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May 21—BEMIDJI — It was a situation Ridley Hadrava had envisioned herself in hundreds of times.
It was her last at-bat of a playoff game. The bases were loaded. The Bemidji High School softball team trailed by a run.
The stage was set for the senior in the Section 8-4A Tournament at the BHS softball field on Thursday.
"I just kept thinking that this has to be the moment," Hadrava recalled before stepping into the batter's box in the sixth inning down 1-0 with one out. "If we're going to score, it has to be right now. And then she pitches me a changeup."
St. Michael-Albertville pitcher Stella Maulik got ahead of Hadrava on a pitch that fooled her, then again with the same pitch to pin her in a 0-2 count.
"I was nervous, but I wasn't to the point where I was panicking," she continued. "Honestly, when you think of those moments in your dreams, or whenever you picture yourself in that situation, you think about all the things that could go wrong.
"I didn't think about that today."
Two pitches later, Hadrava laced a line drive into center field. After she reached first, her head jolted toward home plate.
"I immediately looked to see if we scored two runs," she said after giving BHS a 2-1 lead. "We needed a lead so bad. It was an amazing feeling — I love that feeling."
Hadrava's go-ahead single paved the way for Karley LaZella to retire the No. 6 Knights in order in the top of the seventh, sending second-seeded Bemidji to the Section 8-4A Tournament semifinals on Tuesday, May 26, in Brainerd.
"Seniors just don't want to quit," head coach Brad Takkunen said. "(Hadrava) was nodding her head emphatically when I said that to the group after the game. That's a feeling that she's had. In these last two games, her at-bats have been markedly better than some of them in the regular season. She's dialed in, and she wants to compete at a high level, and she is."
Hadrava's moment wouldn't have been possible if the Lumberjacks hadn't navigated their way out of trouble in the top of the sixth.
STMA loaded the bases with three consecutive singles to lead off the frame. However, LaZella got Aliese Eguia to ground into a 1-2-3 double play. Marin Bast hit a dribbler back to LaZella for the final out of the inning to prevent St. Michael-Albertville from extending its lead past 1-0.
"That was huge," Takkunen said. "Getting out of that set the tone for us. If (STMA) scored a second run, it's a whole different game. They didn't, and we were coming up with Karley. We just kind of kept moving them along after that. They just don't want to quit and they believe they can win."
Until the sixth inning, runs were at a premium. Both teams stranded multiple runners in scoring position in the early innings.
The Knights loaded the bases in the top of the third. Addi Byer hit a hard ground ball to shortstop Clara Sherwood, who bobbled the ball but threw to Emma Greiner at third base. Greiner tagged out the STMA runner who overran the base for the final out, but the Knights scored before the out was recorded to take a 1-0 lead.
Over the next three innings, BHS played from behind. But the Jacks' belief in their ability to make a comeback again,
just as they did against Elk River
in the first round of the postseason, was there.
Hadrava was the one who capitalized.
"It's just belief," said Takkunen, who admitted he was at a loss for words after the game. "I can't give them a pill for that. There's no secret to how to do it. You just have to believe that you can do it and try to get a pitch that you can hit. I don't know where that pitch was, but I know where the hit went. Man, she hit that ball hard. What a fun way to bring two people in.
"I didn't see much fear in these kids today. ... This was a scary matchup. When they beat us (on May 16), I was like, 'Man, that team is pretty good. They're going to be a tough out.'"
LaZella dazzled in the circle again, throwing another complete game and allowing just six hits. The only run STMA scratched across home plate was unearned.
Despite making four errors in the field, the Lumberjacks limited the damage on the scoreboard time and time again.
"I feel like we have a lot of team chemistry and trust," Hadrava said. "We trust each other that we're going to make the big plays. Maybe we had doubt before this year, but that trust changed the whole environment and the vibe when we're on the field."
Bemidji will head to Brainerd on Tuesday to take on the top-seeded Warriors, who beat No. 5 Moorhead 5-3 in their Section 8-4A game on Thursday. It'll come after the holiday and extended time away from the diamond.
"We're going to let them have the weekend," Takkunen said. "And then on Monday, we'll come back to practice and the weekend will be done. That's the only way I know how to do it. ... But I don't think the weekend will dent the enthusiasm of this team much. When they come back, they're going to want to get after it."
BHS is now two wins away from its first state tournament appearance since 2018. For a senior like Hadrava, this postseason run comes with all of the pinch-me moments.
"It would feel so amazing. I want to get to state so bad," Hadrava said. "We knew we had a chance to do it this year, but every team has a chance. But now that we're in the playoffs and we're two games away, it's starting to feel surreal."
Bemidji 2, St. Michael-Albertville 1
STMA 001 000 0 — 1-6-1
BHS 000 002 X — 2-6-4
WP: LaZella (7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K)
LP: Maulik (6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)
Continue reading...
