MOBRIDGE, S.D. – The Mobridge-Pollock Lady Tigers closed out their final home game of the season with a hard-fought 10-7 loss to the Milbank Bulldogs. Despite a late push from the Lady Tigers, Milbank maintained control throughout the contest and did enough down the stretch to secure the victory. With the loss, Mobridge-Pollock fell to 3-7 on the season.
The game started with two quick outs in the first three batters for Milbank before the Bulldogs got some offense going with a Payton Westfield single and a Bella Hicks single to take a 2-0 lead. Milbank extended that lead to 5-0 before Mobridge-Pollock got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth with a Sophie Keller single. The Lady Tigers battled back and eventually cut the deficit to just one run, but Milbank responded in a crucial moment during the top of the sixth inning. Taking advantage of several walks, the Bulldogs scored five runs to push their lead back to six. Facing a must-score situation in the bottom of the seventh, Faith Heil opened the inning with a single, Quinn Kemnitz followed with a walk, and Bentley Bauer delivered a triple to spark the comeback effort. However, the rally stalled there as Milbank tightened up defensively to close out the 10-7 win.
One of the bright spots for Mobridge-Pollock was a noticeable improvement on defense. It all started with Rue Knudson, who pitched another great game, and her catcher, Abby Hollenbeck, whose reaction time has taken a noticeable step forward in the past few games. The strong defensive play continued with the infield making solid plays throughout the day, including Quinn Kemnitz, who made the defensive grab of the season on a hard-hit ball sailing over her head. In the end, however, it was Milbank earning the win, and Ashlynn Lamp stepped up in a big way late in the game to help the Bulldogs get the job done. Lamp hit a key two-RBI single in the top of the sixth to help pad the Bulldogs’ lead and, after getting into some early trouble in the bottom of the seventh, was able to settle down and record the final outs, earning her Burger King Player of the Game honors in the win.
Mobridge-Pollock will wrap up the regular season at Northern State University, where the Lady Tigers are scheduled to face Florence/Henry and Avon on Friday, May 22. First pitch for game one is expected around 3:30 p.m.
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