Polars win battle of Number Ones

It was a softball matchup of No. 1's on a sunny Friday afternoon in Woodbury as North St. Paul, the defending Class AAA State champion and top-ranked team in the big-school circuit, faced New Life Academy, last season's Class A runner-up and holder of the utmost spot in the small-school poll. In a game that took a little over an hour, the Polars would claim a 4-1 victory after taking advantage of some early jitters on a part of the Eagles. North centerfielder Kimmie Linda would score the first run of the game in the initial inning after singling, moving up two bases on passed balls, then crossing the plate on a double by first baseman Brittni Bayers. The Polars extended their lead to 3-0 as rightfielder Logan Crotty and junior Lamberta Sammy both scored — the latter on a passed ball. North scored its final tally in the third inning as catcher Kari Dorle doubled and came around on an Amanda Skelly single to make the count 4-0. New Life notched its lone run of the contest in the fourth inning as centerfielder Andrea McNutt singled, moved to third base on another single from third baseman Rebekah Schmidt and scored on a passed ball. Yet, despite having their chances to score again, baserunning mistakes brought a halt to any Eagles momentum before it had a chance to begin as the Polars earned the three-run win after a blazingly fast final three innings as both pitchers, Tabitha Bayers from North and Danielle Schmidt from New Life took over the contest. Bayers would earn the win with a five-hit, five-strikeout performance, while Schmidt took a tough loss despite striking out 10 Polars and giving up five hits — none after the third inning. The win ended the Polars two-game losing streak and pushed the team's record to 10-2. New Life fell to 11-3 with the loss, with all of the Eagles' three setbacks coming against Class AAA opponents.