END OF THE LINE: Bay Softball Loses In Montana

Click the thumbnails to see videos from the game and hear post-game comments from Norse Manager Ross Rahoi.

GLENDIVE, Mont.---Sarah Wynn swung the bat on Monday, and sent it toward the mountainous backdrop in the left-center field of the B.L. Baker Stadium.

Her Bay College Norse team trailed by two runs in the seventh inning, and with all of the runs that were scored the day before, surely this one would clear the fence and keep the Norse alive with a dramatic two-run home run.

But, sadly for Wynn and the Norse, Dawson left fielder Tara Coats had a beat on the ball. She raced back to the wall and hauled it in for the second out of the seventh inning. A strikeout ended the game, and the Norse had a tough 3-1 loss to close the winningest season in program history.

"The girl timed it right," Bay College Manager Ross Rahoi said. "She got to the fence, czme back from the fence, reached up, and made the catch. If she didn't, it was going over. She definitely pulled it back. So, unfortunate for Sarah, and for us. But what's great about it is that we kept fighting, and we kept working."

The game was a far cry from all of the action on Sunday, which were high-scoring affairs. A total of 47 runs were scored in Bay's two games alone, and 73 were scored in the four games.

But in this one, Dawson right hander Deven Creech threw seven innings, allowing only six base hits. And Bay's tandum of Karlie Patron and Rachael Winkel held the Bucs to nine hits. The two Norse pitchers needed only 82 combined pitches while Creech threw 105.

The Bucs (31-10) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Laci Leishman launched a solo home run off of Patron. Then in the fifth inning, one play turned out to be big after Kambree Hemenway led off the inning with a triple to center field.

With one out, McKenzie Harbison put down a bunt on the third base line. The throw to first base was late, scoring the run. Then Bay catcher Ally Podhaniuk whipped a throw back to second base and threw wildly into the outfield, and Harnison came all the way around to score.

That was the only error of the game for Bay, but the Norse were behind, 3-0.

"Karlie checked (the runner at third) and probably checked a little bit too long," Rahoi said. "So when you try to fire it back home, and before you know it, things get a little bit out of hand. Probably forced that throw to second base when she didn't even need to. Give them credit. They put a little pressure on us. We executed the play decently but we had the miscue at the end and unfortunately that run comes all the way around and scores."

But Bay wasn't done. Westwood High School's Ellie Miller smacked a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning to bring the Norse to within 3-1. One out later, Natalie Belanger ripped a single to left, and pinch runner C.C. Pilon stole second base.

Lexi Kacalo, who had homered on Sunday, struck out to end the threat.

That took us to the seventh inning, when McKenna Bullen had a swinging bunt up the third base line for an infield hit with one out. That brought up Wynn, and she gave it a ride, but just not far enough to keep the season alive for the Norse.

"We had a couple of mistakes," Rahoi said. "But we battled and fought. We were almost there. We almost overcame them. It was not quite enough. It's been a fun group, a special group. It's never easy to say goodbye and have things finish. But I'm proud of them and we'll keep at going forward and look forward to the next fall season."

While the Norse were making the long 16-hour bus ride back to Escanaba, Dawson defeated Miles Community College, 9-1, to force a winner-take-all regional championship game. And Miles, which had lost all six regular season games to Dawson, beat the Lady Bucs for the second time in as many days to win the regional championship, 9-6.