Dickinson Midgets/Photo via NDHSAA
Dickinson and Kindred-Richland won the softball state tournaments in Class A and Class B, respectively, last weekend.
Class A
The Midgets are champions of North Dakota.
Playing on their home field in Dickinson, they completed a 29-4 season with their third state title in the last four years.
The Midgets came in second place in the WDA during the regular season; their 17-3 conference record wasn’t quite as strong as Minot’s 19-1. But Minot got upset in the semifinals against Bismarck, which was fourth in the WDA with a 13-7 conference record.
Dickinson beat West Fargo Sheyenne 14-4, West Fargo 4-1, then took down Bismarck 8-2 in the state championship game.
The Midgets actually trailed 2-0 after four innings in that final game. But they were catapulted by a four-run fifth and a four-run sixth, aided by some sloppy Bismarck defense.
In the fifth inning, all four runs came with two outs. Madelynn Bren singled, and Myah Merry doubled to set the table. Two runs scored on a missed fly ball by the center fielder, tying the game. Then Ava Jahner blasted a two-run homer to give Dickinson a lead it would never relinquish.
Back-to-back errors got the Midgets another gift of a run in the sixth. The second run of the inning scored on a smart play by Heather Tibor, tagging up from third on a popup in foul territory. Then Jenna Decker doubled in two more runs to really put the game away.
Jahner pitched all seven innings in the circle for Dickinson. She allowed a run in the third and a run in the fourth, but settled in nicely to help the Midgets stand tall. She struck out four and didn’t walk a batter in her complete-game performance.
NDHSAA has declared a Class A softball champion for 15 seasons now. West Fargo won the state title in each of the first nine years, from 2009 to 2017. Minot finally broke that streak in 2018. West Fargo returned to its winning ways in 2019, but hasn’t won a title since. Dickinson won it in 2021, and Bismarck won it in 2022. Now Dickinson has taken home the gold in each of the last two seasons.
Class B
In Jamestown, the Kindred-Richland Vikings became this year’s champions of Class B.
Devils Lake softball fans might recognize that name. On May 10, the Vikings conquered Devils Lake by a score of 23-2. It’s no wonder, then, that that team went on to win a championship.
They only entered the bracket as the No. 4 seed. But they beat No. 5 Des Lacs-Burlington 9-6, then crushed Velva/Drake/Anamoose 11-0. The latter was a team that had previously upset No. 1 May-Port-C-G.
The Vikings went on to beat No. 2 Central Cass 6-1 in the championship game.
They led 1-0 after four innings, then made the difference with a five-run fifth. Three walks and an error helped score three runs; then Cora Johnson and Braya Mauch came through with back-to-back two-out singles, making it 6-0.
Central Cass got an unearned run back in the bottom of the fifth. But that was all the Squirrels could dig up. Danica Rath pitched all seven innings for Kindred-Richland, striking out four and walking one while limiting Central Cass to five hits.
This was the Vikings’ fourth title since records started being tracked in 2012. That’s the second-most of any team in Class B. The team with the most? Central Cass, this year’s runner-up.
Only two teams besides Kindred-Richland and Central Cass have won Class B softball titles. Enderlin/Maple Valley won it in the first year of records in 2012. Last year, in 2023, Beulah took home the gold. The remaining 10 trophies belong to the Vikings and Squirrels, with six and four, respectively. This was Kindred-Richland’s first title since 2017, however. The other championships came in 2014 and 2016. Central Cass had a four-year streak at one point (2018-2022, excluding the COVID-19 season).
Also noteworthy in the world of Kindred softball is that one of their alumni, Abby Duscherer, is having success at the next level. Duscherer, who graduated from Kindred High School in 2022, is an infielder for the Alabama Crimson Tide. She recently helped her team make it to the Women’s College World Series.
It’s indicative of how strong this program is — especially considering it’s a Class B school in a North Dakota town of 781 residents.
These teams will now have to wait until 2025 for a chance at defending their recent titles. For now, they can soak it all in and enjoy their triumphs.
