CHISHOLM- The North Woods softball team made the most of a road trip to Chisholm on Tuesday, downing the Bluestreaks 10-3.
Nevada Gauthier got the Grizzlies off to a fast start by drawing a walk in the first at-bat of the game and coming around to score on a single by River Cheney.
Gauthier was in the mix again in the second when the Grizzlies scored their second run. Evalyn Thiel reached base on a walk and scored when Gauthier connected and reached base on an error by the Chisholm first baseman.
The Grizzlies defense and pitcher Addison Burckhardt were solid through five innings of play, with three up, three down frames in the first and fifth innings. In the top of the fifth the Grizzlies extended their lead to 4-0 with Gauthier and Burckhardt crossing the plate, and that led into a wild sixth inning in which North Woods batted around the order and then some, scoring five runs on patience at the plate and a triple by Burckhardt and a double by Cheney.
Trailing 9-0 going into the bottom of the sixth, the Bluestreaks finally came alive and tagged the Grizzlies for three runs, but it was too little, too late. Ella Kruse scored an insurance run for the Grizzlies in the top of the seventh, and the Bluestreaks went down meekly in their last at bat, stranding a solitary runner at second when Burckhardt struck out the final batter of the game.
The Grizzlies had consecutive home games scheduled for Thursday against Mt. Iron-Buhl and Monday against Carlton before hitting the road again for a contest at International Falls on Tuesday.