Ava Beck (Photo via Firebird Softball Facebook)
While the Firebirds baseball team was beating up on Grafton in Devils Lake, the softball team was getting its season started over in Grand Forks on Tuesday. The Firebirds played on the brand new Albrecht Field, the home of UND softball.
Devils Lake won a wild 23-15 affair over May-Port-C-G to improve to 1-0 in the early going. Sophomore catcher Ava Beck was the team’s “Diamond Destroyer” of the game. She went 2-for-3 with two walks, four runs scored and a stolen base.
The Patriots made a whopping 10 errors, compared to the Firebirds’ five. Devils Lake had 24 hits, while May-Port-C-G had 12.
It was a game in which the Firebirds led 13-0 in the third inning. They scored nine in the second and four in the third.
Sophomore Tylie Brodina pitched the first two innings and didn’t allow a run, stranding the bases loaded in the second. Junior Julia McIvor took over and gave up nine runs in the third inning on six hits, five walks and a hit by pitch. It rapidly made it a four-run game.
Brodina came back in and ended up pitching the rest of the game for Devils Lake. She walked 11 in six innings of work, but otherwise had a solid outing with six runs (three earned) allowed on six hits while striking out six. She threw a whopping 146 pitches.
Brodina was the team’s first pitcher out of the bullpen last year, but will likely be the primary hurler going forward in the wake of Calin Boline’s graduation.
Brodina also shined at the plate, going 5-for-5 with two RBIs, a walk and four runs scored. She led the team with seven total bases (a triple and four singles). She also stole three bases. Junior Madison Harris and freshman Tori Mikkelson each hit a double. Freshman Jossalin Carpenter went 4-for-5 with three RBIs. Every Firebird reached base at least twice and scored at least one run.
It was as close as 15-12 in the fourth inning, but Devils Lake put the game away with five in the seventh. The only inning in which the Firebirds didn’t score was the first.
May-Port-C-G’s barrage of errors made 11 of the Firebirds’ 23 runs unearned. Reliever Alicia Foss allowed eight runs in three innings, but only one of them was earned. Devils Lake recorded 20 hits against freshman Bailey Bergstrom in four innings, with 15 runs (11 earned) allowed.
The Firebirds’ next action is a conference game against Fargo South on Friday, April 11 at Tharaldson Little League Complex at 4:30 p.m. Their first home game is scheduled for Tuesday, April 14 against Fargo North at 4:30 p.m.
