Lady Bulldogs Win Polar League Crown

Dwight Cadwell-NSO

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May 18

Dwight Cadwell-NSO

The Carlton Bulldogs lady softball team has captured the Polar League Title for the first time in this writers memory. The Bulldogs used timely hitting and great defense to knock off the Rebels of Moose Lake-Willow River by a score of 3-0 at Chub Lake Park in Carlton.

Until Tuesday, the Bulldogs had been undefeated, but a road loss to Floodwood opened the door to a potential three-way tie for the Polar League championship. A win on Wednesday over Moose Lake-Willow River would slam the door on any other team hoping for at least a tie for the title. Megan Bodin made sure the Bulldogs would win with an impressive pitching performance by not allowing a run and shutting down the Rebel bats to the tune of just five hits.

The Bulldogs jumped on the scoreboard second inning when Christine Eggert singled to start the inning, she stole second base and scored on a single from Amanda Eggert. The score remained that way till the fifth inning when Megan Bodin singled and her pinch runner would score later in the inning on a Rebel throwing error.

“The girls were a little down after losing to Floodwood” Head Coach Denny Johnson told Northland Sports Online. “They wanted that perfect season but a Polar league title is something very important.” Johnson added “these girls have worked so hard I am very happy for them.”

The Rebels had a couple of opportunities to tie the game with runners as far as third base, but the defense of Carlton continually made all the plays. The best chance for the Rebels came when Andrea Youngberg tripled in the sixth inning, but Bodin was able to slip out of the jam and preserve the win.

The Rebels who finished with five hits for the game could not get a run across the plate. “We had our chances out there but we just couldn’t get that timely hit” Head Coach Andrew Miller stated, “they are very well coached and so fundamentally sound” Miller added “we played a great game but they deserved the win.”

The Bulldogs added one more run in the sixth inning when Clarissa Nelson scored on a RBI single from Amanda Eggert to make the final score of 3-0. Leading the way at the plate were; Nelson, Eggert and Bodin who all had two hits each. Megan Bodin was the winning pitcher allowing only 5 hits while striking out 3.

The Bulldogs finish the season at 12-1, and the Rebels close out their regular season at 8-8.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at dwight@northlandsportsonline.com