Moose Jaw Ice players Aspen Olafson, Chloe Strueby and Dru Ansell were part of many a high-scoring victory on their way to winning the Softball Sask U13 AA provincial championship earlier this summer.
But nothing like they experienced on Thursday afternoon.
The trio were picked up by the Minot Storm Blue for the USA Softball 12U B Northern National Championship currently underway in Fargo North Dakota, and after losing their first game 10-2 to the Brookings Outlaws, were part of the most commanding win they’d been a part of in their fastball careers.
Facing the Devils Lake Firebirds, the Storm would put up eight runs in the first inning, 13 more in the second and another 14 in the third to take a 35-2 victory.
So where to begin?
Every Minot player reached base at least a couple of times and all but one scored two or more runs in the game while the Storm cranked out 21 hits and took advantage of 14 walks.
Olafson, Ansell and Strueby were the top of the order and, needless to say, had some gaudy numbers.
Olafson batted lead-off and went 3-for-5 with six runs scored and four runs batted in, while Ansell was 1-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Strueby had a perfect game at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a walk, two doubles, a run scored and four RBI.
Strueby also got the start on the mound and allowed a single hit in her two innings of work, striking out five while facing one batter over the minimum.
Things didn’t go as well in their opening game against Brookings, and almost all of it was the product of a rough start as the Outlaws put up nine runs in the first inning.
Strueby would take over in the second, though, and turned in a solid showing the rest of the way. She allowed a single run and one hit in 4 ⅓ innings of work while striking out three.
Strubey was also 2-for-2 at the plate and knocked in a run, while Ansell also scored a run,
Minot closes out the round robin against the Deacon Flames on Friday at 9 a.m.
The playoffs for the 20-team tournament begin Friday, with the gold medal game going at 12 p.m. Sunday. You can follow along with all the scores from the weekend by clicking right here.
