FIELD TWP- When the Mt. Iron-Buhl Rangers scored seven runs in two innings to take an 8-7 lead on the North Woods Grizzlies softball team going into the bottom of the sixth inning last Thursday at North Woods, the Grizzlies didn’t panic. Instead, they launched an offensive explosion of their own that catapulted them to a 12-9 win.
MI-B and North Woods have developed a spirited rivalry in recent years, and Thursday’s contest continued that trend. MI-B drew first blood in the first inning when Natlie Bergman singled and stole her way around the bases to score, giving the Rangers the early 1-0 advantage.
North Woods responded in their half of the inning as Nevada Gauthier led off with a walk and Zoey Burckhardt slapped a single. The pair came home on a double by cleanup hitter River Cheney, giving North Woods a 2-1 lead.
Both teams went down quietly in the second, but North Woods roared to life again in the third, getting runs from Addison Burckhardt and Cheney to go up 4-1.
The Rangers revved up their offense in the fifth, starting with a leadoff homer by Kyle Renzaglia, and three more runners crossed the plate for a 5-4 Rangers’ lead.
Undaunted, the Grizzlies struck back in their half of the inning, plating Zoey Burckhardt, Addison Burckhardt, and Cheney to regain the lead 7-5.
The see saw battle flipped back to the Rangers in the top of the sixth, as they capitalized on good discipline at the plate to get baserunners and pushed across three runs to go on top yet again, 8-7.
The stars were aligned well for the Grizzlies going into the bottom of the inning, as they were at the top of their batting order, and the battery did not disappoint. Gauthier and Zoey Burckhardt led off with singles and Addison Burckhardt drew a walk. Cheney and Emarie Gibson added to the hit parade, and with aggressive baserunning and MI-B committing four infield errors, the Grizzlies had recorded five runs before the Rangers recorded an out.
Leading once again by a score of 12-8, the Grizzlies allowed one run in the top of the seventh but no more to close out the triple come-from-behind win 12-9.
The Grizzlies’ defense came up big when they needed to, as MI-B hammered the ball for 16 hits but stranded eight runners. Meanwhile, North Woods made the most of their opportunities, with all of their runs coming from the top five in the order. Zoey Burckhardt, Addison Burckhardt, and Cheney each scored three runs to lead the team.
The Grizzlies’ Monday and Tuesday games were rained out, but they were hoping for cooperative weather on Thursday for a scheduled home game against Ely. North Woods had another home game on the schedule for Friday against South Ridge before hitting the road for a Monday rematch at MI-B.