of work. She struck out three.

Gators 2 Packers 10After claiming its first victory of the season, the Gators would turn its attention right away that same day at home to face perennial North Dakota power, the West Fargo Packers. The Gators encountered some pitching wildness in the win over Moorhead, but escaped relatively unscathed. That was not the case against the Packers.

Five Gator pitchers combined to walk 13 Packers batters. The Gators paid the price, evident by six of the 13 walked batters coming around to score in the Gators 10-2 defeat.

Courtesy of a Packers’ RBI single in the second that put the Gators in a 1-0 deficit after two, the Gators allowed the Packers to break the game open with a five-run third inning. In this inning, the Gators surrendered four hits and three walks, and allowed 13 Packer batters to come to the plate.

Trailing 6-0 after three innings, the Gators responded with a pair of runs in the fourth. With runners at second and third and two outs, Tessany Blazek hit a groundball, but the Packers shortstop committed an error on the play, allowing both Gator runners to score. The Gators trailed 6-2 after four innings.

In the fifth inning, the Packers responded with a run off an RBI double, and in the sixth tacked on three runs off a base loaded RBI walk and a two-run single, providing the final margin. For the game, the Packers finished with nine hits.

Outside that two-run fourth—aided by a Packers error—the Gators couldn’t get much going against Packers’ starting freshman pitcher Sophie Ochocki. In the complete game win, Ochocki gave up two runs, none earned, on three hits and two walks. She also struck out five.

Meanwhile, starting eight-grade pitcher Tessany Blazek took the loss for the Gators in her first career varsity pitching performance. In two and two-thirds innings, she gave up six runs, five earned, on five hits and five walks.

Tori Nichols-Kraft led the Packers with a three for five day at the plate. Kenley Mahnke finished two for three at the place, respectively, for the Packers.

Kinsley Hanson led the Gators with her two for two day at the plate, including a double and a triple, respectively.

Next Action: The Gators are scheduled to host the Roseau Rams on Thursday, April 11 and the Warroad Warriors on Tuesday, April 16. The team hits the road to play the Red Lake County Mustangs in Oklee on Thursday, April 18.

Copyright of The Tribune (Greenbush, Minn.)

Gator Softball extends winning streak to threeBy: Ryan Bergeron

Gators 13 Rams 2The Gator Softball team came to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning leading by a 4-2 score over the Roseau Rams. Then, 13 Gator batters came to the plate in this fourth inning to blow the game open with a nine runs. The Gators held the Rams in the fifth to win by ten-run-rule in a 13-2 final at home on April 15.

“Roseau played well for the first part of the game. They had not been on a field yet this spring so that was to our advantage,” Gator Head Coach Kent Christian said via email. “We hung in there and strung together a big inning. All in all (it was) a pretty solid performance.”

For the game, the Gators finished with 10 hits, but also reached on six walks and two hit batters off Roseau starting pitcher Chloe Johnson.

In the fourth inning alone, the Gators finished with seven hits. Highlighting this inning, Erika Howell hit a two-RBI triple and Kinsley Hanson an RBI double, and Asher Burslie capped the Gator scoring with a three-run home run.

Hanson led the Gators at the plate, going two for two and driving in three runs. Ella Heggedal finished two for two and Makenna Burslie two for three to also pace the Gators offensively.

On the pitching rubber, Mariah Christian earned the victory. In five innings of work, Christian gave up two runs on nine hits and four walks, and struck out three. I thought Mariah (Christian) pitched decent,” Coach Christian said via email. “(She had a) few too many walks but she competed and the defense behind her was solid!”

Gators 13 Warriors 10 The lead changed hands four times in the first four innings between the Gators and Warriors softball teams. After a Warrior run tied the game at 7-7 in the top of the sixth, the Gators broke the tie in the bottom of the inning with six runs. Three Warrior runs cut the Gator lead in half in the top of the seventh, but the Gators escaped, leaving the tying run at the plate, in a 13-10 victory at home on April 15-- the team’s second win of the day.

“It was a back and forth game,” Coach Christian said via email “... Warroad didn't roll over and made a game of it after we had a big bottom of the sixth with all the damage coming with two outs.”

In this sixth inning with two runners on and two outs, Ella Koebernick gave the Gators a 9-7 lead with a two-run single. Jacey Wojchowski and Hanson followed with consecutive RBI doubles to give the Gators an 11-7 lead. Hanson and Tessany

Blazek, who was hit by a pitch, came around to score to cap off the sixth-inning scoring.

Offensively, the Gators finished with 13 hits, but also took advantage of some Warrior pitching wildness, working out nine walks and reaching on a hit batter. Koebernick led the Gators, going three for three at the plate and driving in four runs. Mariah Christian finished three for five at the plate to also pace the Gators.

“Offensively I thought we hit the ball well,” Coach Christian said via email. “(We) squared up some balls nicely and made solid contact.”

Tessany Blazek started on the pitching rubber for the Gators. She gave up just one run in the first three innings-- that one run coming in the first-- but ran into trouble in the fourth when she gave up five runs. In the no-decision, Blazek pitched four innings, giving up six runs on eight hits and five walks and striking out two.

“I thought Tessany (Blazek) pitched pretty well but ran into some trouble against a good hitting team,” Coach Christian said via email.

The Gator Head Coach then turned to Lauren Kvien to pitch. After pitching a scoreless fifth inning and giving up just one run in the sixth, Coach Christian sent Kvien out to pitch the seventh. After Kvien allowed the first three runners to reach base, Coach Christian brought in Mariah Christian to finish the game.

“Kvien came in and also threw well. (She) needs to change speeds a little more but she will get there,” Coach Christian said. “... Mariah (Christian) came in and in a downpour (of rain) managed to hold the Warriors in check.”

Gators 23 Mustangs 0Coming off two games in which it reached double digits in runs scored, the Gators continued its hot hitting ways in a match-up versus the Red Lake County Central Mustangs. Playing as the road team at home, the Gators struck for three runs in the first, ten runs in the second, six runs in the third, and four in the fourth to run away with the 23-0 victory on April 18.

“Everybody hit. We just had a good-hitting day. Some days you have days like that,” Coach Christian said. “We’re capable of doing that, but the thing I tell them (is) your pitching and defense always has to be there because this is a game where sometimes that hitting is tough to come by.”

For the game, the Gators finished with 20 hits and worked out seven walks. All nine Gator batters finished with at least one hit. Isabella Monsrud led the Gator offense with her four for four day at the plate. Makenna Burslie, Mariah Christian, and Ella Koebernick each finished three for three for the Gators.

Asher Burslie finished two for four at the late, but led the team in RBI’s with six, four of them coming on her grand slam home run to cap the Gator scoring in the fourth. It was Burslie’s second home run in three games.

“She’s (Asher Burslie’s) gotten in the starting lineup and she says, ‘Coach, you better keep me here’ with hits like that. We got a lot of girls that can play and Asher’s playing real well,” Coach Christian said.

Mariah Christian earned the pitching victory in three innings of work, giving up just one hit, walking two, and striking out three. Ella Heggedal pitched a scoreless inning of relief, forcing the Mustangs’ Bailey Sherman to line out to her and throwing to third to catch the runner off the base for game-ending double play with the bases loaded.

With the win-- the team’s third in a row-- the Gators improved to 4-1 on the young season.

Next Action: After hitting the road for the first time this season versus the Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal Titans on April 22 and then the Red Lake Falls Eagles on April 23, the Gators head on the road again to play the East Grand Forks Senior High Green Wave on Thursday, April 25. The Gators then return home to host the Section 8A Coaches Classic Tournament on Saturday, April 27 and remain home to host the Red Lake Falls Eagles on Tuesday, April 30. Copyright of The Tribune (Greenbush, Minn.)

GATORS DROP HEARTBREAKER TO NCE-UH

In a rematch of last years section title game the BGMR Gators and Norman County East-Ulen Hitterdal Titans went toe to toe. Unfortunately for the Gators, the Titans used a 4 run seventh inning to down the Gators 5-4. The Titans would jump on the Gators in the bottom of the first when leadoff hitter Alivia Mortenson would hit a solo home run of Gator starting pitcher Tessany Blazek. After the homerun Blazek would settle in and kept the Titans in check. Blazek ended up throwing 4 1/3 innings, striking out 3 and walking 4. The Gators would score 3 in the fourth when with two outs Ella Koebernick and Jacey Wojchowski singled, Kinsley Hanson would drive a single to right which got by the right fielder allowing Koebernick and Wojchowski to score. Hanson would use heads up base running and scored when the Titans failed to cover home. The Gators would add a run in the fourth when Erika Howell just missed a home run. Howell would later score on another near homerun by Koebernick. Blazek would begin to tire in the fifth and Hanson came in relief. Hanson was able to get the Gators out of trouble and threw well until the seventh when she walked to first two batters. Mariah Christian came in looking to close the door but the Titans would not be denied as they had 3 hits off Christian and the Gators had two crucial errors. Titan starting pitcher Ryah Opsahl showed she is one of the top pitchers in Section 8A. Opsahl would go the distance striking out 9 while not walking a batter. Although the Gators did strike out 9 times they also had several good at bats. Koebernick led the Gators with 2 hits. The Gators will not have time to feel sorry for themselves as the travel to Red Lake Falls today to take on the Eagles. The Eagles and Gators are constantly battling for the top seed in the north half of Section 8A so todays game should be a good one.

