Tylie Brodina, Jenna Windjue/Photo by Noah Clooten
FARGO — Friday was a day that tested Devils Lake softball’s resilience.
The Firebirds traveled down to Fargo on a windy afternoon. And it got off to about the roughest start imaginable, with a 23-2 loss to Kindred-Richland (10-5) fueled by a 13-run first inning.
Still, by the end of the day, Devils Lake (5-5) managed to maintain the positive direction its season has been trending in. It handily beat Grafton (5-3) by a score of 17-6, earning a much-needed bounceback win.
You wouldn’t know it from the final score, but the Firebirds led 2-0 at the start of Game 1. Tylie Brodina smacked a two-run double with two outs in the top of the first, giving Devils Lake the early edge.
The Vikings did the majority of their damage, though, in the bottom of the first. With Brodina getting the start in the circle, the first seven batters reached. They were running on nearly every pitch, too. The first run scored on a double steal; then Kindred went ahead on a two-run double and just kept rolling from there.
The frame finally ended after 13 runs and 17 batters. The Vikings collected nine hits, while the Firebirds committed a pair of errors. Devils Lake interim head coach Jenna Windjue credited Kindred’s aggressiveness at the plate.
It was a learning experience for Brodina, who’s been the Firebirds’ No. 2 pitcher behind senior Calin Boline. Brodina, a freshman, still recorded three strikeouts in the first inning (one of which reached on a passed ball). Windjue emphasized the importance of Brodina experiencing competition ahead of Boline’s departure next year.
“I’m not disappointed in her at all,” Windjue said. “She was trying things. She had some really good strikeouts on changeups, so we’re really happy with that.”
The Firebirds almost got something going again with two outs in the second, but they stranded the bases loaded. Kindred led off the bottom half with a triple, but Brodina managed to limit the damage to one run — which came on an error after Brodina recorded back-to-back strikeouts.
The Vikings rallied for three more in the third inning, notching a bases-loaded hit by pitch and a two-run single. They added a six-spot in the fourth, fueled by a grand slam four batters into the frame.
Brodina still stuck it out for all four innings in the circle. She collected five strikeouts and kept the ball on the outer half of the plate.
“Tylie has a lot of mental toughness,” Windjue said. “Pushing through those types of situations are what she’s good at. So we’re happy that she was able to finish out the game for us today.”
The Devils Lake offense struggled to get a rally going. The hitters were kept off balance by a slew of nasty sinking changeups.
The game coasted into its five-inning end. But the Firebirds couldn’t just go and sulk — they had to prepare for their next contest of the day.
“The girls are just gonna take a moment and figure out how they can best serve our team,” Windjue said. “And we’re gonna get the next one.”
That they certainly did. The Firebirds went back to the pitcher who’s been the rock of their season: Boline.
A five-run third inning was the lone stain on her otherwise strong five-inning outing. But the Devils Lake offense did more than enough to support her. The bats came together for 17 runs — eight in the second inning, and nine in the third.
Julia McIvor led the way with four hits. Boline had a strong showing at the plate, too, with three hits, while Riley Remmick also collected a trio of knocks.
The Spoilers’ big third inning briefly made the game close at 8-6, but Tori Mikkelson responded with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third. The other seven runs in the frame all came on a two-out rally.
Every starting Firebird reached base at least once. In fact, Brodina was the only batter who “only” reached base once, despite having a productive game with a hit and an RBI. Taylor Leben was the only Firebird without a hit, but she walked twice. Devils Lake combined to go 16-for-26 with seven walks.
Boline struck out six and only walked one. She retired the last four batters she faced, two via the strikeout.
It was the kind of well-rounded performance that’s defined Devils Lake in its wins this season. When these Firebirds are on, they attack opponents with hits up and down the lineup, and Boline backs them up in the circle by keeping things under control.
It was a good taste of experience for Brodina — and really for the entire squad, as it sifts through the wide variety of opponents it has to face through the region and non-region schedule alike.
Devils Lake will play its third and final game of Midseason Madness against Williston at noon on Saturday. The busy stretch comes ahead of four region games in the upcoming week.
