Successful Campaign for Blue Dragons Club Softball Team in 2019

By Coach Doug Clark

As fall approaches so too does the shortened high school softball season in South Dakota.  Despite involvement with many other activities, 13 talented Garretson girls committed to each other and to representing their school and community every weekend on the softball field.

The season began on August 25, with a twin bill at Sherman Park in Sioux Falls.  The Lady Dragons opened the season with a dominating victory over Lennox by a score of 12 – 2.  They followed that up later the same day with an impressive win over a talented Winner team by a score of 7 – 1.

The Blue Dragons would have to wait to ride their winning streak as uncooperative weather the following weekend led to the cancelation of games in Pipestone against Tea and Watertown.

On September 15, the Lady Dragons had the rare opportunity for some “home cooking” hosting Watertown and Dell Rapids on our home field in Garretson.  In front of a large crowd of supporters, Big Blue held on in the first game to defeat Watertown by a score of 8 – 7.  In game 2, the Dragons dominated a young Dell Rapids team, winning by a score of 10 – 3.

The long day was highlighted by the opportunity to acknowledge and honor our seniors in front of the home crowd following the sweep.

The undefeated Lady Dragons traveled to Yankton the following weekend to take on the second team from Dell Rapids and the host team, Yankton.  The Dragons stumbled in game one as the bats went silent and the team committed several uncharacteristic errors and fell to a very good Dell Rapids 2 team by a score of 11 – 0.

The team showed great resilience and character, bouncing back quickly to earn a split on the day by defeating the host team, Yankton, in the final game of the day by a score of 6 -3.  This game was highlighted by an over-the-fence home run off the bat of Oliviyah Thornton – the first of her young career.

The Lady Dragons finished the regular season with a record of 5 and 1 and prepared to enter the state “B” tournament the weekend of September 28 at Sherman Park in Sioux Falls.  Garretson opened tournament play bright and early on a chilly Saturday morning, defeating Tri Valley by a score of 14 -7.

Next, the Lady Dragons put it all together – pitching, defense, and big bats, to defeat a very good Pierre team 7 – 0.

The Dragons next faced a talented team from Douglas County to remain in the winner’s bracket.  After building an early 5 run lead, the Lady Dragons wavered down the stretch and let the game slip away in the late innings.  Douglas pushed across 4 runs in the 6^th inning and was then able to walk-off the Lady Dragons scoring 2 more in the bottom of the 7^th inning.  After a very hard-fought game, the Dragons fell to Douglas for only their second loss of the season, 6 – 5.

On Sunday, when faced with the question of whether to “sink or swim” from the loser’s bracket, the Lady Dragons resoundingly chose to “SWIM!”  Early Sunday morning, the Dragons were matched up in the first elimination game, once again, against Dell Rapids 2, the only team to defeat them in the regular season. In an extremely tense, back-and-forth affair with the lead changing nearly every inning, Big Blue learned that it is much better to “walk-off” than be “walked off.”  With “BIG HITS” being the theme of the game, they avenged the team’s only loss of the regular season in their last at-bat, defeating the Dell Rapids 2 team 13 – 12 in the most exciting softball game of the tournament.

The girls from G-Town continued to ride the wave next, defeating RC Stevens 14 – 9 in the rain in the second elimination game of the day.  As the weather cleared a bit, Garretson was once again pitted against the team that put them in the loser’s bracket the day before and the only other team to defeat them during the season, Douglas County.  The girls battled Douglas once again to take a lead in the early innings. Soggy and running on fumes, Big Blue faded in the late innings and fell to a very talented Douglas County team 14 -7 to end their magical tournament run and bring their2019 season to a close.

The Lady Dragons represented themselves and Garretson very well, finishing the weekend with a record of 4 – 2 and placing 3^rd overall (out of 16 teams) at the State “B” Softball Tournament, the highest finish in recent memory.  This amazing group of young ladies finished the 2019 season with an overall record of 9 wins and 3 losses.

Coach Doug Clark had this to say about the team: “The team, largely the same roster we had a year ago, battled through weather and several other commitments to make significant strides forward this year, with every player demonstrating an improvement in skills.  Once again, several players were called upon to play many different, and at times new, positions.  More importantly, we grew as individuals and as a team.  Throughout the season, the ladies stayed very positive and supportive, playing for each other and they never stopped battling.  The season will be remembered for big, timely hits, good at-bats, consistent pitching, and very solid defense.  I’m very proud of their efforts and commitments this season and would like to thank each of them for a very memorable season.  I’d also like to thank Dave Schroeder for stepping up as the assistant coach, and all the parents for their continued support to keep softball an option in Garretson.”

Roster and primary positions:  Seniors:  Ashlyn Anderson – C/1^st;  Jayden Clark – P/OF;  Nadalie Johnson – SS/2nd;  Abby Schroeder – CF/P;  Kylie Uhl – RF    Junior:  Lauren Heesch – 1^st/SS    Sophomores:   Jaelyn Benson – SS/P/1^st;  Maren Bonte – 2^nd;  Katie Hanson – 3^rd/C/SS;  Noel Johnson – 3^rd;  Chloe Schleuter – 2^nd/C;  Oliviyah Thornton – 3^rd/LF/CF;  Sarah Welch – LF/CF.   Congratulations, Lady Blue Dragons!