Tylie Brodina (Photo by Noah Clooten)
DEVILS LAKE — Two days after suffering its first defeat of the season, the Devils Lake softball team got back in the win column with authority on Thursday.
The Firebirds (3-1, 1-1) run-ruled Grafton (0-3, 0-2), continuing a strong start to the 2025 campaign. They got a big performance from Tylie Brodina both in the circle and at the plate, along with a well-rounded overall offensive effort to win 12-2.
“We played pretty well. We needed that recovery win after Tuesday,” Devils Lake head coach Courtney Loegering said. “On Tuesday, we did not play like a team. The girls kind of fell apart, and they knew that. So that was one thing that we talked about before the game, was just play together, play like a family. That’s just kind of how we do it.”
The teams traded two-spots in the first inning. Two infield errors by Devils Lake led to a pair of Grafton runs, but catcher Ava Beck ended the frame by catching a runner trying to steal second.
“Her catching IQ has really improved,” Loegering said of Beck.
Brodina ripped an RBI double into left field to get the Firebirds on the board. She eventually scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-2 after an inning of play.
“She’s a good hitter. She watches the ball,” Loegering said. “She takes practice very seriously. That’s part of the reason why she’s a captain. She helps lead in that way, and everyone seems to follow suit.”
Brodina then settled in from the circle. She struck out the side in order in the second inning. An error and a walk put her in a tight situation in the third, with two runners in scoring position with two outs. But Brodina came up with a clutch strikeout — her fourth — to keep the game tied.
It was Brodina again who ignited things for Devils Lake in the bottom of the third. She hit another ball hard up the middle for a single. Cleanup hitter Julia McIvor singled to right, and an error allowed Brodina to come home with the go-ahead run. McIvor raced home on a wild pitch.
The Firebirds’ rally still wasn’t done with two outs. Tori Mikkelson whacked a triple into the left-field corner, and she scored on an error in the infield. Devils Lake took a 5-2 lead after three.
The game started to unravel a bit for Grafton in the fourth. After Beck reached on an error, aggressive baserunning from her and Riley Remmick led to a free run. Brodina added an RBI double for her third hit in as many trips to the plate. The third run of the frame — and sixth in the last two innings — came home on a dropped popup by the Grafton catcher.
The Firebirds left the bases loaded but still stretched their lead to 8-2 after four innings.
They put the game away with a four-run bottom of the fifth. Remmick and Beck, each of whom walked, pulled off a double steal that caught Grafton off guard. Beck eventually scored on a wild pitch to make it 10-2 — ending Grafton pitcher Chloe Kadlec’s day after an adventurous afternoon in the circle.
Brodina and McIvor kept the line moving against reliever Abby Horejsi with a walk and a single, respectively. Brodina scored on a wild pitch, and McIvor stole home to end the game automatically with a 10-run margin.
“We have a lot of really quick girls,” Loegering said. “We’re just trying to build our softball IQ, and that was one way we’ve been trying to do it. Just being a little bit more aggressive and a little bit smarter on the bases.”
In the circle, Brodina worked around a leadoff single in the fourth and worked a quick 1-2-3 fifth to set up the walk-off. She struck out five and walked just one, throwing 49 strikes in 76 pitches. She allowed only two hits.
Loegering particularly praised the sophomore’s strike-throwing on Thursday, which has been one of her only issues as she’s settled into being Devils Lake’s primary pitcher for the first time.
“That kid is just such a good athlete all around,” Loegering said. “She’s really smart. She helps the team out. On Tuesday, for instance, she took herself out of the game; she said she wasn’t helping the team at all by throwing balls. She came back ready to go. She’s throwing harder. Accuracy needs a little bit of help, but it works for us. It helps having Ava Beck behind the plate helping her out.”
Devils Lake, after winning three of its first four games, still has most of its biggest tests in the future. The Firebirds travel to play Fargo Davies and Shanley next Tuesday and Friday, respectively.
“We’ve had lots of conversations about this. We have a lot of tough games coming up,” Loegering said. “My kids know that they’ve just gotta go out there and play their game. And if they play together, they’re unstoppable.”
