The way Abbie Banet said good-bye to Trapper Field was maybe the most special way she could have done it.
After eight and a half scoreless innings in the Jamestown High School softball team's tilt against Bismarck Legacy Tuesday evening, Blue Jay head coach Mike Soulis made a change to the batting order.
"I usually get DP'd 4 and I was kind of like 'oh my gosh, I get to hit on senior night — I can't screw this up,'" Banet said. "When I hit it I was literally shaking."
Spoiler — she didn't screw it up.
On her fourth at-bat, Makenna Nold dropped in a clutch hit to the centerfield gap for a double to put the Jays in scoring position. The sophomore first-baseman advanced to third on the throw, bringing up Banet.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I knew I had to get a score in and she was already at third, so I just knew that I had to go up there and hit it as hard as I could," Banet said.
The senior let go a strike and fouled off the second pitch before lucky pitch No. 3 came across the plate. Banet connected and sent a line drive to center field to drive in Nold and end game No. 1 of the conference doubleheader 1-0.
"I knew I hit it but I didn't know it was going to be that pitch, I just knew that I had two strikes and I had to go," Banet said.
"When we rally and cheer all together — we really come together as one and just score."
The Jays wound up splitting the Sabers, dropping to Legacy 14-3 in game No. 2. Jamestown will be representing the Buffalo City in a Minnesota based tournament slated for Friday and Saturday.
The Blue Jays are slated to match up against Little Falls (MN) and Bemidji (MN) on Friday and Eden Valley-Watkins (MN) on Saturday.
Jamestown's next conference action is scheduled for May 12 in Minot. The Jays are on the road the rest of the regular season, and only will be back at Trapper Field if they secure a spot in the 2022 Class A State Softball Tournament.
State is slated to be held June 2-4 in Jamestown.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It's really sad — I am going to miss Blue Jay softball," Banet said of wrapping up her final regular season game at Trapper Field. "To my (younger) teammates — enjoy your seasons, don't waste time worrying about the little things, just make sure you do what you can do."
The Jays followed Banet's advice as best they could — rallying to keep Legacy out of — and themselves in — scoring position during the eighth and ninth innings.
Not always an easy task especially when facing a fireballer like Tori Olson.
Banet said what seemed to make Olson such a tough pitcher to hit off of was her curveball.
"There was a lot of times people said the ball curved out to the outside and we weren't scooting in enough," Banet said.
Olson has gone 5-2 in the circle for the Sabers this season, her first loss coming against Bismarck High and the second against the Jays. The senior hurler retired four through the first two innings and struck 10 total Blue Jay batters.
"I felt like it was getting dragged out and like we needed to get on our A game," Banet said. "We didn't catch up on her pitches and get on top of her speed like we usually do — but I think that last inning was a little better."
Olson did not allow a hit through two frames but the senior did walk back-to-back batters in Ella Falk and Nold. The senior wound up letting go seven hits and walked three batters. Two of the Jays' seven hits came in the ninth inning.
Falk led the Jays at the plates, collecting on two of the three pitches thrown her way.
ADVERTISEMENT
While Olson effectively shut down the Blue Jays' bats for the first seven innings of play, Katie Falk was doing the exact same thing to the Legacy hitters.
The junior hurler went all nine innings, retiring 10 at the plate and only allowing four hits and one walk in her 113 pitches thrown.
Consistent throws on the mound and solid defensive work is what the Jays hope to showcase to the rest of the West Region the last month of the season.
"We're excited," Banet said of going on the road. "We're shooting for our goal that we set at the beginning of the season which is be No. 1."
Jamestown 1, Legacy 0
LEG — 000 000 000
JHS — 000 000 001
JHS: Katie Falk; LEG: Tori Olson. W — Falk; L — Olson.
Highlights: JHS — Falk (9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 10 K, 1 BB); Abbie Banet 1-1, RBI; Makenna Nold 1-3, 3B; Ella Falk 2-3, Jada Walter 1-1.
LEG — Brynn Arnold 1-3; Elise Stewart 1-2.
Legacy 14, Jamestown 3
LEG 000 10(10) 3 — 14 15 1
JHS 300 000 0 — 3 6 5
JHS: Makenna Nold; LEG: Brynn Arnold. W — Arnold ; L — Nold.
Highlights: JHS — Nold (7 IP, 14 H, 12 R, 11 ER, 9 K, 3 BB); 2-3, 2 2B, RBI; Jenna Fischer 2-4, 2 2B, RBI; Ella Falk 1-2, RBI.
LEG — Brynn Arnold 2-5; Emma Owens 3-4.