EAGLES CRUSH GATORS The Red Lake Falls Eagles used a 6 run first inning and never looked back as the Eagles downed the Gators 17-11 in high school girl’s softball. The Gators would take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first but the Eagles responded with 6 in their half of the inning. Both teams would go back and forth until the fourth inning when the Eagles plated 9 runs, sending 13 batters to the plate, and pounded out 5 hits. With the Gators down to their last three outs and needing four runs to not let the game end via 10 run rule the never say die Gators plated 6 runs. It was however, too little too late, and the Eagles would take the Agassiz Conference victory. Offensively the Gators managed 11 hits. Lauren Kvien would pace the Gators with 3 hits. Erika Howell and Jacey Wojchowski would collect two hits apiece. The rest of the Gator lineup however was a combined 2 for 22. The young Gator pitchers also struggled as they gave up 11 hits, walked 7 and hit 3 batters. The Gators continue with their busy week tomorrow when they travel to East Grand Forks to take on the Green Wave. Saturday the Gators will be hosting the Coaches Classic Tournament with games beginning at 9:45. The season is flying by with playoffs just over 3 weeks away. Come on out and watch this aggressive, young Gator team in action.

GATORS CRUSH GREEN WAVE

With a strong wind blowing in from the outfield the BGMR Gators used their bunting game and had some timely hits to dismantle the East Grand Forks Green Wave 18-0 in a game shorten to four innings because of the 15 run rule. The Gators would jump on the Wave early as they scored 2 runs in both the first and second inning. The Gators would blow the game open in the third when they scored 14 runs with 6 of the Gators hits coming via bunt. Offensively the Green Wave were stymied by Gator starting pitcher Mariah Christian. Christian would throw all four innings giving up a lone hit in the bottom of the fourth inning. Christian would use her craftiness to strike out a career high 8 batters. BGMR offensively was led by the Burslie sisters. Makenna would have 4 hits while Asher would get 3. Four other Gators would get 2 hits apiece as the Gators would pound out 18 hits total. The Gators will now turn their attention to this weekends Coaches Classic Tournament being hosted by the Gators. 15 teams will be coming in to the Swamp for the varsity and j.v. tournament with action beginning at 9:45. Come on out and watch these young and aggressive Gators in action!

GATORS DOWN FALCONS

On a cool but sunny Saturday the BGMR Gator Softball Team open up with a first round victory in the Coaches Classic Softball Tournament. The Gators scored early and would cruise to a 12 -2 victory over Fertile-Beltrami Falcons. The Gators would take a 5-0 lead after the first inning and that would be all the Gators would need as BGMR starting pitcher Tessany Blazek would limit the Falcons to 2 runs on 8 hits while walking 6 apnd striking out 2. Blazek, who is an eighth grader would get her first career pitching victory. Offensively the Gators were solid as they pounded out 12 hits. The Gators would share the wealth offensively as five players had 2 hits each. The win pushed the Gators into semi-final action where they would take on the Eveleth-Gilbert Golden Bears.

GATORS ADVANCE TO COACHES CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP

Another strong first inning propelled the BGMR Gator Softball Team into the championship game of the Coaches Classic Softball Tournament. The Gators used a 5 run first inning, a 4 run second inning and raced to a 17-4 win over the Eveleth-Gilbert Golden Bears. Gator starting pitcher Mariah Christian went the distance in a game shorten to five innings because of the 10 run rule. Christian gave up 4 runs with all of them being earned. She allowed 9 hits, 4 walks and struck out 3. Offensively the Gators pounded out 17 hits. Kinsley Hanson led the charge with 4 hits and was a triple away from hitting for the cycle. Erika Howell laced 3 hits and four other Gators had 2 hits apiece. With the win the Gators moved into the championship game of the Coaches Classic. The Gators would take on Fargo Davies in a game that should be a good matchup of two solid teams.

GATORS WIN COACHES CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP

The BGMR Gator Softball team was looking to defend their Coach Classic Championship title and they did so with a 7-3 victory over Fargo Davies. The Gators again started strong as they scored two runs in the top of the first. Davies would answer with a run in the bottom of the first and took a 3-2 lead heading into the fifth. The Gators would answer with 3 runs of their own. With one out Makenna Burslie would get her 100th career hit in grand fashion with a home run. Mariah Christian and Erika Howell would later score to give the Gators the lead and one in which they would not relinquish. Offensively the Gators were led by Ella Koebernick and Erika Howell who had 3 hits each. Kinsley Hanson and Burslie had 2 hits. Gators starting pitcher Lauren Kvien struggled with her control early in the game. Kvien would strike out 3 and allowed only 1 hit but walked 6 in her 2 innings of pitching. Christian came in relief and did not allow a run, while striking out 5 to pick up the victory for the Gators Saturdays Coaches Classic was a success. The Gator junior varsity went 3-0 on the day and also played good softball. The BGMR Softball Team would like to thank all those who attended and those parents who worked the concession stand. Also a big thank you to Jessica Kuznia who made the chili which was a big hit. BGMR will continue with game action on Tuesday when the Red Lake Falls Eagles come to the Swamp. The Gators will be looking to avenge last weeks thumping the Eagles put on the Gators. The junior varsity game is set for 4:30 with the junior high to follow. Varsity game is 5:00. Come on out and watch this exciting Gator team.

EAGLES CRUSH GATORS

Out coached, out hit, out pitched and simply out played is the only way to describe the 18-4 beating the Red Lake Falls Eagles put on the BGMR Gator Softball team. It was the second time in a week that the Eagles destroyed the Gators. In two games the Eagles managed to plate 35 runs to only 15 for the Gators. After a scoreless first inning the Eagles would take a 1-0 lead with a run in the second. They would add to that lead with a 3 run third. The Gators managed 1 run in their half of the third but the Eagles would poor it on with 4 runs in the fourth and 5 runs in both the sixth and seventh inning. The Gators defense was non-existent as they committed 8 errors. Meanwhile Gator pitching would give up 16 walks, 1 hit batter and 11 hits. Offensively the lone bright spot for the Gators was Jacey Wojchowski who managed to get 3 of the 7 Gator hits. BGMR will hopefully get back on track today when they face the Northern Freeze. The Freeze seem to be an improving team under first year coach Tom Maki. The game originally slated for Newfolden has been move to Greenbush with a 5:00 start time. The season if going by fast and playoffs are just over 2 weeks away.

Gator Softball pulls away from FreezeBy: Ryan Bergeron

After watching his team suffer its worst defeat of the season—an 18-4 home loss to the Red Lake Falls Eagles on April 30—Gator Head Softball Coach Kent Christian wanted to see his team come out and play with a certain energy in its game against the Freeze.

“It’s a new day. I was looking for them to come out and play with a little intensity, a little fire,” Coach Christian said. “I thought they did a pretty good job with that.”

Leading 6-4 after two innings, the Gators used a five-run third inning, and four-run sixth inning to pull away from the Freeze for a 16-6, ten-run-rule victory in six innings on May 2.

Playing as the road team in a game originally scheduled for Newfolden, but moved to Greenbush, the Gator players busted their bats out for 17 hits. Leading the way, Mariah Christian, Isabella Monsrud and Asher Burslie each finished three for four at the plate. Kinsley Hanson and Makenna Burslie each finished two for four at the plate, and Erika Howell two for five to also pace the Gator offense.

The Gators took a 2-0 lead in the first on Howell and Hanson RBI singles. In the second, the Gators extended its lead to 6-0, highlighted by a Christian RBI double and a two-run Jacey Wojchowski single.

In the bottom of the second, the Freeze responded with four runs on four hits off Gator starting pitcher Mariah Christian, capitalizing on some Gator fielding errors along the way, to draw within two runs at 6-4, highlighted by a Zoey Magner single that drove in the first Freeze run of the inning.

Coach Tom Maki appreciated the effort he saw from this team in this game.

“They really stayed resilient and focused on getting back in the game. Offensively, they’re working on keep their back shoulder tall, keeping their hands back, and having good at-bats, not just swinging at pitches,” Coach Maki said. “And so we’ve been talking about that, having good at-bats, swinging at strikes, not helping the pitcher out and just driving through the ball.”

The Gators then countered with five runs on six hits in the third, including a Makenna Burslie two-run single, another Christian RBI double, and a two-run Hanson single, to take an 11-4 lead.

Again, the Freeze responded, this time with two runs, highlighted by an Eylie Homme RBI single and a Magner RBI fielder’s choice. The Gators led 11-6 after three innings.

Monsrud led off the fourth inning for the Gators with a double and came around to score on two wild pitches to give the Gators a 12-6 edge.

To start the fifth, the Freeze replaced its starting pitcher Homme with Magner. After being held scoreless in the fifth, the Gators used some small ball to touch up Magner and the Freeze for four runs in the sixth and take a 16-6 lead. In the inning, the Gators finished with four infield bunt singles.

The Freeze’s Reese Rustad hit a single to lead off the bottom of the sixth, but the Gators worked around it, stranding Rustad at second to maintain the ten-run lead and win in six innings.

After allowing six runs—three earned—on eight hits in the first three innings, Gator starting pitcher Christian settled in, allowing one hit and striking out four in the final three innings to earn the win. Overall, Christian gave up nine hits and three walks, hit one batter, and struck out seven.

Homme took the pitching loss for the Freeze, surrendering 12 runs—11 earned—on 13 hits and 4 walks. Brooke Glad led the Freeze offensively with her two for three day at the plate. Rustad and Homme each finished two for four at the plate to also pace the Freeze offensively.

Coach Maki now wants to see his team string together good innings offensively and defensively in the future. He thought his team made good plays and played smart against the defending Section 8A Champion Gators.

“We really didn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Maki said. “BGMR’s a very good team and they showed it at the end there. They were able to get bunts down and move first to third.”

Next Action: After hitting the road to face the Warroad Warriors on May 7, the Gators return home to host the Sacred Heart Eagles on Thursday, May 9 and then host the Gator Softball Classic tournament on Saturday, May 11. The following week, the Gators travel to Roseau to face the Rams on Tuesday, May 14. As the Gators near postseason play, Coach Christian is looking for consistency out of his team.

