Royals Softball Opens Season in South Dakota

The Royals softball team went to Aberdeen SD on February 14^th and 15^th to play 4 games against NDSCS in the Presentation College sports dome. The Wildcats of NDSCS won 3 games and Lake Region won one.

February 14, 2021 – The Wildcats won the first of the four games by the score of 10 -2 in 6 innings. NDSCS jumped to an early lead by scoring two runs in the 1^st and 1 run in the second. Lainee Miller for the Royals hit her first collegiate homerun in the second inning to cut the lead but the Wildcats responded by scoring 4 more in the third inning capped off by a 3 run homer by Noelle Forstner. The Royals were able to push one more run across after Sam Shumway singled and advanced on wild throws. Syd Schott got the pitching win for NDSCS allowing only 3 hits in the game and striking out 10. Alex Chapman took the loss for the Royals pitching 5 and two-thirds innings, giving up 7 earned runs off of 11 hits and striking out 2.

In game two the Royals jumped out to a 5 to 1 lead in the first inning the Royals batted 9 hitters with Dani Ruest, Sam Shumway, Lainee Miller, Emery Miller, and Jacey Ledochowski all scoring. Hits by Emery Miller and Ledochowski pushed most of the runs across and a throwing error allowed Ledochowski to score. Shumway and Ruest scored in the second giving the Royals a 7 to 1 lead. In the 4^th inning, Lainee Miller hit her second homerun of the day giving the royals a 8 to 1 lead. In the 5^th inning, the Royals scored 2 after Tyra Robertson singled, Hunter Ganske walked and Sam Shumway tripled to score them. The game ended 10-1 due to the 8 run rule. Ainsley Olson pitched the complete game for the win giving up just 4 hits, 1 earned run, and striking out 9.

February 15, 2021 – The first game of the day saw NDSCS jump out to a quick lead and never looked back. They scored 5 runs in the first inning, 4 runs in the second, and 10 runs in the third inning. Timely hits and missed opportunities by the Royals primarily accounted for most of the runs. The Wildcats had 4 homeruns in the game. One each by Noelle Forstner, Mik Johnson, Maxine Ebel, and Ellie Miller. The Royals got in the scoring column when Jacey Ledochowski hit her first collegiate homerun in the second and in the fourth, Lainee Miller and Jasmine Molina scored after a throwing error and passed ball. In the fifth inning, Lake Region was able to score 2 more but it was not enough to keep the game going. NDSCS won by the 8 run rule with the score of 21-5. Alex Chapman pitched for the Royals giving up 22 hits, 19 earned runs, striking out 2 and walking 2.

In the second game, the Wildcats jumped out to a 6-0 lead after three innings scoring 2 in the first, one in the second, and 3 in the third inning. The Royals scored 2 runs in the bottom half of the fourth inning. A solo homerun by Lainee Miller started the inning. Sam Shumway then singled, stole two bases, then scored on a passed ball. In the fifth inning, the Wildcats broke it open scoring 5 runs off of 3 homeruns giving them an 11-2 lead and the win. Ainsley Olson pitched for the Royals giving up 8 earned runs, 12 hits, 3 homeruns, and striking out 7. Syd Schott got the pitching win for NDSCS giving up just 4 hits and striking out 8.

The Royals next action is Saturday February 20^th in Rochester MN for 3 games.