Jamestown, ND: The Comets Softball team opened their 2024 season at the Jamestown Nelson Valley Dome with two games on Saturday against two familiar opponents and then played two more Sunday morning. Full recap below:

Saturday vs. Dickinson State - L 12-4:
The Blue Hawks opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with consecutive sacrifice flies scoring runs.

In the top of the second after a Madison Terres walk and a Mackenzie Iverson single, Samantha Shumway singled to center to score Terres. That run cut the lead in half at 2-1.

The Blue Hawks responded with five runs in the bottom of the second to make the score 7-1.

In the third, Autumn McGough tripled and scored on Miquela Pino's single. Dickinson State matched that run in the bottom of the third to hold their lead.

Mayville State opened with two hits in the top of the fourth, then Lindsey Tulla smashed a two run double which scored Shumway and Iverson and made the score 8-4 Blue Hawks.

Unfortunately, the Blue Hawk bats remained hot and they tacked on two runs apiece in the fourth and sixth innings to make the final score 12-4.

Shumway and McGough each notched two hits and scored a run, and Tulla's double gave her two RBIs in the game.

"Dickinson came out ready to bounce back after a tough weekend. We were their last game of the weekend and they wanted to go out on a high note. With it being our first game, they were able to take advantage of our defensive errors and first game gitters," said new head coach Jordan Olson.

Saturday vs. Valley City State - L 4-2:
The Comets immediately moved to their next game against the Valley City State Vikings.

The Vikings opened the scoring in the top of the second inning with three runs on five hits.

Mayville State struck back in the bottom of the third inning, with a Tulla ground out that scored Erika Howell who had reached on a double to open the inning. That run made the score Vikings 3, Comets 1.

The Vikings pushed another run through in the fifth inning, but the Comets responded in the bottom of the inning as Megan Elliott single to right which scored Iverson and got the Comets to within two.

However, pitching took over and neither team could get another run across, which made the final score 4-2.

On offense, Howell finished with a double and a run and Tulla and Elliott each had a run batted in. On the mound, Lacy Mathiowetz tossed two scoreless innings and allowed two hits.

The Comets Softball team returned to Jamestown on Sunday for two games, this time against the host Jamestown Jimmies and then a NCAA Division II opponent, the University of Mary Marauders.

"I thought the bounce back from the first game and competing with a tough team like Valley was good to see. Defensively, we played a little cleaner, but we failed at stringing together timely hits. Overall, it is just day one and we know that it is a long season so we are focused on our adjustments for tomorrow's games," added Olson.

Sunday vs. Jamestown - L 11-1:
The Jimmies opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the first.

In the bottom of the frame Samantha Shumway led off the game with a double. After a stolen base got her over to third, Shumway crossed home plate from a Megan Elliott single and cut the Jamestown lead in half at 2-1.

Unfortunately for the Comets, the Jimmies took over from here. Jamestown scored in the 2^nd and 4^th to lead 5-1, then added three runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to win 11-1.

Elliot tallied two hits in the game in addition to the run batted in, and Shumway finished 1 for 3 with a double, stolen base and run.

"The Jimmies really exposed some of our weaknesses in this game. We allowed runners to take extra bases by not finishing the play and lack of confidence defensively. We are young in crucial spots in the field but we pride ourselves in communication and at the end of the day the lack of that piece allowed Jamestown to shut us down. I didn't feel a sense of urgency in the box or the dug out after the first inning," said Olson. 

Sunday vs. University of Mary - L 4-3:
The Comets put that game behind them and focused on the Maruaders.

Mayville State opened the scoring in the top of the third inning as Shumway opened the inning with a double once again.

With two outs, Shumway on third and Kennedy Vettel on second base, Lindsey Tulla ripped a double to left center scoring both. That play gave the Comets a 2-0 lead.

After Mary plated a run in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Comets went back to work in the fifth.

Megan Elliot smashed a home run to deep center field with two outs to push the lead back to two runs at 3-1.

The Marauders tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 3-2 Comets.

Mayville State had runners on first and second in the seventh, but was not able to push over an insurance run or two.

The Marauders took advantage and scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat the Comets 4-3.

Elliott got on base four times in the game on two hits (including the homer) and two walks. Shumway and Tulla also collected two hits apiece with one double each. On the pitching side, Emily Haines went 6.1 innings in a solid outing against the DII Mauraders. 

"I was impressed with the bounce back in game two today. I felt after dropping three games we could have shut down but instead the dugout came out with a presence, our bats were more timely and our defense was cleaner. Hats off to Emily Haines for keeping us in such a tight game," added Olson."Out of all the games this weekend, this was the one that felt most like the team I know we are."

The Comets record is now 0-4 on the year. Mayville State will travel south to Kansas City, Missouri to take part in the NAIA KC Invite hosted by Avila University next Friday and Saturday.