The softball seasons for Nelson County/Midkota and Langdon Area/Munich ended this past weekend.
Both teams made it to the Region 2 quarterfinals after winning their play-in games last Wednesday. Each squad was a No. 4 seed facing a No. 1 seed. The Chargers lost a 6-5 thriller to Pembina County North, while the Cardinals were taken down 15-0 by Thompson.
NC/M (10-5) played on Sunday following a series of weather-related adjustments to the schedule. The Chargers, trailing 5-2 after six innings, scored three in the seventh to keep the game going. They ended up losing to Pembina County North (8-3) on a walkoff double in the bottom half.
Sophomore pitcher Mya Luehring threw all 6 2/3 innings for NC/M, allowing six runs on 11 hits. She struck out six and walked only one.
The Chargers led 2-0 after a run in each of the second and third innings. An error and a dropped third strike helped them score first, and Luehring drove in Bailey Flaagan with a single in the third.
Pembina County North took a 3-2 lead on a three-run blast by Colbie Furstenau in the bottom of the third.
Luehring pitched a scoreless fourth but gave up a two-run double in the fifth as the Grizzlies extended their lead. The Chargers’ offense fell largely silent in the middle innings. They had the tying run at the plate in the sixth but stranded two runners.
Rylee Flaagan ignited NC/M’s seventh-inning rally with a leadoff single. Kelsey Johnson added a bunt single, and Kenley Blasey was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Ella Lundeby cut into the deficit with a two-run double.
With the Chargers down to their last out, McKenna Anderson hit a game-tying infield single to send the game to the bottom of the seventh.
Luehring allowed a one-out single in the next frame, then induced a popup to the first baseman Lundeby. Sara Jensen — who pitched all seven innings for Pembina County North — ended the game with an RBI double to right field.
It was still a largely successful season for a young NC/M team that made significant progress from last season. The Chargers went 5-3 in region play during the regular season, won a play-in game and competed neck-and-neck with a No. 1 seed. They’ll be losing only one senior, McKenna Anderson, for next season.
LA/M, meanwhile, got overpowered on Saturday by Thompson, which has been to the state championship game in two of the last four years. The Tommies broke it open with five in the second inning, then put it away with nine in the third.
The Cardinals finished the season 6-10 overall. They went 2-6 in region play during the regular season.
