Blue Jays selected to compete in Scheels Softball All-Star Series

Regardless of how the Jamestown High School softball team finishes the 2021 season, two seniors will be getting some bonus softball next month.

Ella Roaldson and Payton Gall were selected to represent the Blue Jay softball team in the 2021 Scheels Softball All-Star Series. Roaldson and Gall have been named to the West All-Stars roster. Gall and Roaldson will be joined by five other WDA athletes and six Class B players.

The games will be held June 7 at the Sanford Sports Complex in Bismarck and June 8 at Kost Field in Casselton. There will also be a skills competition on June 8.

"It’s an honor to be selected for a team alongside so many good athletes that I’ve played against over the years," Gall said. "I will enjoy playing on this team; it will be very cool to get to know some girls I’ve only seen in passing at games."

Gall said she was not expecting to be named to the team but added that she has been working to be the best player she can be throughout her six years in the Blue Jay program. Gall has been pitching for the Blue Jays since her eighth-grade year, giving the senior a lot of experience at the varsity WDA level.

This season Gall has tabulated a .250 batting average across her 17 league games. Over at first base, Gall has had 32 total chances and has been a rock on defense. The senior posted an average fielding percentage of .969.

Gall has toed the rubber for 67.1 innings this season allowing 64 runs -- 46 earned off 91 hits. The senior has only given up 26 walks over 20 games and has clinched 64 strikeouts.

"I only play softball, so it will be great to end my high school career with this," Gall said. "It’s nice that I get to experience a little extra softball before I leave the program. My coaches and teammates are unmatched. I have gained so much from being part of this program."

Gall will be attending Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota in the fall. The six-year Blue Jay pitcher is still unsure if she will continue her softball career in college.

Roaldson's softball career will officially end as a Blue Jay, but the senior shortstop is not planning on letting up on the gas until after the final game is called.

"For me, being named to the all-star team has given me that validation that all my offseason work has paid off," Roaldson said. "I think I was selected because I bring a lot of energy and confidence to the team."

That confidence at the plate has helped the senior to a .489 batting average -- the third-highest on the Blue Jays' roster. Roaldson has put up 26 singles, 13 doubles and four bombs that have cleared the fences across 25 regular-season games. She has driven in 35 runs and has rounded the bases 38 times.

"It was definitely a goal that I was working towards after learning about it my eighth-grade year, so I was really crossing my fingers in hopes that I was going to be able to play," Roaldson said of being named to the All-Star roster.

Culminating the duo's high school softball career will be bittersweet, but Roaldson and Gall both said they are looking forward to ending their time in North Dakota High School Activities Association sanctioned sports among the best in the state.

"It’s always fun getting to make new friends, play with people you’ve never met, and, obviously, play softball," Roaldson said.

SCHEELS SOFTBALL

ALL-STAR SERIES

ROSTERS

EAST ALL-STARS

Aubree Lindstrom, Central Cass; Jenna Leingang, Fargo Davies; Ava Kalbrener, Fargo North; Madelyn Esterby, Fargo South; Noella Kritzberger, Hillsboro-CV; Abby McDonald, Kindred-Richland; Kassie Pachak, Northern Cass; Crysta Schanzenbach, Fargo Shanley; Ingrid Otterson, Fargo Shanley; Maddie Buchert, West Fargo Sheyenne; Mackenzie Hughes, Thompson; Hailey Schaefer, Valley City; Ashlyn Diemert, West Fargo.

WEST ALL-STARS

Nora Kramer, Minot Bishop Ryan; Sylvie Kramer, Minot Bishop Ryan; Paige Hanson, Bismarck; Marcie Lemar, Bismarck; Madison Zander, Bismarck Century; Brooklyn Benno, Des Lacs-Burlington/LC; Brynley Benno, Des Lacs-Burlington/LC; Paige Balliet, Dickinson; Jersey Filkowski, Heart River; Ella Roaldson, Jamestown; Payton Gall, Jamestown; Sydney Gustavsson, Mandan; Taryn Schurhamer, Wilton-Wing.