by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
The 2026 season came to an end for the Northland softball team on Wednesday (April 22) with the team getting swept in a home doubleheader against the Minnesota North College – Itasca Vikings. The Vikings defeated the Pioneers 7-6 in game one and 13-6 in game two.
Weather has been unkind to all spring sports so far in 2026 and the Pioneer softball team was no exception. The Pioneers did not play a home game on their own field this year.
The Pioneers hosted a four-game series against Minnesota North College – Vermilion April 19-20 at the River Bend Softball Complex in Red Lake Falls.
On Wednesday, the Pioneers played the closest thing to a home series when they hosted MNC-Itasca at the Multi Events Center in Thief River Falls.
The Pioneers and Vikings were two teams headed in opposite directions. The Vikings brought a 7-6 MCAC North record and three-game winning streak into the doubleheader, while the Pioneers had just dropped three of four against MNC-Vermilion.
The Pioneers and Vikings were scoreless through two frames. Northland starter Kaydence Augustine retired the first two batters she faced in the third inning. Then the Vikings heated up with four consecutive home runs from Karley Sokoloski, Sophia DeNucci, Addison Linder and Camille Parenteau to go in front 4-0.
The Pioneers answered with a run on one hit in the bottom of the third. Kora Sorter doubled to lead off the inning before scoring on an error by MNC-Itasca first base player Bradee Burish.
The Vikings added two runs on three hits in the fourth to go in front 6-1.
The Pioneers got back into the game with three runs on three hits in the bottom of the fifth. Sorter, Liza Bjerklie and Jacey Wojochowski scored runs, with Wojchowski, Ava Hensrud and Brooklyn Svendsgaard each recording an RBI.
The Vikings got an important insurance run in the top of the sixth, with Bella Dunham doubling with one out in the inning and scoring on an error by Samantha Stevens.
The Pioneers kept battling, however, and scored a run on two hits in the sixth to make the score 7-5. Augustine singled to lead off the inning. She later advanced to second on a two-out walk by Bjerklie and scored on an RBI-single by Wojchowski.
The score was still 7-5 heading into the bottom of the seventh. Linder was attempting to got the distance for the Vikings and she struck out Svendsgaard and Emerson Engen on just pitches.
The Pioneers made her work for the third out. Aubrey Hensrud drew a four-pitch walk. Augustine singled to center and Stevens drew a walk following a seven-pitch at-bat to load the bases. Sorter kept the rally going by reaching on an error, with Hensrud scoring and everyone else moving up a bag.
The bases were still loaded with two outs when Bjerklie stepped into the batters’ box. She took the first pitch for a called strike and fouled off the next three before popping out to Linder to end the game.
“Just like they did all season, they battled right to the last out,” said Northland Head Coach Rick Looker. “I was very proud of the team for putting ourselves in that position to give ourselves a chance at the end of the game.”
Aftering coming alive late in game one, the Pioneers’ bats stayed hot early in game two, with the team plating a pair of runs on three hits in the bottom of the first. Sorter and Wojchowski scored runs, with Wojchowski and Ava Hensrud recording RBIs in the first-inning rally.
The Vikings answered with three runs on four hits in the top of the third to take their first lead of game two.
The Vikings added to their lead in the top of the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, Linder belted a three-run home run to make the score 6-2, and the following inning Linder hit a two-run home run to give her team an 8-2 lead.
Much like game one, the Pioneers did not go away quietly. The Pioneers put together a four-run rally in the bottom of the sixth with runs scored by Bjerklie, Wojchowski, Engen and Calleigh Carl.
Trailing 8-6 going into the seventh, the were in desperate need of a shut-down inning. Instead, the Vikings broke the game open with five runs on six hits.
Linder, who went the distance in game one, pitched around a two-out single to earn her second complete game of the day.
“Yeah, unfortunately, [MNC-Itasca] got some breaks with a couple of seeing-eye hits and some help from the wind to push the ball over the fence to extend their lead,” Looker said. “Again, we showed our no-quit attitude and competed against a team that has advanced to district play.
“Our pitchers did their job all today, as they have done all season. Kaydence Augustine and Aubrey Hensrud. Jacey Wojchowski made some great catches in centerfield and did a great job at the plate. As well as Liza Bjerklie, Kora Sorter, and Ava Hensrud continuing to hit the ball on a consistent basis.”
The Pioneers finished the 2026 season with a 3-12 mark in the MCAC North and a 4-21 record overall.
