By John George
The Yellowjacket softball team has a new coach, and a new attitude. With first year coach Megan Johnson setting the tone, Perham took advantage of good hitting and aggressive baserunning to pick up their first win of the season over D-G-F last Thursday at Arvig Park, 12-6.
"I like playing an aggressive style," Johnson said after her first win. "We'll play aggressive all season. It's more difficult for fielders to make a perfect throw and catch than it is to just run around the bases."
Perham was up 3-2 heading into the fourth inning when their aggressive baserunning helped produce seven runs. Amanda Snyder drove in the first two runs of the inning on an error. The Jackets then strung together four straight hits to pull ahead 10-2.
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After scoring two more in the fifth on RBI singles by Kayla Speicher and Mallory Malikowski, the Jackets took a 12-3 lead into the seventh when D-G-F scored three times for the final margin of 12-6.
Speicher finished the game going 3-for-4 with a first inning homer, a double and four RBI. Snyder, Brandi Cresap and Malikowski each drove in a pair of runs.
"This is a good confidence booster for us," Johnson said. "We're finding the ball real well at the plate and we got some extra girls into the game, which is always good."
Johnson realizes the importance of getting all the girls into games. She played for Fergus Falls until graduating in 1998. From there, she went on to play at Concordia through 1992.
"I was just middle of the pack player who had to work hard for the time I got on the field," Johnson said. "I like to reward players who work hard but might not be as talented as some others."
After finishing her career at Concordia, Johnson returned to Fergus Falls high school, where she coached the J.V. for three years and served as the varsity assistant last season.
Frazee Tournament
Riding high after their first win, Perham continued their winning ways with a 7-6 win over Fargo Shanley in nine innings in the first round of the Frazee Tournament.
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The Jackets trailed 4-1 when they tied the game with a three-run sixth inning. Cresap drove in the first run of the inning, scoring Alyssa Stafki. Malikowski followed with a two-run double, scoring Speicher and Cresap to tie the game.
Both teams put up two runs in the eighth inning to extend the game when Perham finally broke through in the ninth when Sara Formanek scored the winning run.
Malikowski finished the game going 2-for-3 with three RBI. She also picked up the win, going all nine innings while scattering six hits.
Game two of the tournament was a rematch of Thursday's win as the Jackets took on D-G-F again. This time, the Rebels held off a late Perham rally to win, 9-8.
D-G-F got on the board early, scoring three in the first and two more in the third for a 5-1 lead. Perham got back into the contest in the fifth as Formanek, Stafki and Snyder drove in runs to cut the Rebel lead to 5-4. The Jackets then tied the game in the sixth on a RBI single by Malikowski.
The Rebels answered in their half of the sixth as they sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring four runs for a 9-4 lead. Perham attempted another rally in the top of the seventh as Snyder connected again, this time for a two-run double. Speicher followed with a RBI single to cut the lead to one. Speicher eventually advanced to third base as the tying run, but was stranded as the game ended.
Perham faced another early-season rematch in the third place game as they took on Mid-State rival, Wadena-Deer Creek. W-DC made it three in a row over Perham this season with a 16-10 win.
The Jacket defense let them down as they committed six errors in the loss.
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"Overall, the weekend was great," Johnson said. "We really saw some kids step up and play good ball when we needed them. On the defensive side, we need to stop giving free passes to our opponents and make them earn their baserunners. But when our defense and pitching matches our hitting, we should be ready for anyone."
Loss at Pelican Rapids
Although Perham did collect nine hits against Pelican Rapids on Monday, they couldn't string any together for a big inning as they lost to the Vikings, 12-3.
Pelican Rapids jumped to a 5-1 lead after the first inning and led 8-1 after three. Perham scored single runs in the first, fourth and sixth innings, never mounting a serious threat.
"Pelican Rapids played a great game tonight," Johnson said. "They were patient in the box and strung their hits together. They also played a very tight defensive game."
Perham struggled in the field, committing four errors and walking eight batters.
Thursday, April 24
Perham 12, D-G-F 6
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R- H- E
D-G-F 0-0-0-2-1-0-3-- 6- 7- 0
Perham 2-0-1-7-2-0-x--12-17-2
Jackets--Alyssa Stafki 2-4, 2B, 2 R; Kim Brill 1-3, BB, 2 R; Amanda Snyder 2-3, SAC, 2 R, 2 RBI; Kayla Speicher 3-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI; Mallory Malikowski 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Brandi Cresap 2-4, R, 2 RBI; Sara Formanek 1-4, R, RBI; Tara Sailer 2-4, RBI; Johanna Carrlson 1-4, R.
