The Minot Honeybees really had it all in their home-opening series against the La Crosse Steam. From an electric offense to spotless defense and consistent pitching throughout, the Honeybees concluded a series sweep on Sunday with a 7-4 win.
Hailing from nearby Velva, North Dakota, Cienna Clemens had plenty of fans in the stands for her first home start with the Honeybees. As the starting pitcher, Clemens would let two runs come in over two innings but saw a big improvement in damage control from her season debut. Clemens would leave with the Honeybees trailing 2-1 in the third inning and give the ball to Julianna Verni, but the run support was not far behind.
In the bottom of the third, Minot made their move. With one out, Carly Cummings took three bases on a triple to right field. The extra-base hit would be part of a 4-for-4 game for the leadoff batter. Two batters later, Cummings would score on Bella Cimino’s first home run of the summer, putting the Honeybees in the lead at 3-2. Still, the Bees continued to move around the basepaths, eventually scoring once more in the inning on an Olivia Lenzen RBI single.
Verni started off strong inside the circle with two strikeouts in her first inning of work, but would rely on the defense behind her for the remaining innings. A few hard hit balls by the Steam in the fifth inning gave La Crosse some life again, bringing the game within reach, but still trailed 5-4.
Minot had some energy left and spent it in the sixth inning to extend the lead. Trinity Gregg doubled to left field, bringing Cummings home as well. She was followed up by a successful sac bunt by Cimino that Gregg would score on and the Honeybees led by a new 7-4 tally after the inning concluded.
Verni was back in the circle for the seventh. La Crosse built up some steam right away, gathering two hits, but Verni then said enough was enough. A line out, ground out and strikeout by the next three batters put away the win by a 7-4 score for Minot.
The 3-0 weekend marks the first ever series sweep in Honeybee history and also ties Minot for first place in the league standings after Week 1, in line with the Madison Night Mares. The Honeybees will be in Madison on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The SportClips MVP award went to Carly Cummings, whose 4-for-4 day at bat would have been enough, but she added the cherry on top with a diving catch in the ninth that also gave her First Command Play of the Game honors. The Honeybees drew four Buffalo Wild Wings Walks during their fourth Sky Dancer Casino Big Win of the season.
