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MARATHON WIN: Norse Punch Ticket To Montana
 Click the thumbnails to see photos, videos taken by Brad Landis. Click the AUDIO buttons to listen to the radio call of the walkoff hit, and to hear post-game comments from Avery Sorochan, McKenna Bullen, and Ross Rahoi.
 Avery Sorochan's RBI single with two out in the bottom of the tenth inning gave the Norse an exciting 6-5 win. Sorochan, a freshman from Canada, had struck out four times and was 0-for-5 in the game. But she came through at the most opportune moment, capping a game that saw the Norse come from behind on three separate occasions.
“I was just trying to have a clear mind and not get too down on myself,” Sorochan said. “Just take it one pitch at a time, and just try to hit the ball. She was pitching a lot outside, and my favorite pitch is outside high. So she just kind of missed her spot high, I guess, and yeah, I hit it!”
“That was a heck of a softball game,” Norse Manager Ross Rahoi said. “It's always fun playing these guys. We have a good relationship with them. It's always a battle. They've got a great hitting lineup, and Kuehl threw well for them, She changes speeds and comes back with that rise ball. But this group, they keep fighting, keep fighting. When our backs are against the wall, when we need it the most, they produce the best.”
The game was a struggle all the way, as DCTC got the leadoff man on base in nine of the ten innings. But pitchers Karlie Patron and Rachael Winkel battled through every single inning, stranding 15 DCTC runners on base and making two plays at the plate late in the game.
 Bay trailed, 2-0, after the first inning, before Escanaba High School graduate McKenna Bullen came through with a two-run single to tie the game in the second inning.
“She (DCTC pitcher Emily Kuehl) knows how to spin the ball,” Bullen said. “I was really nervous. I had a 2-2 count, and I was really expecting her to throw me a rise ball, but she threw me a change-up and I stuck my bat out there and got it. I was so happy that I got that one. I really wanted that.”
In the third inning, Natalie Nausbaum launched a solo home run against Patron to put DCTC ahead, 3-2. But the Norse tied it in the bottom of the inning when Ellie Miller hit got a single, and scored when Patron got a base hit and an outfield error moved both runners up.
But DCTC took a 4-3 lead when Kuehl led off with a single, went to second on an error, and scored when she stole home while the Norse retired the other runner.
Winkel relieved Patron in the fifth inning and was greeted by Spencer Mohr, who smoked a home run to center field. That happened after DCTC had a baserunning mistake that ended with a double play off of a fly to third base.
 “It's windy, really windy, and when those girls hit, they hit bombs,” Bullen said. “This is a really good team. We went 2-2 before when we played them (in Minnesota) so we knew that it was going to be a battle.”
Trailing 5-3, the Norse got a run back when Ellie Miller led off with a double and scored on a double by Natalie Belanger. But the Norse could not put together any big innings against DCTC's pitcher, Kuehl, who did not walk a batter (other than intentional walks) and struck out eight as she threw all ten innings.
The Norse were down to their final out in the seventh inning when Lexi Kacalo came through with a base hit to right field, bringing home runner Emily Goodacre.
DCTC got the first two runners on in the eighth inning, with Ashley Darcy leading off with a triple to the right field fence and Nasbaum safe on an error. But with runners at first and third, Darcy tried to score on a comebacker to the circle and was thrown out at the plate. Then Olivia Weinberg hit into a 6-3 double play as Sarah Wynn continued her outstanding defense at shortstop.
The Norse could not score in the bottom of the eighth despite a two-out single by Winkel.
DCTC threatened again in the top of the ninth when Mohr led off with a double and Kaitlyn Penny singled to left field, putting runners at the corners with no outs. Winkel, though, got the next three outs, stranding two more runners in scoring position.
 Miler led off the bottom of the ninth with a single and was bunted to second by Patron. They intentionally walked Belanger, and the strategy worked, with Kuehl getting two strikeouts to end the inning.
That sent us to the tenth inning, and the international tiebreaker rule was put into play, with each team starting the inning with a runner on second base.
The Norse were able to get the lead runner, Jada Wolle, as she tried to score on a squeeze bunt. Then after a walk put two runners on, Patron, in her second appearance of the game, got Weinberg to ground out to second.
In the bottom of the tenth, the Norse had a runner on second, and Kuehl retired the first two batters she faced. DCTC elected to intentionally walk Winkel to get to Sorochan, who was 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. Sorochan made them pay by smacking a base hit to right field, giving the Norse the dramatic walk-off victory.
“I walked over to her (Sorochan) and I said, 'they're gonna walk Rachael',” Rahoi said. “She smiled at me and said 'OK'. I said 'how about this time, don't swing at the off-speed pitch, first couple of pitches, and that rise ball'. She said, 'OK', smiled, and walked to the plate. And she got a pitch that she could handle.”
“It was awesome,” Sorochan said. “I was getting really down on myself in this game, and this is really what I needed, to come out of it being happy.”
With the win, Bay improved to 30-15, the most wins in program history. They've won 23 of their last 29 games, and have clinched a spot in the regional tournament this weekend in Montana. DCTC (14-12) will have to beat Gogebic Wednesday morning to punch its ticket. The Blue Knights already beat Gogebic five times this season.
The Norse will play again on Wednesday, against the DCTC-GCC winner, and that will be for seeding in the regional tournament bracket. 
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