“Defensively today, I didn’t think we were on top of our game,” Coach Christian said following the Freeze game win. “(We) got to develop a little bit more consistency with our pitching. Offensively, I think we’ve been fine.”

Copyright of The Tribune (Greenbush, Minn.)

Badger-G-MR's young lineup still off to strong softball start Seven of the nine starters returned this spring from the Badger-Greenbush-Middle River team that won the Section 8A fastpitch championship last season.Written By: Greg DeVillers | May 4th 2019 - 8am.

Seven of the nine starters returned this spring from the Badger-Greenbush-Middle River team that won the Section 8A fastpitch championship last season.

Still, veteran Gators coach Kent Christian has to remind himself to be patient with his youthful lineup.

"You look out there sometimes and remember that, geez, they're still only eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders,'' Christian said. "They've played a lot of ball. But, quite often, I have to remind myself that they're still young.''

The Gators won the section title and finished sixth at the Minnesota Class A 2018 state tournament with only two seniors and one junior on their roster. That's decreased this season-senior Makenna Burslie and junior Ella Koebernick are the lone athletes in their respective classes on the fastpitch team.

For the second straight season, this is one of the youngest lineups Christian has had in his 24 seasons as the program's coach.

The Gators are off to a 9-4 start and, more often than not, they play like a veteran team.

"We still have some confusion-which base to throw to, who makes the cutoff, sometimes we'll bobble the ball,'' said Burslie, an all-state selection last season. "But we do usually play good defense.

"We do a lot of reps in practices. I think we're effective defensively because we work on it so much. They (younger players) are very good athletes. And they're passionate about the game.''

The biggest unknown is the pitching.

Carly Mekash, the pitching ace on last season's team, graduated. Sophomore Mariah Christian has moved up from No. 2 to No. 1 starter and the coach's daughter is 7-1 with a 2.36 earned run average. But depth is a concern.

"Mariah's a pretty good pitcher,'' Kent Christian said. "She isn't a big strikeout pitcher. She's crafty, changing speeds and moving the ball around. I think the team feels comfortable with her pitching. But we never have gone with just one pitcher.

"That's the name of the game in softball-if you don't have pitching in fastpitch, you struggle. And we're having some trouble throwing strikes.''

The pitchers generally are getting offensive support. The Gators have a .431 team batting average and average more than 11 runs a game.

Through its first 12 games, B-G-MR had four .500 hitters-sophomore Erika Howell (.543), Koebernick (.531), eighth-grader Kinsley Hanson (.514 and leading the team with three home runs, 12 extra-base hits and 20 RBI) and Burslie (.500.

Not far behind them are freshman Jacey Wojchowski (.485), freshman Lauren Kvien (.444), sophomore Ella Heggedal (.421), sophomore Isabella Monsrud (.391) and Christian (.333).

All but Kvien and Monsrud are returning regulars from last season.

"Offensively, we've been tearing the ball up pretty well,'' Kent Christian said. "We've actually hit a lot of home runs (nine). That part has surprised me, the power we've shown.

"I've never had this kind of balance throughout the lineup. I think a lot of it is because this group has played so much ball. They've seen a lot of pitching. And we have good athletes; just about all of them are at least two-sport athletes; quite a few of them are three-sport kids.''

It is a group that has experienced success. And that's a driving force.

"I think we're hungrier this year,'' said Burslie, who has started on B-G-MR teams that have played in the state tournament in two of the past three seasons. "We're always looking for ways to improve. We want to go back to state.''

Gators pull out win over ProwlersTeam claims top seed in sub-section

By: Ryan Bergeron

Leading 7-3 going into the bottom of the seventh inning over the Class AA Thief River Falls Prowlers, the Gators allowed a run to score after an infield error. The run would have scored regardless of the error, but the Gators still had just one out and the Prowlers had the tying run at the plate. Gator Head Coach Kent Christian went out to visit with his infield players. His message?

“Calm down, let’s get outs, make some defensive plays,” Coach Christian said.Gator starting pitcher Mariah Christian and her defense did just that. Gator left fielder Bella Monsrud would catch two fly balls-- sandwiching an RBI single that cut the team’s lead to two-- and the Gators escaped with the 7-5 road victory over the Prowlers on May 17 to end the regular season. Before this seventh inning, the Gators would jump on the Prowlers and its starter Lexi Huot in the first inning. The Gators scored two runs on three hits, including a two-out, two-run single by Jacey Wojchowski.

The Gators tacked on another run in the third off a Mariah Christian sacrifice fly to take a 3-0 lead in the top of the third-- taking advantage of an outfield error-- but the Prowlers responded in the bottom of the inning-- taking advantage of some Gator fielding miscues with two outs to tie the game at 3-3.

The Gators reclaimed the lead in the sixth on another Wojchowski two-run single to take a 5-3 edge. The Gators added some insurance in the seventh-- again taking advantage of a Prowler fielding error.

In this seventh inning, Mariah Christian followed a Makenna Burslie double with a run-scoring single. But on the play, when Christian attempted to advance to second base on the throw back into the infield, the Prowlers’ errant throw to get Christian out went into the outfield, allowing her to score the seventh Gator run.

Offensively, the Gators scored its seven runs-- five earned-- on 10 hits and one hit batter, and struck out just twice versus Prowlers’ starter Huot.

“I thought we had good at-bats, didn’t chase pitches, made good contact,” Coach Christian said. “Just all in all, (we) had a good offensive game.”

Wojchowski led the Gators offensively, finishing two for three with four RBI. Mariah Christian finished two for three with a couple RBI, Ella Koebernick two for three and Erika Howell two for four to also pace the Gators.

In the pitching circle, Mariah Christian went the distance to earn the win, surrendering five runs-- none earned-- on four hits and three walks, and struck out three.

The Prowlers came into this game with a 17-2 record and on an 11-game winning streak.

Asked about the importance of this win heading into the playoffs, Coach Christian said, “Nice win for our girls. It’s been a long time. I don’t know (if it’s been) six, seven years since we beat them, so it was a nice win but the real season (the playoffs) starts on Tuesday.”

Before the playoffs, the Gators earned some Agassiz Valley Conference honors. Makenna Burslie, Erika Howell and Mariah Christian earned All-Conference honors, Kinsley Hanson All-Conference Honorable Mention honors, and Coach Christian Co-Coach of the Year.

Next Action: The Gators would open the Section 8A playoffs as the top-seeded team in its sub-section and host the Red Lake Warriors on May 21. If the team advances from this round, it remains home to host the sub-section tournament on Thursday, May 23. The section tournament begins on Tuesday, May 28 from Lake of the Woods High School.

Copyright of The Tribune (Greenbush, Minn.)

GATORS UPEND WARRIORS

The BGMR Gator Softball team again got off to a hot start when they scored five runs in the top half of the first and never looked back as the Gators took down the Warroad Warriors 17-3. The Gators would score in every inning while racking up 18 hits. Every Gator starter collected at least 1 hit and eight of the nine Gator starters scored at least one time. Gator starting pitch Mariah Christian would pitch 6 solid innings. Christian would give up 3 runs, 2 which were earned, allowed 8 hits, did not walk a batter and struck out 4. Kinsley Hanson would pitch the 7th inning for the Gators allowing 1 hit, walking one and not allowing a run. Offensively BGMR punished the softball. Makenna Burslie and Erika Howell continued their torrid hitting with 3 hits apiece. Hanson, Christian, Lauren Kvien, Bella Monsrud, and Ella Heggedal would garner two hits each. The win pushed the Gators season record to 10-4. BGMR will return home on Thursday when they take on Sacred Heart. Game time is slated for 4:30. BGMR will host the Gator Classic softball tournament this weekend. Games are scheduled to start at 10:00. The playoffs are just around the corner so come on out and catch this ever improving Gator softball team. The Gators Softball program would also like to take this time to congratulate Warrior head coach Terry Sadler as he was recently informed that he has been elected to the Minnesota Softball Hall of Fame.

Gator bats lead the way in routBy: Ryan Bergeron

The Gators entered a May 9 home match-up with the Sacred Heart Eagles after scoring a combined 33 runs in its two previous games-- both wins. The Gators kept the hot bats going and with it the wins, led by a pair of home runs, in a 19-3 four-inning victory.

“We hit the ball real well today and we’ve been doing that lately,” Gator Head Coach Kent Christian said. “The girls (are) really going up there with a lot of confidence and they’re actually sending the ball out of the park a little bit.”

Kinsley Hanson became the first Gator player in the game to send the ball out of the park, when she hit a two-run home run as part of a ten-run second inning. Hanson also hit two doubles to finish three for three at the plate with four RBI. Coach Christian wasn’t surprised by this performance, seeing it from her the last few weeks.

“She’s (Hanson’s) just getting better and better and it’s a confidence deal. Good thing is she’s only an eighth grader,” Coach Christian said. “Last year, she was really hard on herself because she didn’t hit as well as what she’d hoped and this year she’s stinging it.”

Asher Burslie hit the second Gator home run-- a three-run shot-- as part of the Gators’ five-run third inning. This hit brought in the final Gator runs of the game, giving the team at that time a 19-1 lead. Burslie finished three for three at the plate with three RBI.

As a team, the Gators would finish with 11 hits and coax 7 walks off Eagles’ starting pitcher Chloe Hanson.

After Gator starting pitcher Mariah Christian struck out the side in the top of the first inning, the Gators went to work offensively with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Highlighting the bottom of the first inning, Jacey Wojchowski hit an RBI single and Kinsley Hanson an RBI double.

In the ten-run second inning, 14 Gator batters came to the plate and the team picked up six hits. Kinsley Hanson highlighted the inning with her two-run home run, but Christian also brought in a couple runs on a triple.