MNC-Itasca went 9-6 in the MCAC North and 13-16 overall. They advanced to the Region 13 play-in round held on Saturday and defeated Rochester Community & Technical College 9-1 and 4-1 to advance to the Region 13 Tournament.
Game 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
MNCI 0 0 4 2 0 1 0 – 7 17 0
NCTC 0 0 1 0 3 1 1 – 6 10 3
Batting
MNC-Itasca AB R H RBI BB SO
Addison Linder 4 1 2 1 0 0
Kalli Fjeld 4 0 1 0 0 1
Hannah Zieroth 0 0 0 0 0 0
Joy Kral 4 1 1 0 0 0
Karley Sokoloski 4 1 3 3 0 0
Camille Parenteau 4 1 2 1 0 0
Bella Dunham 4 2 3 0 0 0
Hailey Ridgeway 4 0 3 0 0 0
Bradee Burish 4 0 1 0 0 1
Kylee Reimer 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sophia DeNucci 4 1 1 1 0 0
Totals 36 7 17 6 0 2
Highlights – 2B: Bella Dunham; HR: Addison Linder, Karley Sokoloski, Camille Parenteau, Sophia DeNucci; RBI: Addison Linder, Karley Sokoloski (3), Camille Parenteau, Sophia DeNucci.
Northland AB R H RBI BB SO
Samantha Stevens 4 0 0 0 1 1
Kora Sorter 1B 4 2 1 0 1 1
Liza Bjerklie C 4 1 1 0 1 1
Jacey Wojchowski 3 1 2 2 1 0
Ava Hensrud 4 0 0 1 0 1
B. Svendsgaard 4 0 1 1 0 2
Emersyn Engen 4 0 1 0 0 2
Chantel Kesselberg 1 0 0 0 0 1
Kaydence Augustine 4 1 3 0 0 0
Aubrey Hensrud 2 1 1 0 1 0
Totals 34 6 10 4 5 9
Highlights – 2B: Kora Sorter, Jacey Wojchowski; RBI: Jacey Wojchowski (2), Ava Hensrud, Brooklyn Svendsgaard; E: Samantha Stevens (2), Kora Sorter.
Pitching
MNC-Itasca IP H R ER BB SO
Addison Linder 7 11 6 5 5 10
Northland IP H R ER BB SO
K. Augustine – L 3.1 9 6 0 0 0
Aubrey Hensrud 3.2 4 1 0 0 0
Game 2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
MNCI 0 3 0 0 3 2 5 – 13 21 2
NCTC 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 – 6 9 0
Batting
MNC-Itasca AB R H RBI BB SO
Addison Linder 5 3 4 7 0 0
Kalli Fjeld 4 0 1 1 0 2
Hannah Zieroth 0 0 0 0 0 0
Joy Kral 3 0 1 0 1 0
Karley Sokoloski 5 2 2 2 0 0
Camille Parenteau 5 1 3 1 0 0
Bella Dunham 5 1 1 1 0 0
Hailey Ridgeway 4 2 2 0 0 0
Bradee Burish 5 1 2 0 0 1
Sophia DeNucci 5 3 5 0 0 0
Totals 41 13 21 12 1 3
Highlights – 2B: Addison Linder, Bella Dunham; HR: Addison Linder (2); RBI: Addison Linder (7), Kalli Fjeld, Karley Sokoloski (2), Camille Parenteau, Bella Dunham; E: Hannah Zieroth (2); DP: Karley Sokoloski.
Northland AB R H RBI BB SO
Samantha Stevens 4 0 0 0 0 2
Kora Sorter 4 1 1 0 0 0
Liza Bjerklie 4 1 1 0 0 2
Jacey Wojchowski 3 2 3 1 1 0
Ava Hensrud 4 0 2 2 0 0
Calleigh Carl 2 1 1 1 1 0
Emersyn Engen 3 1 0 0 0 2
Aubrey Hensrud 2 0 0 0 1 1
Kaydence Augustine 3 0 1 2 0 0
Totals 29 6 9 6 3 7
Highlights – RBI: Jacey Wojchowski, Ava Hensrud (2), Calleigh Carl, Kaydence Augustine (2) ; DP: Kora Sorter, Liza Bjerklie, Kaydence Augustine.
Pitching
MNC-Itasca IP H R ER BB SO
Addison Linder 7.0 8 6 3 3 7
Northland IP H R ER BB SO
Aubrey Hensrud-L 7.0 21 13 13 1 3