Despite playing without two senior starters Friday, the Littlefork-Big Falls softball team dominated nearby rival International Falls on the Broncos’ home field.
The Vikings overcame an early 3-run deficit and downed the Falls, 18-8.
“We played a good game, especially coming back after we were down 4-1 in the first inning,” said L-BF head coach Mike Imhof. “We didn’t quit and we hit the ball really well (Friday).”
L-BF’s winning pitcher, Courtney Pfeifer, went all seven innings and also had multiple hits at the plate. In the top of the second, Pfeifer tripled to drive in 2 runs and then scored on a wild pitch by Broncos starter Morgan Bruess to tie the game at 4-4.
The Vikings erupted for 8 runs in the third inning when the Falls made a pitching change. Serie Little hit a one-out triple and Claire Simon doubled before Breann Larson ended up being hit by pitch and the last batter Bruess faced before being relieved by Teagan Anderson.
The Falls wasn’t able to get out of the inning until Anderson faced Larson for the final out as 13 L-BF batters went to the plate.
“We gave up too many runs, but they hit the ball,” said Broncos head coach Kevin Gordon. “They hit the ball hard. I knew they were a good hitting team, but I didn’t know they would hit our pitching that well.”
Among the Vikings’ multiple hitters, Little had a pair of singles to go along with her triple, Pfeifer added a double to her triple, Kristy Horne Dunn also tripled and doubled and Brooke Millerbernd had 3 singles.
L-BF had an opportunity to end the game an inning early by scoring four times in the top of the sixth to pull ahead by 11, but the Broncos kept it going with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame.
A two-out double by Cassie Tomczak as one of her 2 hits for the game, a triple by Olivia Santee to right field, then singles by Bruess and Sam Hams gave Falls enough offense to nullify the 10-run rule and send the game into the seventh inning.
The Broncos’ Jessica Ringhofer had a pair of doubles, while Bruess and Bailey Vollom each added 2 singles.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Vikings in certain situations positioned three infielders rather than the typical two between second and third base in anticipation of some of the Broncos’ top hitters pulling the ball toward left field.
Two L-BF starters out
L-BF was without two seniors who having been starting this season, shortstop Paige DeLack and catcher Cassy Hawkinson. They were replaced Friday by Emily Knaeble at shortstop and Simon at catcher.
“That is the lineup that we’ll keep having until we get those two players back,” Imhof said. “Emily filled in great at shortstop and Claire did a great job catching.”
Though Imhof did not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding DeLack and Hawkinson not being on the team for the time being, he said they would be returning in two weeks, right before the playoffs begin.
L-BF Athletic Director Christopher Bachmeier declined to comment when asked about the two players’ eligibility to be on the softball team. However, when asked whether they could return in two weeks, Bachmeier said it is “something like that.”
L-BF 18, Falls 8
L-BF 1-3-8 0-0-4 2 — 18
Falls 4-0-0 1-0-2 1 — 8
WP—Courtney Pfeifer;
LP—Morgan Bruess