During the Gators’ five-run third inning, nine Gator batters came to the plate. Besides Asher Burslie’s three-run home run, Kinsley Hanson’s two-run double and Isabella Monsrud’s RBI single also highlighted the inning.

Gator starting pitcher Christian set down the first six Eagle batters in order, but ran into some trouble over the final two innings.

A Sarah Kraft RBI single brought in the first Eagle run with one out. Two batters later, the Gators picked up two outs on one play thanks to a runner interference call. The Eagles did tack on two more runs in the fourth off a Grace Vonesh RBI double and a Chloe Hanson RBI single. Hanson led the Eagles at the plate with her two for two day.

Christian still earned the pitching victory for the Gators. In her four innings of work, she gave up the three runs-- all earned-- on five hits, no walks, and one hit batter, and struck out six.

Copyright of The Tribune (Greenbush, Minn.)

Gators 15 Fusion 4 The Gators opening tournament game versus the West Marshall Fusion remained tight early. The Gators held leads of 3-2, 4-3, and 7-4. But, playing as the road team, the Gators broke the game open with an eight-run fifth inning and held the Fusion scoreless in the bottom of the inning to earn the ten-run rule victory.

The Gators jumped on the Fusion early for three runs in the top of the first, highlighted by a Koebernick RBI single, Wojchowski RBI groundout, and Kinsley Hanson RBI double. The first two Fusion batters would reach by walks against Gator starting pitcher Kvien and eventually come around to score to cut the Gator lead to 3-2 after one inning.

Hanson extended the Gator lead back to two, at 4-2, with an RBI single in the top of the third inning. She left the game after this and wouldn’t play the rest of the day due to an injury she suffered at practice the day prior. Another walked Fusion batter would come around to score in the bottom of the third to cut the Gator lead back to one.

The Gators scored three runs in the fourth inning to create some separation, at 7-3, thanks to some small ball. The first run came in on a Mariah Christian RBI bunt single, the second on a Howell RBI sacrifice bunt, and the final run on a wild pitch.

An Annika Carlson RBI double in the bottom of the fourth cut the Gator lead to 7-4, but then the Gators broke the game open with the eight-run fifth inning.In this inning, 11 Gator batters came to the plate, collecting six hits along the way. Highlighting the inning, Kvien, Makenna Burslie and Wojchowski hit RBI singles, and Howell hit a two-run double.

Offensively, Makenna Burslie led the Gators with her three for four performance at the plate. Howell finished two for three at the plate with three RBI, Hanson two for two with two RBI, and Asher Burslie two for two to also pace the Gators.

Kvien pitched all five innings for the Gators to earn the win, surrendering four runs--three earned-- on four hits and five walks, and striking out four.

Gators 15 Bears 0 The Gators jumped on the Bears early and never allowed them to get going offensively. It added up to a 15-0, four-inning victory that advanced the Gators into the championship game.

Eleven Gator batters came to the plate to aid the Gators to a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. In the inning, the Gators finished with four hits, but scored five of its runs off wild pitches. Another run came in on a Koebernick RBI groundout, and the other on a Kvien RBI bunt single.

After tacking on two more runs in the second, the Gators scored six more runs on five hits in the third. A Howell two-run single and Kvien RBI single highlighted this inning.

Kvien led the Gators offensively with her three for three performance at the plate with two RBI. Monsrud, Howell, and Koebernick each finished two for three to pace the Gators offensively. Howell also drove in three runs.

On the mound, Mariah Christian shut down the Bears offense to earn the pitching win. In four innings, she threw a no-hitter, allowing two batters to reach by walk and another to reach on her own fielding error, and striking out three.

Next Action: After heading to Roseau to face the Rams on May 14, the Gators will travel to Thief River Falls on Friday, May 17 to face the Thief River Falls Prowlers to end the regular season. The Section 8A softball playoffs officially begin on Tuesday, May 21.

Third time’s a charm: Gator Softball defeats Red Lake Falls for Gator Classic Tournament title

By: Ryan Bergeron

Seeing his team trailing 4-2, Gator Coach Kent Christian had his starting pitcher Lauren Kvien switch positions with second base player Erika Howell in the third inning of the Gator Classic Tournament title game versus the Red Lake Falls Eagles. Two batters later, these two players would be a part of play that set off a celebration amongst the Gator players and fans.

With a runner on first and one out, Howell threw a pitch to the Eagles’ Mya Seeger that was hit to Kvien at second. Kvien fielded the ball, threw it from her knees to shortstop Mariah Christian. She caught the ball, touched second and wiped the ball over to first base player Jacey Wojchowski, who stretched into the splits to catch the ball, completing the double play, and setting off the celebration.

The Gators would eventually take the lead and give it back up. Trailing 6-5 going into the top of the seventh and playing as the road team, the Gators rallied for five runs in the seventh inning and held off the Eagles in the bottom of the inning for the 10-6 championship victory at the Gator Softball Complex in Greenbush on May 11.

Asked about that earlier double play and how it impacted the game, Coach Christian instead pointed to his team’s overall defensive play and the performance of his relief pitcher Howell.

“There were a lot of big plays. I thought (third base player Ella) Koebernick had a nice catch over by the dugout (in the bottom of the fifth),” Coach Christian said. “... I thought defensively we played really well. I think a lot of credit goes to Erika Howell for coming in relief and really shutting them down.”

Over five innings, Howell gave up two runs on four hits and three walks, and struck out one to earn the victory in relief over a team that had outscored the Gators 35-5 over two losses earlier this season.

“The first two times we played them (the Eagles), they just got on us and we didn’t play too well and today we hung in there,” Coach Christian said.

The Gators would trail 4-0 after giving up a pair of runs in the first and second innings. Then, the Gators responded in the third. Howell would hit a two-run single to cut the deficit in half. A Kvien home run over the left field fence then drew the Gators to within one run, at 4-3, in the fourth.

In the fifth, the Gators completed the rally. A Wojchowski RBI groundout tied the game, and pinch runner Emma Heggedal scored on a wild pitch to give the Gators its first lead of the game at 5-4.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Eagles reclaimed the lead, at 6-5, with two straight two-out singles. The Gators escaped a bases loaded jam later in the inning, but now trailed and needed to score at least one run to keep the game alive.The Gators rallied for the second time. Mariah Christian hit an RBI triple just past the glove of the Eagles’ center fielder in right center field. Howell then hit a sharp ground ball past a drawn in infield for an RBI single that gave the Gators a 7-6 lead. Koebernick followed with an RBI triple, Wojchowski with an RBI sacrifice fly, and Isabella Monsrud with an RBI double to tack on three more runs and provide the final margin.

Besides earning the win in the pitching circle, Howell led the Gators at the plate, finishing four for four with three RBI. Kvien finished three for four, Mariah Christian two for three, and Monsrud and Makenna Burslie each two for four to also pace the Gators offensively.

Asked about the message to his team following this victory and now nearing postseason play, Coach Christian said, “Keep getting better. Worry about yourselves.”

Here are recaps on the other two games the Gators won to advance to the championship game.

GATORS SWEEP SEASON SERIES WITH RAMS

With the regular season winding down the BGMR Gator Softball team traveled to Roseau to take on the Rams. The Gators, who back in early April beat the Rams 13-2, found themselves down early but able to put together just enough offense and beat the Rams 5-3. The Gators would be down 2-0 after the first inning when the Ram’s Kiana Flaig would belt a 2 run home run. The Gators would bounce back with 2 runs in the third inning when Ella Koebernick belted a two run shot for the Gators. BGMR would score two more in the fourth on a two run single by Mariah Christian and after giving up a run to the Rams in the fifth BGMR would score an insurance run in the sixth to complete the scoring. Defensively the Gators were solid. They did commit two unnecessary errors but were aided by strong defensively play. In particular Erika Howell turned a nifty double play. Gator starting pitcher Christian went the distance giving up 3 runs, 2 earned, on 5 hits. Christian walked 4 and struck out 4. Offensively BGMR struggled a bit as the left 10 runners on base. BGMR did manage 10 hits with Makenna Burslie, Koebernick, and Jacy Wojchowski each getting two hits. The Gators will now finish up regular season play on Friday when the travel to Thief River Falls to take on a red hot Prowler team. Game time is set for 4:00 and the Gators will need to be at their best against one of the better teams in Section 8AA.

GATOR SOFTBALL OPENS POST SEASON WITH WIN

The BGMR Gator Softball Team opened their post season run with a 10-0, 5 inning victory over the Red Lake Warriors. The Gators, who were the north subsection #1 seed jumped on the Warriors early as the Gators scored 6 runs in the top of the first. Much to the credit of the Warriors they held the Gators scoreless in the second and fourth innings. BGMR however did score 1 run in the third and 3 more in the fifth to end the game via 10 run rule. Gator starting pitcher Lauren Kvien went the distance. Kvien would strike out five, walk 3 and give up 2 hits. It was the first post season pitching win for Kvien who is a sophomore. Offensively the Gators struggled for much of the game. BGMR did manage 10 hits with most of them being bunt hits on a Warrior defense that was playing deep. Erika Howell, Ella Koebernick, and Jacey Wojchowski each collected two hits for the Gators. The win now pushes the Gators into the double elimination part of the playoffs. The Gators will face the Northern Freeze on Thursday at 4:00. The Freeze were victorious over the West Marshall Fusion. The Red Lake Falls Eagles will be taking on Lake of the Woods in the other 4:00 game. Winners will meet for the subsection championship and the losers will meet in a loser out game. BGMR will be hosting the action on Thursday. Come on out and watch some exciting playoff softball.

Gators 21 Freeze 1The Gators advanced into the sub-section championship game thanks also to strong play on both sides of the ball en route to the 20-run, four-inning victory over the Freeze in the sub-section semifinals.

