MCVILLE — The Nelson County/Midkota Chargers have a young team determined to make some noise this season.
But NC/M (4-2, 3-2) ran into a May-Port-C-G team (3-9, 2-1) that made the state tournament last year, eventually falling to the Patriots 13-11 on Thursday at McVille Softball Field.
After trailing by as many as nine, the Chargers battled back to get the tying runs in scoring position in the seventh inning. But their comeback fell just short. They scored 10 runs over the final three innings.
“I’m really proud of them for how they came back and fought,” NC/M head coach Savannah Kueber said. “The easy thing to do would have been to roll over, but that’s kind of been the mantra of our season, is just that ‘big dog’ mentality. And to keep fighting no matter what the score is, no matter who you’re playing. And I thought we did that today. And yeah, we faced some adversity, but that’s part of what makes championship teams championship teams.”
The Chargers had their standout sophomore pitcher, Mya Luehring, in the circle for the Region 2 matchup. Luehring didn’t have her best outing, but she grinded it out for 153 pitches and 6 1/3 innings before she exited with an unknown injury.
Kueber said the team doesn’t yet know the severity. She noted that Luehring has never faced a serious injury before.
The Patriots scored in six of the seven innings. They got going right away, loading the bases with nobody out in the first inning from a pair of singles and a walk.
Luehring nearly got out of it unscathed after flipping to the plate for a force out, then coming up with a clutch strikeout. But May-Port-C-G’s Paetyn Strand battled to a 3-2 count, and Luehring threw high for ball four to bring home the game’s first run.
Still, Luehring didn’t let the frame spiral on her. She induced a ground ball to shortstop Rylee Flaagan, who calmly took it to the bag herself to end the inning with only one run.
Each team had a close stolen-base attempt in the first inning. The Patriots’ Parker Strand was ruled safe in their half, but the Chargers’ Bailey Flaagan was called narrowly out for the second out of the bottom of the first.
May-Port-C-G pitcher Bailey Bergstrom survived a two-out double by Luehring as the Patriots held onto the early lead.
Luehring got two quick outs in the second. But the Patriots tacked together a two-out rally at the top of the order. Parker Strand walked and stole second on another close call, and they strung together three straight hits to extend NC/M’s deficit to 4-0. The Chargers lost one ball in the sun, and a bad bounce in center gave the Patriots two extra bases. Luehring still struck out her second and third batters of the game in the inning.
May-Port-C-G added two more in the third on a home run by Brooklyn Galde. Luehring stranded two baserunners, as third baseman Brandi Schock made a reactive, diving catch on a hard liner to end the frame. The crowd thundered with applause, but the Chargers quickly had to dial back in knowing they had work to do.
Bergstrom, though, settled in for the Patriots. She retired seven in a row after Luehring’s first-inning double.
“It’s all about applying that pressure and hitting our pitch,” Kueber said. “I think we were getting a little antsy and a little too aggressive.”
Luehring induced some soft contact in the top of the fourth, but May-Port-C-G manufactured a run with a sacrifice bunt and a two-out single by Galde to make it 7-0.
Bergstrom finally started to lose command in the bottom half. She issued back-to-back walks to R. Flaagan and Luehring to start the frame. A 5-3 double play helped the Patriots limit the damage, but Kenley Blasey came up clutch by lining a two-out single to right.
The Chargers got on the board. But they stranded two runners to remain in a six-run hole.
May-Port-C-G added three in the fifth as Luehring walked four and gave up a two-run hit to Paetyn Strand. NC/M quickly got three of its own back in the bottom half. Hayden Rader legged out an infield single, followed by a single from B. Flaagan and a walk that loaded the bases with one out. Luehring cleared the bases, splitting the left-center field gap with a three-run double.
With two outs, Blasey came up clutch again. She hit her second two-out RBI single of the game to cut May-Port-C-G’s lead to 10-5. The crowd rediscovered some energy that had nearly dissipated in the middle innings.
Luehring used that momentum to pitch a scoreless sixth. Her teammates kept the wheels turning in the next frame, as a hard-hit ball to shortstop loaded the bases with one out.
R. Flaagan whacked one deep to left field that fell for a three-run triple. May-Port-C-G opted to intentionally walk Luehring, setting up the double play opportunity. Kelsey Johnson then hit a potential double-play ball to the shortstop, but the Patriots were too slow with the flip to second and everybody was deemed safe.
A run scored on the play. NC/M had stormed all the way back from 10-1 to make it a one-run game.
“One swing of the bat was not going to tie that game,” Kueber said of the team’s nine-run deficit. “So we just needed to get baserunner after baserunner, and apply some pressure, and hopefully our big hits capitalize. And our big hitters did capitalize in that situation.”
Bergstrom stopped the sixth-inning rally there, though, as Blasey couldn’t replicate her magic from earlier.
After three singles brought in a run for May-Port-C-G in the seventh inning, Luehring’s day in the circle came to an end. The team briefly deliberated around the circle before she departed.
“She always brings it,” Kueber said of Luehring. “She gives us everything that she possibly has, every single game. Always feel confident when she’s in the circle. The team feels confident when she’s in the circle. So hoping she’s okay and can come back next game.”
With eighth-grader Alexandrea Anderson now pitching, a throwing error by the catcher allowed the two remaining baserunners to score. Anderson otherwise limited the damage, though, with NC/M trailing 13-9 heading into the final frame of an adventurous contest.
And the Chargers gave it one last fight. Just like in the sixth, it started with Jassy Lee getting on base. She drew a walk, and the Patriots’ head coach gave his pitcher a brief visit with Bergstrom behind 1-0 on the next batter.
With one out, Rader and B. Flaagan kept the line moving to load the bases. R. Flaagan lined an RBI single, and Luehring drew an RBI walk — her fifth time on base in as many trips to the plate.
Despite all of the momentum on NC/M’s side, Bergstrom shut the door with two massive outs to end the game. The Patriots got a force out at the plate for the second out, and Blasey flew out to halt the rally in its tracks.
The Chargers continue a busy schedule with a Monday home game against Carrington at 4 p.m., then a Tuesday home matchup with Langdon Area/Munich. They still like the direction they’re heading in despite Thursday’s shortcoming. They’ve recorded wins like a 24-2 beatdown of Maple Valley/Hope-Page, a 10-1 defeat of Midway/Minto and an 11-1 blowout over Northern Lights.
“Just compete. Be competitors the entire time,” Kueber said. “And when we compete and we are competitors, good things tend to happen. Just not to be intimidated, and just believe in ourselves. And I think this team, the biggest thing I see that’s different from last year is that they believe that they can do it. And I’m really excited moving forward in the season with a team with that mentality.”
