Eagles' win snaps 80-game, three-year losing streak

Softball

     Midland broke an 80-game losing streak that had lasted nearly three calendar years, as the Eagles scored a 5-4 win over East Buchanan in the second game of a doubleheader June 22 in Wyoming.

     The Eagles’ last previous win was June 26, 2015, a 9-6 win over Easton Valley.

     “This win is great,” Midland coach Dustin Klein said. “I’ve heard from a lot of coaches this year about how much these girls have improved in the last three years. It’s gratifying for me, but it’s the girls who are putting in the work.

     “We just want to keep taking steps forward. They don’t have to be giant leaps; just in the forward direction.”

     Midland (1-17, 1-21) jumped to a 4-1 lead before the Buccaneers scored twice in the top of the fifth to cut the margin to 4-3. The Eagles got a key insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Taylor Bahnsen hit a leadoff double, was moved to third by Emma Dusanek, and scored on a single by Ari Hacke.

     Mikayla Dosland pitched for the win, and went 3-for-3 at the plate. Defensively, shortstop Allison Paulsen made 11 assists.

     “The East Buch coach joked with me on what they had to do to get a ball past her,” Klein said. “She did not miss anything.”

     Emma Paulsen, the team’s lone senior, was honored before the game for Senior Night.

     Midland lost the first game of the doubleheader, 11-0 in six innings. The Eagles had three hits; Sara Flores went 2-for-2.

     Earlier, Midland lost both ends of a June 18 doubleheader at Central City, 10-6 and 15-4, the latter in four innings. In the first game, Emma Paulsen, Dosland and Flores had two hits apiece.

     “We put ourselves in a hole early, and left 13 runners on base,” Klein said.

     The Eagles were held to six hits in the second game; Hacke and Flores both went 2-for-2.

Baseball

     It was a big week of pitching for the Midland High School baseball team, as the pitching staff combined on two no-hitters as the Eagles won all four of their games.

     Midland (10-9, 10-12) opened the week at Central City June 18, and won by scores of 13-3 in six innings and 11-2. In the first game, Alex Smith pitched a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts. Jensen Dodge had a big game at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a triple, a double and two runs batted in. Britan Martens and Wilson Buckwalter both went 2-for-3. Austin Smith and Peyton Rupp each had a double.

     “We played well all week, but it started with game one,” Midland coach Ryan Steines said.

     The second game was a no-hitter despite four walks and a pair of errors that led to two Central City runs. Dodge pitched the first four innings, Buckwalter threw for two, and Peyton Rupp pitched the seventh inning to complete the no-hitter. Offensively, the Eagles had 14 hits, led by Martens, who was 4-for-5 with a double. Getting two hits each were Fisher Bisinger, Austin Smith and Alex Smith. Dodge hit a triple.

     “It was a great team effort again,” Steines said.

     Midland made it two no-hitters in a row in the first game of a home doubleheader against East Buchanan, a 5-0 win. This time, Bisinger pitched the first four innings and Dodge worked the last three. They combined for nine strikeouts.

     “Our pitchers did a good job of pitching to contact, and we played really good defense behind them,” Steines said. “Offensively we did not have a lot of hits (five), but we had hits at the right times.”

     Midland scored four of its runs after two were out in the third inning. Alex Smith went 2-for-3, and Buckwalter had a double and two RBIs.

     The Eagles then held off East Buchanan in the second game, winning 8-3 after the Buccaneers had closed to within 5-3 in the sixth inning. Alex Smith and Dodge both went 2-for-3, each with a double. Austin Smith pitched the first 5 2/3 innings to get the win, and Buckwalter finished the game.

     “The East Buch games were also part of Senior Night,” the coach said. “We have two seniors (Austin Smith, Bisinger) and they were able to get the wins on the mound in both games. They have been a very important part of our varsity team for five years.”