To open the scoring, the Gators put four runs on the board in the first, highlighted by a Kinsley Hanson two-run double and a Monsrud RBI sacrifice fly. The Gators would break the game wide open in the second with 12 runs.

In this second inning, 16 Gator batters came to the plate, picking up eight hits along the way, to open up a 16-0 lead. A two-run triple by Howell, two-run singles by Koebernick and Makenna Burslie, a Hanson RBI double, and RBI singles by Kvien and Monsrud highlighted this Gator inning.

The Gators tacked on five unearned runs in the third to account for the team’s 21 runs—the team’s second highest run total this season. Offensively, the Gators racked up 14 hits off Freeze starting pitcher Zoey Magner.

Makenna Burslie led the Gators with a three for three day at the plate. Christian, Howell, and Monsrud each finished two for two and Hanson two for three at the plate to also pace the Gators. Ellia Bass led off the Freeze fourth inning with a walk against Gator relief pitcher Tessany Blazek. Bass then came around to score after another walk and two wild pitches, ending the Gator shutout and providing for the final margin.

Christian earned the pitching victory for the Gators in three innings of work, surrendering no hits and striking out two. Christian and Blazek combined to hold the Freeze hitless. Three Freeze batters reached base on walks.

Next Action: Having outscored its opponents 41-1 in its sub-section tournament, the Gators would head to Baudette to face the winner of the other sub-section, the Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal Titans, in the Section 8A Tournament on May 28.

The winner of this game would advance to the section championship, needing just one victory to claim the section title. The loser of this game would need to win three straight elimination games to capture the section crown. No matter the result of this game, the Gators will play on Thursday, May 30 also in Baudette.

Asked about the message to his team heading into section play, Coach Christian said, “Let’s keep the train going in the right direction. It’s going to be tough. There’s a lot of good teams out there and we just have to have some good days of softball next week.”

Copyright of The Tribune (Greenbush, Minn.)

Gators “put bat on the ball” to win sub-section titleBy: Ryan Bergeron

The Gator Softball team led 3-0 going into the bottom of the fifth inning versus the Red Lake Falls Eagles in the sub-section championship game on May 23 in Greenbush. Gator junior Ella Koebernick coaxed a walk on 3-2 pitch following a long at-bat to load the bases with no outs. Then, the Gators went to doing what it had done all day long to that point: hit.

Following Koebernick’s walk, Jacey Wojchowski ripped a first-pitch, three-run double to the fence in left centerfield. The Gators wouldn’t look back, scoring four more runs in the inning, to defeat the Eagles 10-0 in five innings and clinch a sub-section title in front of their hometown fans.

“I think all day we had a pretty good approach,” Gator Coach Kent Christian said about his team’s offense. “Girls put the bat on the ball. I think we took a lot of pitches and actually took advantage of a couple misplays by RLF, so all in all, it was a good day for us.”

Earlier in the day, the Gators would defeat the Northern Freeze 21-1 in the sub-section semifinals. In the sub-section championship victory, the Gators pounded out 14 hits off Eagles’ starting pitcher Carly Williams.

The Gators opened the game with a pair of runs in the first and a run in the third before breaking the game open and ending it with the seven-run fifth inning. In this inning, following the Wojchowski three-run double, Lauren Kvien would hit an RBI triple, Isabella Monsrud an RBI bunt single, and Makenna Burslie a two-run single to clinch the victory by ten-run rule.

The only senior on this year’s Gator team, Burslie would accept the sub-section championship trophy on the team’s behalf and held it high above her head before her teammates met her to hold the trophy together.

Offensively, Erika Howell and Jacey Wojchowski led the Gators. Howell finished three for three at the plate and Wojchowski finished two for two with a game-high five RBI. Isabella Monsrud and Ella Heggedal each finished two for three at the plate and Makenna Burslie two for four to also pace the Gator offense.

Outside the team’s offense, the Gators also received solid play on the other side of the diamond. Mariah Christian would pitch five shutout innings to earn the win, surrendering just one hit and one walk, hitting two batters, and striking out seven.

“She’d (Mariah) be the first to say her defense,” Coach Christian said when asked what made his starting pitcher so effective. “Defense is behind her. She’s not a huge strikeout pitcher. I thought she threw really well, but her defense behind her made the plays.”Defensively, the Gators committed just one error in the field.

Gators capture back-to-back section titlesBy: Ryan Bergeron

Gators 3 Titans 2 (section semifinals)After outscoring its opponents 41-1 en route to a sub-section title, the Gators would run into a tough opponent in the pitching circle in Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal Titans pitcher Ryah Opsahl.

Despite the opponent, the Gators continued its hot hitting early on, scoring two runs in the first and scratching across a run in the fourth, and it held off the Titans late to win 3-2 in Baudette on May 28 and advance to the Section 8A Championship.

Coach Christian stressed the importance of his team’s start in this game.

“(We) came out swinging right away, got two runs, and (it) just let us relax a little bit,” Coach Christian said.

After the Gators loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the first, Ella Koebernick hit a two-run single to give the Gators that 2-0 lead.

During the game, the Gators would encounter a couple tight situations out in the field. The first such situation came in the bottom of the third. Still leading 2-0 at the time, the Gators allowed the Titans to load the bases with no outs. Coach Christian went out for a visit and out of that his team responded.

The Titans’ Alivia Mortenson hit the ball to Gator second base player Erika Howell, who tagged the runner out running to second and threw to first for the double play. A run scored on the play, but the Gators had two outs and still led by one. Gator starting pitcher Mariah Christian influenced Opsahl to hit a fly ball to right to end the threat and keep the Gators on top.

Koebernick would then lead off the fourth inning with a double and slide into home safely on a two-out wild pitch, giving the Gators a 3-1 lead and what proved to be the game-winning run.

The Gators encountered it second tight situation in the bottom of the sixth. After already surrendering a run on an Anna Knutson RBI single, the Gators were faced with a second and third situation with two outs and a one-run lead.

Coach Christian went out for another visit and his team again responded. This time, Mariah Christian influenced Anna Carlson to fly out to right to help the Gators escape again with its one-run lead still intact. In these tight situations, Coach Christian saw several attributes from his team—perseverance and intensity.

“I saw all those things that we preach, but you never really know if it’s going to happen until you get into the game,” Coach Christian said. “You get into games like

this and it comes down to one or two plays. They (the Titans) get a big hit there and we’re in trouble, but our girls came through.”

In the winning effort, Gator pitcher Christian would help the team escape these tight situations, but early on didn’t encounter many such situations. She retired the first six Titans batters in order before giving up a leadoff bunt single in the third. Christian also retired the Titans in order in the final inning to preserve the Gator win. In seven innings, she gave up two runs on three hits, two hit batters, and no walks, and struck out four.

“(Mariah was) very strong early. She was working ahead of batters, had a nice changeup,” Coach Christian said. “I thought she got a little tired probably around the fifth inning, but again she’s a competitor.”

Offensively, the Gators managed seven hits off Opsahl. Koebernick led the Gators after going two for three at the plate with two RBI. Christian also finished two for three for the Gators.

With the win, the Gators advanced to the section championship—one win away from repeating as section champions.

Asked what his team had to do to finish the job, Coach Christian said, “Win. Score more runs than them. Come out and play Gator Softball.”

Gators 4 Titans 2 (section championship)The Gators trailed 2-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning to the Titans and appeared possibly headed to a second game to decide the section championship in Baudette on May 30. The Gators had other plans.

With runners on first and second and one out, eighth-grader Kinsley Hanson ripped a two-run triple to right field. When she arrived at third base, she jumped up and down and put both arms straight up, clenching both her fists after giving the Gators a 3-2 lead. What was she thinking when she got to third?

“Holy crap I just hit the ball, “Hanson said with a laugh, “Yeah, that’s the first time I’ve hit off her (Opsahl) so I was pretty happy.”

Asked about how it felt to get this game-winning hit to send her team to state, Hanson said, “Awesome. I’m so happy.”

In the next at-bat, she then rushed home and slid in safely ahead of the tag on a Lauren Kvien RBI bunt single to give the Gators a 4-2 lead. The Gators held the Titans scoreless in the seventh to win by the same score, securing the program of back-to-back Section 8A titles and the ninth overall in its history.

Asked about his team’s performance in the bottom of the sixth, Coach Christian said, “They just came up with some big hits. They’ve been battling all day, going against one heck of a pitcher (in Opsahl), and we just pieced together some hits.”

Early on, after allowing an unearned run in the top of the third, the Gators battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the inning following an Ella Heggedal lead-off triple and a Makenna Burslie RBI ground out.

The Titans quickly reclaimed the lead on a Mortenson RBI single in the top of the fourth and the score remained that way until that sixth inning.

Offensively, the Gators managed 10 hits off Titan starter Opsahl. Christian, Kvien and Isabella Monsrud led the Gators, each going two for three at the plate.

The Titans threatened to tie the game in the seventh. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Gator pitcher Christian gave up a single to Anna Knutson, influencing a visit between catcher Jacey Wojchowski and Christian.

Following a walk to Anna Carlson that put runners at first and second, Coach Christian went out for a visit, calling all his players on the field into the pitching circle, including his outfielders.

Asked what Coach Christian’s message was during this visit, starting pitcher Christian said, “Make plays. You have great defense behind you. Just throw a strike and they’ll do the rest.”

In the very next at-bat, Christian influenced Jessica Wold to hit a fly ball into the glove of Gator right fielder Ella Heggedal to clinch the victory.

In the winning complete game effort, Christian surrendered two runs—one earned—on seven hits and five walks, and struck out five.

“I don’t think Mariah had her best stuff today, but she definitely battled for us,” Coach Christian said. “Defense was there for us for the most part and again we just hung in there and never quit.”

To be out there in the pitching circle in the section championship game for the second straight season, Mariah Christian said the experience was nerve-wracking.