It was her last at-bat of a playoff game. The bases were loaded. The Bemidji High School softball team trailed by a run.
The stage was set for the senior in the Section 8-4A Tournament at the BHS softball field on Thursday.
"I just kept thinking that this has to be the moment," Hadrava recalled before stepping into the batter's box in the sixth inning down 1-0 with one out. "If we're going to score, it has to be right now. And then she pitches me a changeup."
St. Michael-Albertville pitcher Stella Maulik got ahead of Hadrava on a pitch that fooled her, then again with the same pitch to pin her in a 0-2 count.
"I was nervous, but I wasn't to the point where I was panicking," she continued. "Honestly, when you think of those moments in your dreams, or whenever you picture yourself in that situation, you think about all the things that could go wrong.
"I didn't think about that today."
Two pitches later, Hadrava laced a line drive into center field. After she reached first, her head jolted toward home plate.
"I immediately looked to see if we scored two runs," she said after giving BHS a 2-1 lead. "We needed a lead so bad. It was an amazing feeling — I love that feeling."
Hadrava's go-ahead single paved the way for Karley LaZella to retire the No. 6 Knights in order in the top of the seventh, sending second-seeded Bemidji to the Section 8-4A Tournament semifinals on Tuesday, May 26, in Brainerd.
"Seniors just don't want to quit," head coach Brad Takkunen said. "(Hadrava) was nodding her head emphatically when I said that to the group after the game. That's a feeling that she's had. In these last two games, her at-bats have been markedly better than some of them in the regular season. She's dialed in, and she wants to compete at a high level, and she is."
Hadrava's moment wouldn't have been possible if the Lumberjacks hadn't navigated their way out of trouble in the top of the sixth.
STMA loaded the bases with three consecutive singles to lead off the frame. However, LaZella got Aliese Eguia to ground into a 1-2-3 double play. Marin Bast hit a dribbler back to LaZella for the final out of the inning to prevent St. Michael-Albertville from extending its lead past 1-0.
"That was huge," Takkunen said. "Getting out of that set the tone for us. If (STMA) scored a second run, it's a whole different game. They didn't, and we were coming up with Karley. We just kind of kept moving them along after that. They just don't want to quit and they believe they can win."
Until the sixth inning, runs were at a premium. Both teams stranded multiple runners in scoring position in the early innings.
The Knights loaded the bases in the top of the third. Addi Byer hit a hard ground ball to shortstop Clara Sherwood, who bobbled the ball but threw to Emma Greiner at third base. Greiner tagged out the STMA runner who overran the base for the final out, but the Knights scored before the out was recorded to take a 1-0 lead.
Over the next three innings, BHS played from behind. But the Jacks' belief in their ability to make a comeback again,
just as they did against Elk River
in the first round of the postseason, was there.
Hadrava was the one who capitalized.
"It's just belief," said Takkunen, who admitted he was at a loss for words after the game. "I can't give them a pill for that. There's no secret to how to do it. You just have to believe that you can do it and try to get a pitch that you can hit. I don't know where that pitch was, but I know where the hit went. Man, she hit that ball hard. What a fun way to bring two people in.
"I didn't see much fear in these kids today. ... This was a scary matchup. When they beat us (on May 16), I was like, 'Man, that team is pretty good. They're going to be a tough out.'"
LaZella dazzled in the circle again, throwing another complete game and allowing just six hits. The only run STMA scratched across home plate was unearned.
Despite making four errors in the field, the Lumberjacks limited the damage on the scoreboard time and time again.
"I feel like we have a lot of team chemistry and trust," Hadrava said. "We trust each other that we're going to make the big plays. Maybe we had doubt before this year, but that trust changed the whole environment and the vibe when we're on the field."
Bemidji will head to Brainerd on Tuesday to take on the top-seeded Warriors, who beat No. 5 Moorhead 5-3 in their Section 8-4A game on Thursday. It'll come after the holiday and extended time away from the diamond.
"We're going to let them have the weekend," Takkunen said. "And then on Monday, we'll come back to practice and the weekend will be done. That's the only way I know how to do it. ... But I don't think the weekend will dent the enthusiasm of this team much. When they come back, they're going to want to get after it."
BHS is now two wins away from its first state tournament appearance since 2018. For a senior like Hadrava, this postseason run comes with all of the pinch-me moments.
"It would feel so amazing. I want to get to state so bad," Hadrava said. "We knew we had a chance to do it this year, but every team has a chance. But now that we're in the playoffs and we're two games away, it's starting to feel surreal."
Bemidji 2, St. Michael-Albertville 1
STMA 001 000 0 — 1-6-1
BHS 000 002 X — 2-6-4
WP: LaZella (7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K)
LP: Maulik (6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)
Continue reading...
