Milbank Gets Walk-Off Win in Wild Game With Ortonville 

The Lady Bulldogs softball team pulled off a dramatic 13-12 walk-off victory in their matchup against Ortonville on Friday, April 25, at home. The game delivered thrills and spills to fans from both sides of the border.

Milbank took an early lead, putting up three runs in the first and adding two more in the second to jump ahead 5-1. Nancy Hoeke, head coach for Milbank, said, “From the start, our infielders – Allie Meyer, Addisyn Krause, Payton Lamp, and Kennedi Sayler –  made nice plays and had solid defense to back up good pitching by Ashlynn Lamp.”

A. Lamp delivered a strong performance through five innings. She held Ortonville to just four runs and four scattered hits. Milbank was on a roll and had built up a 10-2 lead, when disaster struck In the sixth inning. A. Lamp was hit on the hand by a batted ball and was forced to leave the game. Paisley Ericsson took over. Ericsson managed to hold Ortonville to two runs, which meant Milbank was still ahead 11-4 heading into the final inning, but the momentum had shifted.  

Hoeke explained: “We saw our lead dwindling due to a number of walks as our relief pitching struggled. Payton Lamp came in to relieve Ericsson. Ortonville came to the plate ready to attack, and their baserunners took advantage and put pressure on us.” Ortonville scored eight runs and went ahead by one, with just one chance left for Milbank in the final frame.

Down by one, the Lady Bulldogs came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh. “We had the top of our order coming up, and were hopeful we could put together a threat,” Hoeke recapped. “Krause started with a hit and wheeled to second for a great lead-off. With two outs, Lauren Lester had a gutsy at-bat and singled. She scored Krause to tie the game. With Lester at second, Sayler connected on a blast over the centerfielder’s head. Lester scored and the Dawgs walked it off!” The final score sat at 13-12.  P. Lamp collected the win on the circle. 

At the plate, the Bulldogs were gung-ho from start to finish. They put up 11 hits and drew nine walks. Hoeke credited preparation for the team’s ability to hang on rally.. “Our girls were going to the plate ready to hit and had a more assertive mindset. We had worked this week on more aggressive baserunning and planned to take advantage of defensive miscues.”

 “It was certainly an exciting way to win it!” Hoeke added, “I was proud to see the girls overcome adversity and find a way to grind out a victory. They have come a long way and have shown tremendous improvement.”

Individual Stats for the Lady Bulldogs:

• Addisyn Krause: 3-for-4, 2 Runs, 2 RBIs, Double, 2 Stolen Bases
  
• Lauren Lester: 2-for-4, 2 Runs, 2 RBIs
  
• Kennedi Sayler: 1-for-5, Game-Winning RBI Double
  
• Allie Meyer: 2-for-3, 2 Runs, 1 RBI
  
• Brielle Koepke: 1-for-2, 2 Runs, 2 RBIs, Double
  
• Ashlynn Lamp: 5 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 SO (left the game due to injury)
  
• Paisley Ericsson: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 7 R (3 ER), 4 BB, 1 SO
  
• Payton Lamp: WP,  0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO

What’s next? The Lady Bulldogs head to Florence today, Tuesday, April 29, to take on the Florence-Henry Falcons. Check back for updates.