“But at the same time I wanted to win and go back to Mankato,” Christian said.

The lone senior on this year’s Gator team, Makenna Burslie is heading back to state yet again. She appreciates the opportunity to return to state, but also understands how the program has achieved such opportunities during her career.

Gators “battle” to state runner-up finishBy: Ryan Bergeron

The word “battled” was a word Gator Head Coach Kent Christian used to describe his softball team’s effort throughout the Minnesota State High School League State Softball Tournament from Caswell Park in North Mankato, June 6 and 7.

Seeded fifth in the tournament, the Gators opened the tournament with a come-from-behind quarterfinal victory over the undefeated and fourth-seeded Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Buccaneers 4-2. The Gators then met up with the top-seeded and two-time defending state champion New York Mills Eagles in the semifinals. Under the lights, the Gators bats came alive late to help the team pull out an 8-4. With this win, the Gators advanced to its third state tournament championship game in program history—still in search of its first state championship.

The Gators’ state championship game opponent would be the same one it faced in its last state championship game appearance in 2016—the third-seeded Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian Flying Dutchmen. Trailing 4-0 heading into the seventh inning, the Gators continued to battle for one run and brought the tying run to the plate. But, the Gators could do no more, falling by a 4-1 final to finish as the state runner-up.

Gators 4 Buccaneers 2Appearing in the program’s first state tournament, the Buccaneers loudly made their presence known to the Gators with a two-run home run by Autumn Taylor—the second batter who came up in the bottom of the first inning. Then Gator starting pitcher Mariah Christian and the Gator team settled in, holding serve and eventually rallying for the victory.

After that first inning, the Gator starting pitcher walked four batters and hit one, but gave up just two hits and no runs the rest of the way. Asked what he saw from Mariah after that two-run home run, Coach Christian first pointed to the players around her. For the game, the Gator defense played error-free ball.

“I saw really good defense behind her,” Coach Christian said. “Again, I thought she was struggling a little bit, but she’s done it all year—competed and did a nice job.”

This Gator defense came up clutch in some tight moments late too. With the Gators leading 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth, Christian surrendered a two-out triple, but forced Allison Rients to hit a ground ball to second base to help the Gators escape the jam.

Then in the seventh, Christian gave up a one-out walk, putting the tying run at the plate in Taylor—the player who put the Gators in the early deficit, but before she step up to the plate, Coach Christian met with his team in the pitching circle.

“Don’t worry about that runner at first… The runner at home is the tying run, so get an out somewhere,” Coach Christian said when asked about the message to his team during this visit.

The Gators did just that and more quickly. In the ensuing at-bat, Christian caught a live drive off the Taylor’s bat and threw to first base teammate Ella Koebernick to force out the runner at first who had left early and complete the double play. Christian jumped up and then hugged Koebernick in celebration.

In the complete game winning effort, Christian gave up just the two runs on four hits, four walks, and one hit batter, and struck out five.

Meanwhile, the Gator offense eventually got going against Buccaneers pitcher Trista Hering, who entered the tournament with 195 strikeouts. During the Buccaneers’ 22-0 regular season, the team had given up no more than four runs in one game and did that once. Despite striking out nine times, the Gators match that four-run total, scoring all its runs with two outs, to hand the Buccaneers its first loss of the season. Ella Heggedal led the Gators with a two for three day at the plate.

“I think we just battled the whole game,” Coach Christian said. “(We) persevered again; we’ve talked about that a lot. And (we) put a couple balls in play, created some breaks for ourselves.”

In the fourth inning, the Gators pulled within one on a two-out Kinsley Hanson RBI double to right field. Then, the team took the lead for good in the fifth on a two-out Christian RBI double and an Erika Howell RBI single. The Gators added an unearned insurance run in the seventh, also with two outs, to win by the final margin.

Gators 8 Eagles 4 The Gators had allowed the Eagles to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth inning, but still had some trouble to escape out of in the inning—the bases loaded with just one out.

In the ensuing at-bat, Grace Christenson hit a line drive that skimmed off the glove of Gator starting pitcher Mariah Christian’s glove. Erika Howell caught the ball in the air and touched second base to double up the runner who had left that base early to help the Gators escape the jam and keep the game tied.

“We had somebody looking out for us on that one. (On) that shot, Erika (Howell) made a nice play,” Christian said about this double play. “That was kind of one of those innings where we weren’t playing real well, but we got out of it.”

Then, in the bottom of the inning, Lauren Kvien ripped a solo home run to center field to give the Gators a lead it would not relinquish again.

“I think probably one of the big hits was the home run by Kvien,” Coach Christian said. “(It) kind of got us going and then (we) just made some solid contact with runners in scoring position.”

The Gators tacked on three runs in the fifth on a two-run Jacey Wojchowski double and a Kvien RBI double to take a 5-1 lead.

The two-time defending Class A Champion Eagles rallied in the top of the sixth versus the Gators, scoring three runs, all coming in on a three-run Sierra Gerber double that cut the Gator lead to 5-4 with one out. Christian forced two groundball outs in the next two at-bats to keep the Gator lead intact.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Gators responded with three runs of its own—the first on a Christian RBI single and the last two on a Jacey Wojchowski single, providing the final margin.

For the game, the Gators finished with 12 hits. Kvien led the way with her three for three day at the plate with a couple RBI. Mariah Christian finished three for four at the plate with two RBI, Ella Heggedal two for three, Howell two for four, and Wojchowski two for four with four RBI to also pace the Gators offensively.

“I thought we hit the ball really well,” Coach Christian said. “I still think we made some mistakes on defense, but we hung on there and battled.”

The Eagles started a rally in the seventh, but the Gators squashed it quickly in similar fashion to how it ended its quarterfinal victory. With one out and runners at first and third, Gator shortstop Kinsley Hanson caught a line drive off the bat of Tiffany Thompson and threw the ball to first base teammate Ella Koebernick to force out the runner at first who had left early and complete another double play—the Gator defense’s third double play of the game.

In the complete game winning pitching effort, Christian gave up the four runs on nine hits and two walks, and struck out two.

Gators 1 Flying Dutchmen 4Facing the Flying Dutchmen in the state finals for the second time in the last four seasons, the Gators surrendered the first runs of the game, but continued to do what it had done all tournament long—battle.

Trailing 4-0 going into the seventh, the Gators’ Howell led off the inning with a single. After the first out was recorded, Wojchowski hit a single to put runners at first and third. After the second out was recorded, Kvien hit an infield RBI single to put the Gators on the board. With two runners on base now and two outs, Coach Christian brought in Asher Burslie to pinch hit as the tying run. Burslie struck out to end the Gators’ threat and run at its first state title.

“Anytime you make it to the state tournament that’s something special,” Coach Christian said. “These girls worked really hard, battled this whole game. I thought we had a couple things go against us and we kept battling, and that was good to see.”

In this championship game, Gator starting pitcher Mariah Christian allowed the Flying Dutchmen to strike first with two doubles to lead off the bottom of the fourth, the second one a Gabby Buckridge RBI double that broke a scoreless tie.

The Dutchmen added three more runs in the fifth, coming on a Jessa Nibbelink RBI single and a two-run Jazy Prins single, to put the Gators in a 4-0 deficit.

Meanwhile, before the seventh, the Gators had struggled to get going offensively off of Flying Dutchmen starting pitcher Sierra Van Dyke. The Gators managed the one run on six hits and struck out six times.

Outside the seventh inning, the Gators did manage to put together a threat in the second. With one out and a runner on first and two outs, Gator pinch runner Tessany Blazek attempted to run to third on a Lauren Kvien single. Blazek would get thrown out at third on the play to end the inning.

“I thought she (Van Dyke) changed speeds really well,” Coach Christian said. “I thought we were making good contact and they just made some plays.”

Offensively, Wojchowski and Kvien led the Gators, each going two for three at the plate. On the pitching rubber, Christian took the loss, surrendering four runs on nine hits, one walk and one hit batter, and striking out six over six innings.

Immediately following the tournament, three Gators earned Class A All-Tournament Honors, including Ella Heggedal, Lauren Kvien, and Mariah Christian. Appearing in the program’s ninth state tournament, the Section 8A Champion and state runner-up Gators ended the season with a 23-5 record. With the end of the 2018-19 season comes the end of one Gator softball player’s career-- centerfielder Makenna Burslie. Asked about the mark Burslie left on the program, Coach Christian said “huge.”

“I’m going to miss her (Burslie) a lot. I can’t say too much or else I’ll start tearing up,” Coach Christian said. “She’s been a special player. She’s small, but she plays with a lot of heart.”

Now what’s the mission heading into next season? It’s the same mission the team talks about to begin each season.

“Become the best team that we can be,” Coach Christian said. “… I’m sure these girls will work hard and we’ll go at it again next year.” Copyright of The Tribune (Greenbush, Minn.)

'It touched my heart': Rival softball team plants tree in honor of NCE-U-H softball player who died Written By: Chris Murphy | Jun 5th 2019 - 4pm.

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The Badger-Greenbush-Middle River softball team stopped in Twin Valley, Minn., to plant a tree in honor of Norman County East-Ulen-Hitterdal softball player Alivia Mortenson, who died this weekend in a car crash. Submitted photo

TWIN VALLEY, Minn. — Badger-Greenbush-Middle River's softball team beat Norman County East-Ulen-Hitterdal in the Minnesota Class 1A, Section 8 championship twice last Tuesday and Thursday.

A couple days later, Alivia Mortenson died after her car went off road and landed upside down in a slough near Hitterdal, Minn. She was 17 years old and played basketball, softball and volleyball for Norman County East-Ulen-HItterdal.

On Wednesday, before heading to the state tournament, the Badger-Greenbush-Middle River softball team stopped in Twin Valley to plant a tree in Mortenson's memory.

