Apr. 3—JAMESTOWN — The Velva/Drake-Anamoose girls' softball team started the 2025 Softball Day North Dakota Tournament with a 10-0 win over Carrington High School on Thursday, April 4, at the Nelson Family Bubble.
The Aggies got off to a quick start with two runs scoring on a wild pitch and an error to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. The Aggies' Leah Volochenko scurried home on another wild pitch in the second to take a 3-0 lead. The Aggies blew the game open in the third inning with a six-run inning to take a 9-0 lead. The Aggies added one more in the fourth to take a 10-0 lead.
The Cardinals' Brynn Smith led off the fourth with a bunt single to break up the Aggies' Grace Balas' perfect game. The Cardinals' starting pitcher Calleigh Hewitt figured it out in the top of the fifth, keeping the Aggies off balance and pitching a shutout.
The Cardinals' Bailey Ness reached on another bunt single in the bottom of the fifth to give her team their second hit of the game.
On the mound, the Aggies' Grace Balas pitched a complete game with 12 strikeouts and two hits. The sophomore also went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs at the plate.
VDA 10, CHS 0
VDA: 2 1 6 1 0 — 10
CHS: 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
WP: Grace Balas (2-0), LP: Calleigh Hewitt (0-1)
Velva/Anamoose-Garrison beats Carrington:
The Aggies offense exploded in the second game with a 16-0 win over the Cardinals in the second game of the doubleheader.
The Aggies (2-0-2) continued to take advantage of the Cardinals' miscues in the second game with the hosts scoring four runs in the first inning. The Aggies' Kinley Peterson hit a single to left to score and make it 5-0. The Aggies tacked on two more in the frame to take a 7-0 lead.
The Cardinals (0-2) had a chance to break through in the third when Bailey Ness hit a single through the right side and then got all the way around to third. However, a strikeout stranded Ness on third.
The Aggies' offense could not be stopped as nine runs came to the plate in the third inning to push their lead out to 16-0.
The Cardinals are back in action at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8, when they go to Langdon Area-Munich.
