Mobridge-Pollock, the seventh seed at this year’s ‘B’ state softball tournament, upset two seeded Bon Homme in high scoring affair, 17-10, in Thursday’s quarterfinal round.
For the Tigers, who are making their state tournament debut in the sanctioned format, have improved drastically with their offense this year.
“We come over here and nobody really knows us. We did play Florence/Henry and Avon this year, so they know what we can do. We did play Deuel also. We didn’t really have any respect yet, and hopefully that helps people wake up a little bit and say “hey they can play, this team can hit.” They’ve been hitting all year long,” explained Mobridge-Pollock head coach Andrew Overland. “It’s the defense that can sometimes let us down, as you saw a little bit at the end there, but for the most part it was pretty tough, so we feel good about it.”
The Tigers scored five runs in the top of the first inning. Amber Vetch’s double scored three of the runs in the opening frame.
“It was huge. It got a weight off our shoulders. We knew we could do it. These girls played slow pitch for years, and they’ve been to a lot of state tournaments in slow pitch. They’ve won three of them and a national title, so it’s not like they haven’t played in these situations,” told coach Overland. “It’s just, none of these girls have played fast pitch till the last three years, so it’s great.”
Eight batters knocked in runs throughout Thursday’s quarterfinal game for Mobridge-Pollock.
Grace Overland, one of Andrew’s daughters, pitched a complete game. She struck out five, walked four, and gave up five earned runs on nine hits.
Coach Overland said he views the whole team as his family.
“I’ve been coaching most of these girls since they were eight years old, between slow pitch and everything. I’ve always coached my kids ever since we moved up here,” he said. “It’s great. My wife (Heather) is the assistant coach too. We’ve got a couple other sisters on this team too, so it’s a family deal.”
Coach Overland also mentioned how their bats have taken them to another level this year. He credits experience against good pitching as a key component to their offensive progression.
“They worked hard this year. We played the toughest schedule in three years. We’ve always kind of come against the good, hard pitching, and we just struggle with it,” he exclaimed. “This year we faced it right from day one and they’re just not afraid of it anymore – they can hit anybody.”
Gayville-Volin, who is the six seed at this year’s ‘B’ tourney, took down three seeded Castlewood in the quarterfinal round. This means that Friday afternoon’s second semifinal game in Class B will feature the six and seven seeds – Mobridge-Pollock vs Gayville-Volin. The game will start at 4 pm CT.
