GATORS WIN ONE, LOSE ONE IN TOURNAMENT PLAY

     The BGMR Gator Softball Team advanced to the subsection championship game with a 12-1 win over the Lake of the Woods Bears team.  Unfortunately for the Gators they ran into a surging Red Lake Falls team and dropped a 10-4 decision to the reigning Section 8A Champion Eagles.  The Gators however still have a pulse in the double elimination tournament and will meet Norman County on Wednesday in a win or go home game.

     BGMR jumped on Lake of the Wood early.  The Gators scored 4 runs in the first, 1 in the second, 2 in the third and had a 5 run fourth to put the game away and win via 10 run rule.  Offensively the Gators were led by Bailey Bergeron and Lyndsey Anderson who had 2 hits each.

     Gator starting pitcher Aunica Novacek pitched a complete game 3 hitter.  Novacek allowed 1 earned run and struck out six.  The win propelled the Gators into the subsection championship game and a rematch of last year’s title game with Red Lake Falls.

 

EAGLES POUND GATORS FOR TITLE

     The Red Lake Falls Eagles came out on a mission and repeated as subsection champions as the Eagles blasted the Gators 10-4 in the subsection championship game.  The Eagles would strike early as they scored 3 runs in the first.  The Gators defense was not sharp and the Eagles were able to take advantage of the Gator miscues.  After a scoreless second Red Lake Falls blew the game open with a 5 run third.  In the inning the Eagles pounded out 5 hits and batted through the order.  The never say die Gators scratched a run across in the fifth when Lyndsey Anderson blasted a home run.  The Gators made things a bit interesting with a 3 run seventh but the deficit was too great and the Eagles prevailed. 

     Offensively the Gators were led by Anderson and Blawat who each had 2 hits.  BGMR however was unable to manage much else against crafty Eagle pitcher Katie Amiot.  Amiot allowed 1 earned run on 6 hits and struck out 6.

     Gator starting pitcher Aunica Novacek threw well but was unable to adjust to what the Gator coaches considered a tough strike zone.  Novacek allowed 5 earned runs on 9 hits and struck out 1.  Paige Taggart relieved Novacek in the 3 inning and kept the Gators in the game.  Taggart allowed 2 earned runs on 6 hits and also had a strike out.

     Wednesday Section Tournament will be played in Greenbush.  The Gators and Norman County will go to battle at 4:00 on diamond 2 while Norman County East and Lake of the Woods will go toe to toe on diamond 1 at 4:00.  The two losers will go home while the winners will square off in another loser out game.  BGMR has a long road ahead of them but next weeks two day tournament should be an exciting one and one in which Gator Nation will be needed.

GATORS BLAST RAMS

 The BGMR Gator Softball Team offensively got off to a slow start but got solid starting pitching and sound defense as the Gators raced to an 11-1 six inning victory over the Roseau Rams. BGMR scored 1 run in the first when Aunica Novacek scored on a single by Corinn Balstad. BGMR would tack on 3 more runs in each of the third and fourth innings, scored two in the fifth and 2 more in the sixth to end the game via 10 run rule. Roseau’s loan run came in the sixth when Heather Nelson singled and later scored on a single by Dianna Grendahl. Gator starting pitcher Aunica Novacek picked up her fourth win of the year as she pitched all six innings, striking out 6 and not allowing a walk. Offensively the Gators were led by Tori Mekash who had 3 hits.  No other Gator had more than 1 hit however the Gators were patient with their at bats and coaxed 10 walks and 4 hit batters out of the Rams pitchers. BGMR will continue its rough schedule with a game today at RLF. The defending Section 8A Champion Eagles will be looking for revenge as BGMR took it to them last week. With the wind gusting like a hurricane it should be an interesting ball game for both teams.

By: Coach Christian

GATORS SURVIVE EAGLES

   
The BGMR Gators and Red Lake Falls Eagles continued their hard fought rivalry with the Gators prevailing 10-9 in 8 innings. The Gators seemed to be in control of the game as they entered the 6th inning with an 8-3 lead. The pesky Eagles however mounted a fierce rally as they scored 4 runs in the sixth and tacked on the tying two runs in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. Much to the Gators credit they preserved through some adversity and managed to regain the lead in the top of the eighth. With two outs Red Lake Falls would get the tying run to third base and had the winning run on first but BGMR got the final out on a ground ball to second and throw to first. Offensively the Gators were led by Emily Anderson who was 3 for 3. Lyndsey Anderson and Aunica Novacek were 3 for 5 and Paige Taggart was 2 for 4. Gator starting pitcher Paige Taggart was effective early but ran into some brief control problems.  Bailey Bergeron did a nice job in relief but also seemed to run out of gas. Aunica Novacek came in relief of Bergeron and proceeded to give up the tying hit but did settle down and picked up the victory. Defensively the Gators were nowhere near as sharp as they need to be. They had errors on plays they normally make. BGMR will get a day of practice to straighten out some correctable mistakes defensively before they return home on Thursday night to take on the Lake of the Woods Bears. The BGMR Gator Coaching Staff would like to take this time to remind Gator Nation that no matter how close the game is the Gator Girls and umpiring crew are doing the best they can.  Mistakes will be made in just about every athletic contest that a person is involved with.  The coaching staff stress to the girls that it isn't the adversity that can hurt you but how you respond to it that can make a difference. It is Gators Nation’s job to be a positive influence for the girls and help them persevere through adversity.

By: Coach Christian