Although the Madison Night Mares and Minot Honeybees have more games to play this summer, they needed a little extra softball before calling the regular season complete. After a Night Mares win in game one, Madison had to rally in game two, and were successful, sweeping the series with an 8-6 win in eight innings.
The first game of the day was closer than the score may suggest. Madison jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning, only for Minot to grab one run of their own. From the second inning on, the game was decided by what happened with runners in scoring position. The Honeybees had multiple opportunities, but couldn’t come through. Meanwhile, the Night Mares took advantage of the few chances they had, putting up four runs in the third inning to grow a five-run lead. Minot would fall in the first game of the day 6-2, but there was still one more to win.
As usual, the Night Mares started hot. A leadoff double by Ava Carroll on a hit by Isabela Emerling. The 1-0 lead wouldn’t last long, as the Bees got the help of three free passes to push across their first score. In the second inning, it was much of the same.
Dani Lucey went deep for her seventh home run of the season, putting Madison up 2-1. The Bees were back at it, starting their half of the second inning with four consecutive hits and two runs. Minot took claim to their first lead of the day, 3-2 after two complete.
Madison went on a run with the bats over the next few innings. One in the third and two in the fourth catapulted the Night Mares to the lead again. In the bottom of the fourth, they turned to the ace of the pitching staff Paytn Monticelli to close out another win. Monticelli pitched well up until one rough patch in the sixth inning.
Cadey Shipman took a hit by pitch to lead it off and was advanced to second by a Carly Cummings bunt. Trinity Gregg singled to put runners on the corners for Virginia Mambelli. Mambelli would hit a low fly ball to left field that was misplayed by Carroll. The ball skipped away and out of play. While Shipman and Gregg had scored on the play, the umpires sent Gregg back to third base on the ground-rule double.
Still, Gregg would come around to score in the inning on a Shayna Myshrall sac fly. Mambelli would score as well when Bella Cimino doubled to right field. The Honeybees’ three-run sixth inning gave them a 6-5 advantage into the seventh.
Minot relief pitcher, Ava Conti, was getting better with each inning. Conti was brought in when starter Ashleigh Heiderscheit left with a leg injury in the second inning. In her Corbett Field debut, Conti was one out away from her first win when Dani Lucey crushed a solo home run to left field. Lucey’s second homer of the game tied it up at 6-6, and once the Honeybees went down in the bottom of the seventh, it sent the game to extras.
There in the top of the eighth, another home run helped the Night Mares. Ava Carroll went to dead center with a home run, killing Minot’s momentum. The Honeybees still had a chance in the bottom of the eighth, but left the bases loaded.
Madison goes into next week’s Championship Series against the Bees as the winners of nine consecutive in the season series.
Ava Conti’s best pitching appearance to date earned her SportClips MVP honors. Chloe Cummings showed off the range at second base on multiple occasions to receive the First Command Play of the Game.
