Royals Come Up Short vs. the Pioneers
The Royals softball team made their second western trip of the conference season, traveling to Miles City, Montana, to take on Miles Community College.
The Royals softball team made their second western trip of the conference season, traveling to Miles City, Montana, to take on Miles Community College.
In the first game of the four-game series, the Royals' bats struggled to get going, recording just one hit and one walk. The lone hit came from Mya Dueck, while Alexa Ferguson drew the team's only walk. Tristin McTavish battled in the circle, but the Miles offense proved too much as the Royals fell 8–0.
In game two, Miles jumped out quickly, scoring four runs in both the first and second innings to take an 8–1 lead after two. The Royals responded in the top of the third, erupting for five runs. They added another in the fourth to cut the deficit to two. However, the Pioneers answered with six runs in the bottom of the fifth and added one more in the sixth to secure a 15–7 win. Sadie Mason led the Royals offensively, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Ella Harkness walked three times and scored three runs.
Sunday's first game saw the Royals' offense go quiet again, managing just three hits. Miles scored at least one run in each of the final five innings to earn an 8–0 victory. Alexa Ferguson, Leta Schulz, and Katie Allmaras each recorded hits in the game.
In the final game of the series, the Pioneers once again started strong, but the Royals answered with a seven-run fourth inning to tie the game. The score remained even until the top of the seventh, when Miles pushed across three runs to pull away for a 10–7 win. Annabelle Ocampo highlighted the offense with a triple, while Alexa Ferguson, Sadie Mason, Kaell Klisowsky, and Ocampo each went 2-for-4 at the plate.
Miles Community College completed the four-game sweep, but the Royals showed resilience throughout the series. The Royals will return to action Wednesday as they travel to face North Dakota State College of Science.