"I know for our team there was a lot of tears shed and I don't want to say it brought closure, it was just good to see the family," Badger-Greenbush-Middle River softball coach Kent Christian said. "At least for our girls, it was comforting knowing they knew we were thinking about them."

Mortenson's dad posted a thank you note on Facebook to the team. He was there to see the tree planted.

"The world should probably be like this more often," Christian said. "I consider the softball community pretty tight-knit group. Really it just shows, yeah, athletics is great

and all that, but it really brings people closer together when you get beyond the competition."

Mortenson's dad, Ron, said the gesture touched his heart.

"Alivia touched everyone's heart and it shows," Ron told The Forum. "There really are no words. It's just amazing the thoughts and prayers that keep coming from everywhere."

Gators don't have room for all their quality hitters Written By: Greg DeVillers | Jun 4th 2019 - 4pm.

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GREENBUSH, Minn. -- Normally, Asher Burslie and her .422 batting average, along with three home runs, would find herself somewhere in the regular batting order for the Badger-Greenbush-Middle River softball team. There are seasons when those numbers would have Burslie in the heart of the order.

This is not a typical season for the Gators, however.

Burslie's gaudy numbers have earned her only a part-time role for the 21-4, Section 8A champion Gators, who play Waterville-Elysian-Morristown at 1 p.m. Thursday in the Class A high school state tournament quarterfinals in North Mankato.

"Typically, that would get you a spot in our lineup,'' B-G-MR coach Kent Christian said of Burslie's statistics. "That's a pretty good batting average for a high school player. But

we have so many girls who are hitting the ball well. We've rotated Asher in and used her as a pinch hitter quite a bit.

"Our batting averages are quite a bit higher than normal. Unless we really tank it at the state tournament, we'll probably wind up with the highest team batting average I've had here. Statistically, it's probably the best hitting team I've had. And we're usually a pretty decent hitting team.''

The Gators enter the state tournament with a .441 team average, led by Erika Howell (.544), Makenna Burslie (.494), Ella Kobernick (.479), Isabella Monsrud (.468) and Kinsley Hanson (.462, team highs of four home runs and 38 RBI).

The hitting bar is set so high that .400 hitters Mariah Christian (.432), Asher Burslie, Jacey Wojchowski (.420) and Lauren Kvien (.411) actually bring down the team average.

"It's one through nine in the lineup hitting the ball solid,'' Kent Christian said. "Actually, it's one through 10 if you throw Asher in there.

"For a lot of these girls, they saw a lot of playing time last year. That's paying off now. They're a year older, a year more experienced, a year stronger.''

The Gators average 11.5 runs per game, the third-highest average in the state's Class A ranks.

"It definitely takes pressure off me,'' said Mariah Christian, the Gators' No. 1 pitcher. "It gives me a lot of room to breathe knowing we'll produce a lot of runs.

"Going into the year, I don't know if I would have expected that we would be producing this much offense. And I had high expectations for our team. We performed pretty well last year and over last summer. We work on our hitting a lot.''

The Gators have been consistent, scoring in double figures in 17 of their 25 games. The one team in the area that has consistently held them down is Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal. In three games against NCE/U-H and its ace pitcher, Ryah Opsahl, The Gators have yet to score more than four runs in a game.

But B-G-MR beat NCE/U-H 3-2 and 4-2 in the Section 8A tournament, the latter for the championship and a return trip to state.

“She (Opsahl) is one of the better pitchers in northwest Minnesota,’’ Kent Christian said. “Offensively, we can do a lot of different things. But we can rely on our defense, too. That showed in the section tournament.’’

But the Gators’ norm has been to wear down opponents with their relentless offense.

“When everybody is hitting over .300, it’s tough on a pitcher,’’ Kent Christian said. “There isn’t a break.’’

B-G-MR at a glance

Coach: Kent Christian.

Record: 21-4, Section 8A champion.

Thursday’s state tournament opener: The No. 5-seeded Gators play No. 4 Waterville-Elysian-Morristown (22-0) at 1 p.m. Thursday in the Class A state tournament quarterfinal round in North Mankato.

Leading B-G-MR hitters: Soph. Erika Howell (.544, 29 RBI, 15 SB), sr. Makenna Burslie (.494, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 20 SB), jr. Ella Koebernick (.479, 2 HR, 33 RBI), soph. Isabella Monsrud (.468, 9 RBI), 8th-grader Kinsley Hanson (.462, 4 HR, 38 RBI), soph. Mariah Christian (.432, 1 HR, 33 RBI, 11 SB), fr. Asher Burslie (.422, 3 HR, 14 RBI), fr. Jacey Wojchowski (.420, 1 HR, 33 RBI), fr. Lauren Kvien (.411, 1 HR, 17 RBI), soph. Ella Heggedal (.349).

2019 Softball State TournamentThe Minnesota State High School League’s Girls Softball State Tournament, played annually since 1977, takes place Thursday, June 6 and Friday, June 7 at Caswell Park in North Mankato. Here is a look at the tournament: Fast FactsThe schedule: All games at Caswell Park, North MankatoClass A Thursday, June 6 QuarterfinalsSouth Ridge (18-5) vs. No. 1 New York Mills (23-2), 1 p.m.No. 5 Badger/Greenbush-Middle River (21-4) vs. No. 4 Waterville-Elysian-Morristown (22-0), 1 p.m.Isle (18-3) vs. No. 2 Randolph (22-2), 1 p.m.New Ulm Cathedral (22-2) vs. No. 3 Edgerton/SW MN Christian (17-5), 1 p.m.Championship semifinals and consolation semifinals --- 7 p.m.Friday, June 7Consolation final --- 9 a.m.Third place --- 11 a.m.Championship --- 2:30 p.m.Class AAThursday, June 6QuarterfinalsEsko (18-6) vs. No. 1 Norwood-Young America (23-2), 9 a.m.No. 5 LeSueur-Henderson (18-7) vs. No. 4 Thief River Falls/Goodridge (23-3), 9 a.m.Annandale (17-8) vs. No. 2 Rochester Lourdes (22-3), 11 a.m.Concordia Academy (21-4) vs. No. 3 Pipestone Area (24-2), 11 a.m.Championship semifinals --- 5 p.m.Consolation semifinals --- 7 p.m.Friday, June 7 Consolation final --- 9 a.m.Third place --- 11 a.m.Championship --- 2 p.m.Class AAAThursday, June 6QuarterfinalsVisitation (11-14) vs. No. 1 Mankato West (23-1), 11 a.m.No. 5 Benilde-St. Margaret’s (16-8) vs. No. 4 Cloquet (19-4), 11 a.m.Detroit Lakes (17-6) vs. No. 2 Northfield (18-3), 11 a.m.Mahtomedi (13-8-1) vs. No. 3 Becker (19-5), 11 a.m.Championship semifinals and consolation semifinals --- 5 p.m.Friday, June 7 Consolation final --- 9 a.m.Third place --- 11 a.m.Championship --- 1:30 p.m.Class AAAAThursday, June 6QuarterfinalsSt. Michael-Albertville (19-5) vs. No. 1 Forest Lake (22-2), 9 a.m.No. 5 Farmington (15-9) vs. No. 4 Stillwater Area (18-9), 9 a.m.Edina (16-7) vs. No. 2 Maple Grove (22-2), 9 a.m.Eden Prairie (19-6) vs. No. 3 East Ridge (22-2), 9 a.m.Championship semifinals and consolation semifinals --- 3 p.m.Friday, June 7Consolation final --- 9 a.m.Third place --- 11 a.m.Championship --- 1 p.m.Tickets: Single session --- Adults $10; Students $6. Daily Pass --- Adults $18; Students $11.

