img_4170

DEVIL’S LAKE, ND. (NewsDakota.com)The Valley City Hi-Liners win the Eastern Dakota Conference Tournament with a 9-5 win over the defending state champion West Fargo Packers.

It was another game where everything went according to plan for the Hi-Liners. Great pitching, great hitting, and the great defense added up to Valley City securing the #1 seed in the state tournament and the conference championship.

Hailey Schaefer went the distance on the rubber with seven innings pitched, striking out nine batters, walking two, allowing eight hits and five earned runs. The line doesn’t seem nearly as impressive as her performance as the Packers scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh with two outs.

First baseman Dylann Diegel broke the ice with an RBI groundout and left-fielder Emma Mielke followed up with an RBI double to give the Hi-Liners a 2-0 lead after the first inning. Both offenses stagnated for a while until Valley City got back on the board with an RBI double from catcher Emma Langemo which was followed up by a two-run home run from right-fielder Autumn McGough to make it 5-0. Four more runs in the top of the sixth for the Hi-Liners put the game out of reach to secure the EDC Championship.

Pitcher Hailey Schaefer, second baseman Lexi Leroux and shortstop Erika Anderson earned All-EDC Softball Team honors.

Valley City will play Jamestown on Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the state tournament at 11:00 a.m. Jamestown defeated Valley City twice in the regular season in a doubleheader on April 26th.