The Crookston Pirates softball team allowed a couple of big innings, and that was the difference in the game as they fell to the Red Lake Falls Eagles 15-4 in six innings on a good day for softball in Crookston.
After both teams went scoreless in the first inning, the Eagles put a big inning together in the second with six runs. The first batter reached on an error, and Mikayla Wiskow doubled her in for the game’s first run. After a walk, back-to-back singles from Gabby Casavan and Shelby Breiland each score a run. An error brought in two more runs, and a single from Gretchen Cota scored the sixth run of the inning. “A couple of things just got away from us,” said the Pirates Head Coach Sunny Bowman.
Emily Bowman singled to start the Crookston half of the second, and Julia Lallier singled with two outs, but the Pirates were unable to score in the inning.
The Eagles got back on the board in the third inning with another run. Mikayla Wiskow hit another double to lead off the inning, and Alexis Swendra singled her in. Red Lake Falls loaded the bases with no outs, but Jenna Coauette held them scoreless the rest of the inning. “Jenna kept us in the game,” said Coach Bowman.
Crookston got on the board in the fourth inning. Reese Swanson singled with one out and two walks promptly loaded the bases. A fielder’s choice groundout by Emilee Tate scored Swanson from third. That was all Crookston managed in the fourth as they cut the lead to 7-1. “We started a little slow, but once we caught up to the pitcher, we had her,” explained Coach Bowman.
Red Lake Falls got a couple more runs in the fifth. Alexis Swendra doubled to start the inning, and the next two batters were hit on consecutive pitches to load the bases with no outs. After a strikeout, Bella Amiot hit a two-RBI single to center field to give the Eagles a 9-1 lead as Jenna Coauette worked out of trouble without too much damage done.
The Pirates got a two-out double from Coauette in the bottom of the fifth inning, but she was stranded. “There were a few outs that were right to the defenders,” said Coach Bowman. “We were stinging the ball.”
The Eagles put up another crooked number of six runs in the sixth inning to break the game open. An error, single, and hit by pitch loaded the bases quickly for Red Lake Falls. The next batter, Gabby Casavan, brought in four runs with one swing of the bat on a grand slam home run over the left-field fence to give the Eagles a 13-1 lead. Two more batters reached, and with one out, Gretchen Cota brought in another run with a single. The sixth run was scored on an RBI single from Hailey Broden. Heading into the bottom of the sixth, the Eagles led 15-1.
The Pirates needed at least five runs to keep the game going into the seventh. Reese Swanson picked up her second single of the game to lead off the inning. An error allowed Swanson to score from second base. Emma Boll walked to put runners on first and second, and Kenze Epema brought both runners in to score on a two-RBI double. That potential fifth run came to the plate, but a hard-hit grounder ended the game with the Eagles prevailing by a 15-4 score. “We can play. I’ve seen them play. We see glimpses of it every single game, but we have to come out and have a whole game of good defense,” added Coach Bowman. “That win is coming.”
The Pirates move to 0-8 on the season as they are still looking for that first win of the year. They have a chance to pick up a couple of wins on Thursday when they travel to Roseau for a doubleheader.
Red Lake Falls improves to 7-3 this season. They will play at Marshall County Central on Friday.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E | |
| Red Lake Falls | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 16 | 2 |
| Crookston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Jenna Coauette- Crox | 6 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 4 |
| Gabby Casavan- RLF | 6 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
For Red Lake Falls
Gabby Casavan- 3 for 3, home run, 5 RBI, 2 runs
Alexis Swendra- 3 for 4, double, RBI, 3 runs
Gretchen Cota- 3 for 5, 2 RBI
Mikayla Wiskow- 2 for 3, 2 doubles, RBI, 2 runs
Shelby Breiland- 2 for 5, 2 runs
For Crookston
Reese Swanson- 2 for 2, 2 runs
Kenze Epema- 2 for 4, 2 RBI
