MT. IRON- Early North Woods pitching problems gave Mt. Iron-Buhl a lead they wouldn’t relinquish last Thursday, as the Rangers defeated the Grizzlies softball team 5-3 in Mt. Iron.
Zoey Burckhardt took the mound for North Woods, and the first three Rangers batters worked the freshman hurler for walks. Two of those runners stole home for scores, while the third crossed the plate on a single to give MIB a 3-0 edge at the end of the first.
North Woods got on the board in the second inning when Addison Burckhardt stroked a two-out double and came home after a single by eighth-grader Kayla Dougherty to make the score 3-1.
MIB collected a pair of runs on consecutive RBI singles in the bottom half of the inning, but the Grizzlies stiffened and had consecutive three-up, three-down defensive stands to stay in the hunt.
The Grizzlies struck again in the fifth when Addison Burckhardt reached on a walk, stole second and third, and scored on a Rory Bundy ground out to shortstop.
Continuing to stymie the Rangers’ offense, the Grizzlies entered the top of the seventh needing three runs to tie the 5-2 contest. Addison Burckhardt drew a one-out walk, and Dougherty moved her over to third with a single. Burckhardt scored with a steal of home on a passed ball, but the Rangers stopped the potential rally with a strikeout to end the game, 5-3.
Addison Burckhardt came on in relief in the second inning and collected seven strikeouts in five innings of work. Hits were hard to come by in this one for North Woods, with Burckhardt’s double and Dougherty’s two singles the only times the Grizzlies put the ball in play.