Silver Bullets Finish Second In Lake Superior Classic Tourney

June 29

Wes Vork-NSO

The Cloquet Silver Bullets U-18 girls softball team finished second in the U-18 Class B division of the Lake Superior Classic softball tournament over the weekend. The tournament, which was held in Duluth, was a qualifier for the ASA Northern Nationals coming up toward the end of July.

“Considering our entire roster is made up of girls who would be first year players at the U-16 age group I was pretty happy with how we played,” said Bullets coach Kerry Rodd. “Our team is extremely young and we acquitted ourselves very well.”

After picking up a big win over Duluth Central on Saturday night behind a stellar pitching performance by Haley Sobczak, the Bullets needed to come-from-behind on Sunday morning to beat Central in the semifinals.

“After we beat Central we got the #1 seed in pool play and Central came through with a big win over Bemidji on Sunday morning,” recalled Rodd. “Denise Rodd pitched well enough to keep the game tight for us and then in the top of the last inning we scored four runs and won the game 4-2.”

The VFW/Silver Bullets had a huge weekend offensively from Dalyce Gustafson who turned heads by continually coming up with big hits and a weekend that saw her hit at a .750 clip.

“Dalyce is an extraordinary talent,” Rodd suggested. “She is one of the best players I’ve ever coached and she works extremely hard at being a good player.”

The Bullets fell in the championship game 7-5 to the Duluth Thunder, which features players from Roseau.

“We are very young and we actually led that game 4-0 at one point,” Rodd recalled. “Their maturity showed and they deserved to win.”

Wes Vork can be reached at wes@northlandsportsonline.com