Pitching IP R H SO BB
Malikowski (1-1) 6 6 7 2 5
Saturday, April 21
Frazee Tournament
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First Round
Perham 7, Fargo Shanley 6 (9 inn)
R- H- E
Perham 0-0-0-0-1-3-0-2-1-- 7- 7- 2
F.S. 1-0-0-1-2-0-0-2-0-- 6- 6- 0
Jackets--Stafki 0-3, 3 BB, R; Brill 0-4, 2 BB, RBI; Snyder 0-5, R; Speicher 1-4, R; Cresap 2-5, 2 R, RBI; Malikowski 2-3, 2B, R, 3 RBI; Sailer 1-4, 2B, RBI; Formanek 1-4, R, RBI.
Pitching IP R ER H SO BB
Malikowski (2-1) 9 6 4 6 2 3
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D-G-F 2, Staples-Motley 0
W-DC 5, Pelican Rapids 0
Roseau 7, Frazee 2
Second Round
D-G-F 9, Perham 8
R- H- E
Perham 1-0-0-0-3-1-3-- 8-11- 3
D-G-F 3-0-2-0-0-4-x-- 9- 7- 0
Jackets--Stafki 4-4, 2 2B, 3 R, RBI; Brill 0-2, 2 SAC; Snyder 1-4, 2B, R, 3 RBI; Speicher 2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI; Cresap 0-3, BB, R; Malikowski 1-4, 2B, RBI; Sailer 1-4, 2B, R; Formanek 1-3, 2B, R, RBI; Malcolm 1-3, R.
Pitching IP R ER H SO BB
Malcolm (0-2) 5 5 4 5 1 0
Malikowski 2 4 3 2 0 3
Roseau 7, W-DC 4
Shanley 13, Staples-Motley 3
Frazee 4, Pelican Rapids 2
Championship
Roseau 10, D-G-F 1
Third Place
Wadena-Deer Creek 16, Perham 10
R- H- E
W-DC 3-3-0-7-2-0-1--16- 9- 0
Perham 2-0-3-5-0-0-0--10-16- 6
Jackets--Stafki 3-4, BB, 3 R; Brill 3-4, BB, R; Snyder 3-4, BB, 2B; Speicher 1-5; Cresap 2-4, BB, R; Malikowski 2-5, BB, 2B, R; Sailer 2-4, BB, R; Samantha Langlie 1-2, R; Malcolm 3-4, 2 R.
Pitching IP R H SO BB
Malikowski (2-2) 7 16 9 1 8
5th Place
Shanley 7, Frazee 1
7th Place
Staples-Motley 4, Pelican Rapids 1
Monday, April 23
Pelican Rapids 12, Perham 3
R- H- E
Perham 1-0-0-1-0-1-0-- 3- 9- 4
P.R. 5-3-0-1-1-2-x--12-11-2
Jackets--Stafki 0-2, 2 BB; Brill 1-3, SB; Snyder 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Speicher 1-2; Cresap 0-3, BB, R; Malikowski 2-3; Sailer 1-2, BB; Abbi Paulseth 1-1; Formanek 0-3, R, RBI; Malcolm 1-2, 2B, BB, RBI.
Pitching IP R ER H SO BB
Malcolm (0-3) 2 8 7 5 2 5
Malikowski 5 4 3 6 1 3
Mid-State Conf. All
Wadena-Deer Creek 2-0 5-1
Staples-Motley 2-0 3-2
Park Rapids 0-0 3-1
Perham 0-2 2-5
Detroit Lakes 0-2 1-3
Crosby-Ironton 0-0 0-0
Pequot Lakes 0-0 0-3
Tuesday Update
Perham slams C-I
Over-the-fence grand slams in game one by Kayla Speicher and Mallory Malikowski sparked a 10-run third inning as Perham beat Crosby-Ironton 14-3.
Malikowski went on to throw a two-hitter in game two as the Jackets completed the softball sweep over C-I, 6-0.
"Mallory was on her game tonight," said head coach Megan Johnson. "It was a great team effort. Everyone contributed to the wins tonight."
Speicher extended her hit-streak to nine games with hits in both games.
Perham 14, Crosby-Ironton 3 (Game 1)
R
Perham 0-1-10-0-0-3-- 14
C-I 0-0- 3-0-0-0-- 3
Jackets--Mallory Malikowski 4-4, HR, 4 RBI; Speicher 3-5, HR, 4 RBI.
Pitching IP R H SO BB
Malikowski (3-2) 6 3 1 4 3
Perham 6, Crosby-Ironton 0 (Game 2)
R
Perham 0-1-0-4-0-1-0-- 6
C-I 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-- 0
Jackets--Amanda Snyder 3-4; Speucher 2-3, 3B, 3 RBI.
Pitching IP R H SO BB
Malikowski (4-2) 7 0 2 5 4
