by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls picked up a pair of wins over Detroit Lakes and Bemidji during a frigid afternoon of softball on Thursday, April 18.
The Prowlers defeated the Lakers 17-4 in the opening game, and they ended the afternoon with a 7-4 win over Bemidji. Bemijdi defeated Detroit Lakes 18-0 in the middle game of the triangular.
“We still had some errors we need to clean up but we hit the ball well to secure those wins,” said Head Coach Kindra Poissant. “The day was definitely cold, but the girls never complained. They blocked out the cold, didn’t let it get to them mentally and played a few solid games.”
The gametime temperature on Thursday was in the high 30s, with 30 mile-per-hour winds from the northwest. Despite the chilly weather, the Prowlers came out swinging hot bats against the Lakers. The hosts collected 19 hits, including four doubles against Detroit Lakes starter Sydney Borgmann.
The Prowlers plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the first but found themselves trailing 3-2 when they came to bat in the bottom of the second. The Prowlers regained the lead in the bottom of the second and broke the game open with seven runs in the bottom of the third.
Leadoff hitter Sophia Kraemer led the charge in game one, going 4-for-4 with a double, four runs scored, and a pair of runs batted in.
Kora Sorter and Piper Greene collected three hits each. Sorter went 3-for-3, with a walk, two runs and two RBI. Greene also went 3-for-3 with a double, a run and three runs batted in.
After surrendering three runs in the second, Thief River Falls’ game one starter, Olivia Tougas, settled in and quieted the Lakers’ bats to pick up the win. She allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits and she struck out three batters.
The Prowlers started fast in game two. Kraemer led off the game with a bunt single. She stole second and scored on a bunt single by number two hitter Braylee Wienen. Wienen advanced to second on a single up the middle by number three hitter Carlie Rogalla, and moved to third on a single by Sorter that loaded the bases. Both Wienen and Rogalla would come around to score on a two-RBI single by Greene that made the score 3-0 in favor of the Prowlers.
The Prowlers added to their lead in the next four innings to go in front 7-0. In the second, Kraemer led off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a single by Rogalla.
Tougas scored the only run of the third inning for the Prowlers. She drew a four-pitch walk to lead off the inning, moved to second on a single by Sophia Tougas, and later scored on an RBI groundout by Wienen.
After flying out in her first two at-bats, Liza Bjerklie led off the fourth inning with a double. She advanced to third on a single by Sorter and scored on an RBI double by Greene.
Much like the previous four innings, the Prowlers got their leadoff hitter on base again in the fifth inning. For the third time in five innings, it was Kraemer who led off the inning with a hit. Kraemer stole both second and third during the inning, and came around to score on an RBI groundout by Wienen.
Thief River Falls’ game two starter Carlie Rogalla kept the bases empty for the most part early on as she scattered four hits over the first four innings. The Lumberjacks scored a run on two hits in both the fifth and sixth innings, and two runs on three hits in the top of the seventh to round-out the scoring.
“Our pitchers, Carlie Rogalla & Olivia Tougas, have been throwing well for us,” Poissant said. “They had the hardest job that day with the weather causing havoc on their arms, but again-got mentally tough and got the wins. “
Game 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
DL 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 – 4 7 3
TRF 2 2 7 6 X X X – 17 0 1
Batting
Thief River Falls AB R H RBI BB SO
Sophia Kraemer C 4 4 4 2 0 0
Braylee Wienen CF 3 2 2 2 0 0
Carlie Rogalla 1B 4 2 3 3 0 0
Liza Bjerklie DP 4 2 0 0 0 0
Kora Sorter SS 2 2 1 1 2 0
Piper Greene 3B 4 1 2 1 0 0
B. Svendsgaard RF 4 1 1 1 0 1
Olivia Tougas P 3 0 1 1 0 0
A. Rodriguez LF 3 2 1 1 0 0
Ellie McDermott 0 1 0 0 0 0
Totals 31 17 15 9 2 1
Highlights – 2B: Braylee Wienen, Liza Bjerklie, Piper Greene, Brooklyn Svendsgaard.
Pitching
Thief River Falls IP H R ER BB SO
Olivia Tougas – W 5 7 4 3 0 4
Game 2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Bemidji 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 – 4 11 0
TRF 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 – 7 18 0
Batting
Thief River Falls AB R H RBI BB SO
Sophia Kraemer CF 4 3 3 0 1 0
Braylee Wienen LF 1 1 0 2 0 0
Carlie Rogalla P 4 1 1 1 0 1
Liza Bjerklie C 4 0 1 0 0 0
Kora Sorter 1B 4 0 4 0 0 0
Piper Greene 3B 4 0 1 2 0 1
Olivia Tougass SS 3 1 1 0 1 1
Sophia Tougas 2B 2 0 1 0 1 1
Ellie McDermott RF 4 0 0 0 0 2
Skye Peters 0 1 0 0 0 0
Totals 35 7 18 7 3 6
Highlights – 2B: Liza Bjerlkie; SB: Kora Sorter 3, Liza Bjerklie.
Pitching
Thief River Falls IP H R ER BB SO
Carlie Rogalla 7 11 4 4 1 2