Spectators beware: it might be hazardous to one’s health to sit beyond the outfield fence when the Becker Bulldog softball team is in town. In the past week, they used a total of six home runs to pick up a pair of wins in Mississippi 8 Conference play.
It was a home run derby Tuesday night as the Becker Bulldog softball team downed the Princeton Tigers, 14-1. The Bulldogs knocked four pitches over the fence and several players on the team notched important “firsts” in their varsity softball careers.
The first “first” came from Maddie Sherman, who picked up the win in her first varsity start in the pitcher’s circle, going seven innings and allowing five hits. Her control was spectacular, as she didn’t walk a batter and she also picked up nine strikeouts.
The first long ball came from Brooke Hendrickson, who led off the second inning with a home run for the Bulldogs before Hannah Bartlett and Krista Paulson would add runs later in the inning to make it 4-0.
After a scoreless third, Cadence Koste hit her first varsity home run, a three-run shot to make it 7-0. In the fifth, Makenna Zerwas hit a two-run homer, also her first varsity home run, making the score 9-0. Later in the inning, Sherman reached on a single and pinch runner Kennedy Drehmel scored on a single off the bat of Kyla Henkemeyer, who picked up her first varsity hit and RBI.
The Tigers then put a run on the board in the bottom of the sixth to make it 10-1 and send the game to the seventh inning, where Zerwas would add a second home run, this time a three-run bomb to bring the final score to 14-1. Not to be outdone, Jada Soltau also added to the firsts with her first varsity hit.
Zerwas finished the night 2-for-5 with five RBI and Koste was 3-5 with five RBI as well. Kurstyn Patnode and Bartlett would each add two hits of their own in the dominating win.
Magic
Last Thursday, the Bulldogs defeated Monticello 12-4 behind Patnode’s first varsity start at the pitcher position.
Becker put up two runs in the bottom of the first inning as Maddie Sherman drove in a run with a bases loaded walk and Brooke Hendrickson followed with an RBI single. The Magic answered with an unearned run in the top of the second, but the Bulldogs answered with two more runs in the bottom of the inning on RBI singles from Koste and Zerwas. The bottom of the third brought in two more runs on a two RBI double off the bat of Patnode, before a Hendrickson two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth made it 8-1.
Just when it looked like the Bulldogs might pull away, the Magic used a walk and four singles in the top of the fifth to pull to within 8-4. But Becker answered with two more runs in the bottom of the inning when Patnode hit a two-run homer, her first as a varsity player.
Consistency ruled the day as Becker again added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on a Hannah Bartlett double.
Patnode picked up the win, going all seven innings and allowing four runs (3 earned) on nine hits and two walks, while striking out seven. The sophomore also had a big night at the plate, going 4-for–5 with four RBI.
Hendrickson and Bartlett each added three hits for the Bulldogs, while Krista Paulson and Zerwas added two.
The Bulldogs were scheduled to play at Big Lake on Thursday before hosting Cambridge-Isanti on Friday. On Tuesday, the Bulldogs head to St. Francis for a battle with the Saints. Complete coverage of the three games can be found in next week’s Patriot.
