Minot, ND – The Madison Night Mares (33-7) scored a pair of late runs to sneak by the Minot Honeybees (21-19) 8-7 on Thursday night.

Ava Carroll (University of Washington) delivered a two-run single in the top of the second to put the Night Mares in front. Moments later, Kisbel Vizcaya (Mid-American Christian University) added another run with an RBI groundout to make it 3-0.

Addison Blomberg (University of Wisconsin) extended the Night Mares’ lead with a two-run single in the top of the third, making it 5-0. Madison tacked on another run in the fourth to go up by six. In the bottom half, Taylor Chillingworth (San Jose State University) answered with a three-run homer to cut the deficit in half.

The Honeybees staged a furious comeback in the fifth inning. With two runs already scored, Makenna Alexander (University of North Dakota) hit an RBI single to tie the game at six. Then Carly Cummings (San Jose State University) hit an RBI single to give the Honeybees a 7-6 lead.

The lead didn’t last long, as Hilary Blomberg (University of Wisconsin) led off the sixth inning with a game-tying solo home run. Later in the inning, Isabela Emerling (University of Oklahoma) scored on a passed ball to give the Night Mares an 8-7 lead. The Honeybees went quiet on offense over the final two innings and the Night Mares held on for the victory.

Paytn Monticelli (LSU) earned the win in the circle for the Night Mares, her sixth of the season. Ashleigh Heiderscheit (San Jacinto North Community College) was charged with the loss for the Honeybees.

The Night Mares will wrap up the regular season with a doubleheader against the Honeybees in Minot on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. Madison will return home to Warner Park on August 6 for Game 2 of the playoffs against the Honeybees, with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m.