Bulldogs lose first softball game to Colfax, rebound with wins over Durand and Bruce

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Username

Password

Login

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.

Email

Submit

← Back

What do you do when you lose for the first time?

Simply start another winning streak!

That is precisely what the Bulldog softball team did last week.

After having its five game win streak to start the 2024 season snapped by a 9-1 road loss to a much improved Colfax squad last Tuesday, April 9, Boyceville rebounded with back-to-back victories. It defeated host Durand-Arkansaw 10-6 in an April 11 conference battle and followed it the very next afternoon with a 11-0 home shut out of Bruce.

By finishing with a pair of wins in the shadow of their first loss of the season, the Bulldogs improved to 4-1 in Dunn-St. Croix play and 7-1 overall.

Boyceville hosted rival Glenwood City Monday, then travels to Elmwood this Thursday for a conference game against the Wolves of Elmwood-Plum City. The Bulldogs welcome Webster and Cumberland this Saturday for a triangular and then host Colfax on their Tiffany Creek Elementary field next Monday, April 22.

Colfax

The Bulldogs used three singles, a lead-off hit by Delaney Olson and back-to-back base raps by Cora Leslie and Kaitlyn Mittlestadt – in the second inning to score first, taking a 1-0 lead when Olson scored.

As it turned out, that would be the Bulldogs only score in the game.

Boyceville had another chance to add runs in the third but a heads up play by the Colfax defense with an unorthodox double play halted their threat. With runners on first and second with one out, a ball hit to the Viking left fielder appeared to be caught but was dropped. The runners were caught trying to get to the next base and both were called out when they didn’t get there fast enough.

Colfax used a couple of free passes and a hard ground ball through the infield by Jada Anderson to load the bases, but a ground ball was fielded by the Bulldog shortstop who threw home for the force out. Hannah Peterson cleared the bases with a double to the fence and moved to third on a throwing error. Audrey Ebert banged a base hit to bring Peterson in for a 4-1 advantage.

Aubrey Malean singled to open Boyceville’s fifth but was promptly removed from the base paths when Viking catcher Brynn Sikora gunned her down trying to steal.

Colfax responded on offense again with Anderson starting the bottom of the inning with a shot over second base. After stealing second, Sikora blasted a double and Peterson brought them both home with a solid single. The Bulldog defense began to fall apart, allowing the Vikings to score a couple of more runs with two big errors and it was 8-1 when the inning ended.

Colfax added one more run in the sixth and pitcher Laikyn Beyer shut the Bulldogs down, forcing two ground outs and a pop-up to end the game.

Both squads finished with seven hits in the game.

Malean and Leslie each had a pair of hits in the game. Zoey Hellendrung, Delaney Olson, and Kaitlyn Mittlestadt accounted for Boyceville’s other three base hits.

Malean, who threw all six innings and suffered the loss, allowed nine runs on seven hits, walked a half dozen and finished with five Ks.

Durand-Arkansaw

Boyceville lead from start to finish but host Durand-Arkansaw kept the April 11 conference contest played at Tarrant Park close.

The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Jadynn Traxler doubled with one out and scored the game’s first run two batters later when Delaney Olson singled her home. Zoey Hellendrung, who drew a walk, then scored on a Sarah Stoveren hit.

The Panthers scored a run in the bottom half of the first.

Boyceville plated two more runs in the top of the third. Hellendrung drew an inning-opening walk and Olson singled in the next at bat. Hellendrung eventually scored on a passed ball while Olson touched home plate on a Kaitlyn Mittlestadt hit.

Durand-Arkansaw again added a run in their half of the inning.

The teams then traded single runs in the fourth and fifth innings as Boyceville lead 6-4.

Hellendrung doubled and then scored when Cora Leslie reached on a Panther error to extend the Boyceville lead to 7-4.

Boyceville added three more runs in the top of the seventh when Aubrey Malean and Hellendrung both singled and Hannah Dunn walked, all came around to score.

Durand-Arkansaw scored twice in their final at bat but Malean ended the game with a strike out to preserve a 10-6 Boyceville win.

Malean went all seven innings in the throwing circle and earned the win. She allowed six runs on seven his, struck out ten Panther batters, and walked four.

Boyceville outslugged Durand-Arkansaw 16 to ten. Delaney Olson collected four of those hits. Jadynn Traxler, Zoey Hellendrung, Sarah Stoveren, Kaitlyn Mittlestadt and Paige Fenton each had two hits for the Bulldogs. Fenton, Hellendrung and Traxler also had a double among their hits.

Both teams did commit several errors in the contest. Boyceville finished with six and Durand-Arkansaw had four.

Bruce

Delaney Olson and Hannah Dunn each belted a triple to led the Bulldogs to an 11-0, five-inning home shut out victory over Bruce last Friday, April 12.

Olson and Sarah Stoveren finished with a pair of hits and Aubrey Malean and Ali McRoberts combined for the one-hit win against the Red Raiders.

Malean started in the throwing circle and threw four hitless and scoreless innings, striking out eight and giving up just one walk to earn the win. McRoberts came on for the fifth and allowed the Red Raiders their only hit.

Boyceville scored in every inning it batted. It plated two in the first, three in the second, five in the third and a single run in the fourth.