Tournament pass --- Adults $27; Students $15.Official ball: Dudley SB-12L.Social Media: Follow the tournament on Twitter at @MSHSL and @MSHSLJohn, and on the MSHSL Facebook page.News media credentials: A news media credential is required to cover this event.2019 State Tournament PreviewClass A• New York Mills is the returning two-time defending champion in this class. The Eagles are making their seventh consecutive state tournament appearance and are on a 10-game winning streak. South Ridge, the quarterfinal opponent for New York Mills, is making its state tournament debut. Senior pitcher Celia Olesiak bats a team-best .414 for South Ridge. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River placed sixth in 2018 and is making its ninth state tournament trip. Sophomore infielder Erika Howell bats .544 for the Gators. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown is making its state tournament debut. Junior pitcher Trista Herring is undefeated with 195 strikeouts. Isle is making its third state tournament appearance, but first since 2003. Isle senior catcher Grace Carlson was selected MVP of the Great River Conference. Randolph placed third in 2018 and returns as the No. 2 seed. Sophomore catcher Megan Erickson bats a team-best .536. New Ulm Cathedral is a 17-time state participant, including a fourth-place finish in 2018. Edgerton/SW MN Christian was the runner-up to New York Mills in 2018. The Eagles are a two-time runner-up and one-time Class A champion. Class AA• A new champion will emerge from this classification. Esko is making its fourth consecutive state tournament appearance and 10th overall. The Eskomos placed sixth in 2018. Norwood-Young America is making its state tournament debut. To accomplish that, the Raiders had to defeat Maple Lake, the defending Class AA champion, twice in the Section 5AA final. LeSueur-Henderson is making its fourth state appearance since 2014. In 2014, the Giants were the Class AA runner-up. Thief River Falls/Goodridge is making its second state tournament appearance in the past three seasons. Junior pitcher Alexis Huot hits a team-best .494 for the Prowlers. Annandale, a fourth-place finisher in 2018, lost 5-4 to St. Cloud Cathedral in the section final, then came back to win 3-2 in the elimination game. Rochester Lourdes is making its first state tournament appearance. Senior infielder Katie Virgin leads the Eagles with a .493 batting average. Concordia Academy is making its third state tournament appearance and first since 2016. The Beacons’ Taylor Brunn, a senior infielder, is Minnesota’s all-time hits leader. She is batting .624. Pipestone Area was third in 2018. The Arrows are a two-time Class AA runner-up and one-time champ. Senior infielder Mandi Miller leads the Arrows with a .453 average. Class AAA• A new champion will emerge from this class as well. Visitation returns to the state tournament for the third time since 2015. Mankato West, the Class AAAA champion in 2016, is making its ninth state tournament appearance. Senior infielder Kenzie Grunst has 10 home runs this season for the Scarlets. Benilde-St. Margaret’s is making its third state tournament trip in the past four seasons. Cloquet is making its third state tournament trip and first since 2012. Detroit Lakes is making its state tournament debut. Junior outfielder Laura Prussia leads the Lakers with a .533 batting average and nine home runs. Northfield is also making is state tournament debut. Sophomore pitcher Brynn Hostettler has 14 victories and 229 strikeouts. Mahtomedi won the Section 4AAA championship for the second time since 2016. Freshman infielder Olivia Van Hout leads the Zephyrs with a .477 average. Becker is making its sixth state tournament trip. The Bulldogs have held opponents to a .158 batting average. Class AAAA• St. Michael-Albertville is making its second state tournament trip and first since 2005. Junior infielder Elle Potts leads the Knights with a .546 batting average. Forest Lake is a three-time state runner-up making its 15th state tournament trip. The top-seeded Rangers bat .409 as a team and are paced by sophomore catcher Logan Anderson who bats a .530 clip. Farmington, the Class AAAA champion in 2017, is making its sixth state tournament trip. The Tigers have four starters from that 2017 championship team. Stillwater is the defending Class AAAA champion and is a five-time big-school champion. The Ponies have hit 30 home runs this season. Edina is making its second consecutive state tournament trip and second overall. Senior infielder Hannah Sundem leads the Hornets with 29 runs batted in. Maple Grove, a three-time state runner-up, is making its eighth state tournament trip. Senior Ava Dueck is a dual threat with 17 pitching victories, as well as a .533 batting average and 14 home runs. Eden Prairie defeated Shakopee twice in the Section 2AAAA final to make its third state tournament trip. East Ridge is making its first state tournament trip. The Raptors, the No. 3 seed in the Class AAAA field, are paced by senior infielder Sidney Zavoral, who is batting .530 with seven home runs.

Badger-G-MR softball advances at state Written By: Herald Staff Report | Jun 6th 2019 - 4pm.

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NORTH MANKATO, Minn. -- No. 5 Badger-Greenbush-Middle River rode pitching and defense to a 4-2 win over No. 4 Waterville-E-M in the Minnesota state Class A quarterfinals on Thursday.

Gators pitcher Mariah Christian threw seven innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs. She struck out five.

At the plate, the Gators had nine hits scattered throughout the lineup. Ella Heggedal's two singles gave her the only multi-hit game in the BGMR lineup.

Christian went 1-for-3 with a double and RBI.

The Gators (22-4) will play No. 1 New York Mills at 7 p.m. in the state semifinals.

Badger-Greenbush-Middle River 4,Waterville-E-M 2

BAD 000 121 0 -- 4 9 0

WEM 200 000 0 -- 2 4 1

WP -- Mariah Christian; LP -- Trista Hering

Highlights -- BGMR: Ella Heggedal 2x3, Mariah Chrstian 1x3, 2B, RBI; WEM: Hering 9 Ks, Autumn Taylor 1x4, HR, 2 RBIs, Lindsay Condon 1x3, 3B, Ellile Ready 1x2

Badger-Greenbush-MR upsets New York Mills in state softball semifinals Written By: Robert Williams / Forum News Service | Jun 6th 2019 - 11pm.

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Badger-Greenbush-Middle River sophomore Mariah Christian fires a pitch against New York Mills during Thursday's Minnesota Class 1A state softball tournament in Mankato. Robert Williams / Forum News ServiceMANKATO, Minn. - No. 5 Badger/Greenbush-Middle River pulled off a second upset of the day taking out the two-time defending Class A state champion New York Mills 8-4 in the last game of a busy day at the Minnesota state softball tournament.Both teams had to wait out of two-hour delay due to games running late with the 7 p.m. scheduled game starting after 9 p.m.After a slow start offensively for both teams, the Gators struck first with a single run in the bottom of the third. NY Mills answered immediately when Annika Frost bunted to bring home Tiffany Thompson to tie the game in the top of the fourth. Lauren Kvien belted her second home run of the season to give BGMR a 2-1 lead.

Gator catcher Jacey Wojchowski gave BGMR some cushion on the scoreboard with a two-RBI double in a three-run fifth inning for a 5-1 lead. The Gators’ defense stymied a bases-loaded situation with an inning-ending double play.The Eagles put the first two batters on base in the sixth. Salo doubled, followed by a bloop single by Thompson and a bunt turned missed fielder’s choice by Frost loaded the bags. Sierra Gerber drove a big hit over the left fielder and off the fence to clear the bases and cut the lead to 5-4.Gerber reached third but the Gators kept the ball in the infield to escape the inning with the lead.BGMR rallied to build the lead again. Ella Heggedal doubled to lead off the bottom of the sixth and scored on a Mariah Christian single. The Gators loaded the bases with a 6-4 lead with no out. Wojchowski gave the Gators some insurance with a two-RBI single, her fourth RBI of the game and a 8-4 lead heading to the seventh. New York Mills had runners on the corners with one away in their final at-bats but the Gator defense completed a third double play of the game to complete the upset.Sophomore Mariah Christian picked up the victory handing NY Mills’ starter Tiffany Thompson her first loss of the season. Defense was crucial for both teams. While the Gators were working out of jams, the Eagles committed three errors leading to three unearned runs.BGMR improved to 22-4 and will face the No.3 Edgerton-Southwest Minnesota Christian Flying Dutchmen (19-5) for the championship. The Gators have only one senior and one junior on the team with seventh and eighth graders in the lineup.New York Mills (24-3) plays No. 2 Randolph (23-3) in the third place game Friday, June 7 at 11 a.m. The Eagles defeated South Ridge 6-1 in the quarterfinal round.

Thompson was 3-3 at the plate and scored two runs. She pitched a complete game allowing one earned run on four hits striking out eight and walking three.First baseman Christenson was 3-4 with two RBI.

Badger-Greenbush-Middle River used three double plays to keep New York Mills' offense to claim a semifinal win Thursday night at the Minnesota Class 1A state softball tournament in Mankato. Robert Williams / Forum News Service

Gators finish second at Class A state softball Written By: Herald Staff Report | Jun 7th 2019 - 5pm.

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kNORTH MANKATO, Minn. -- The third time was not the charm for the Badger-Greenbush-Middle River softball team.

The Gators came up short here Friday in their bid for the program’s first Minnesota state high school softball title. Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian handed the Gators a 4-1 loss in the Class A state championship game.

It marked the third time the B-G-MR program had played in the state championship. Badger-G-MR also finished second in the 2015 and 2016 state tournaments.

“There are probably a lot of teams that would take where we’re at,’’ B-G-MR coach Kent Christian said. “We’ll take it.

“I don’t know that you anticipate going to state at the beginning of the year. I knew we had a chance. And once you get here, you need some breaks. We got them -- or made them -- the first two games here. But we didn’t create enough opportunities in the final.’’

Edgerton/SMC broke a scoreless tie when back-to-back doubles by Jazzy Prins and Gabby Buckridge produced a run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Flying Dutchmen added three more runs in the fifth, with Prins driving home two runs and Jessa Nibbelink one in the inning with singles.

“That was the tough inning, knowing we only had six outs left and needed at least four runs,’’ Christian said. “It takes a little wind out of your sails. We did give them a battle in the last inning.’’

The Gators scored their lone run in the seventh.

Erika Howell led off with a single and advanced to second on a ground out. Jacey Wojchowski followed with a single and Lauren Kvien drove home Howell with a single.

Wojchowski and Kvien each had two hits for the Gators, who finished the season with a 23-5 record.

“Their pitcher (Sierra Van Dyke) was good at changing speeds and keeping us off balance,’’ Christian said. “And they played pretty much error-free softball.’’

The Gators, seeded fifth in the tournament, pulled off two upsets to reach the championship, beating No. 4 Waterville-E-M 4-2 in the quarterfinals and No. 1 New York Mills 8-4 in the semifinals.

Class A softball: After consecutive runner-up finishes, Edgerton/Southwest Christian wins stateBy JACE FREDERICK | jfrederick@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer PressPUBLISHED: June 7, 2019 at 6:01 pm | UPDATED: June 7, 2019 at 6:02 pm

Edgerton/Southwest Christian was a remarkable team each of the past two years, but each time saw its season end with the ultimate disappointment — a state title game defeat.

The 2016 state champions were back on the grand stage Friday, and Flying Dutchmen coach Andrew Fleischman’s message was simple.

“The one thing we told them was just to relax, have fun and enjoy it,” he said. “Expect good things to happen.”

They did. The Flying Dutchmen topped fifth-seeded Badger/Greenbush-Middle River 4-1 to claim the Class A title.

Jazzy Prins had two hits and two RBIs for the third-seeded Flying Dutchmen, while Sierra Van Dyke allowed just six hits.

“She’s a great pitcher, she’s an incredibly hard worker and she’s a great teammate,” Fleischman said of his ace. “To come out on the big stage and watch her perform at her best is really exciting for us to see.”

Making a fourth straight state title game appearance was a massive achievement for the Flying Dutchmen. Fleischman said it’s a product of hard work, great players and having a championship environment in every practice.

The experiences that end in victory are all the sweeter.

“I’m excited for the girls to get to end with smiles on their faces,” the coach said.