After falling in their first two games on the road, the Devils Lake Firebirds won their first home game on Tuesday.
The softball squad beat Fargo South 11-5. Calin Boline pitched all seven innings and tallied nine strikeouts while also recording three hits at the plate. Every Firebird in the starting lineup notched at least one hit.
Devils Lake got out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning. The first three batters of the frame reached, the third of which was an RBI single by Boline. Two more runs scored on a groundout and a passed ball.
The Bruins got on the board with two in the fourth. They loaded the bases with nobody out, and Boline nearly escaped trouble with a strikeout and a popout. But Brenna Doll hit a two-run double with two outs, making it a one-run ballgame.
Devils Lake responded with a pair of its own in the bottom of the fourth, as Riley Remmick knocked a clutch two-run single with two outs. The table was set with a double from Ava Beck, who reached base three times on the day.
Fargo South scored one in the fifth on another two-out double to make it 5-3, but Devils Lake came right back with four more in the bottom half. Julia McIvor and Boline hit back-to-back doubles, and Beck’s second double of the day brought in another. RBI singles by Taylor Leben and Callie Schneider made it 9-3.
Tylie Brodina led off the bottom of the sixth with a double, and she scored on an error. Boline’s third hit drove in the Firebirds’ final run of the game, making it an eight-run contest.
Another two-out hit brought in two more runs for Fargo South in the seventh, but Boline still managed to shut the door. Devils Lake’s catcher, Beck, caught a runner trying to steal third to end the game. Boline’s final line saw her allow five runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings.
The softball team hits the road now to play Fargo North on Friday, April 12, and Valley City on Tuesday, April 16.