By Mike Drooger –

It’s spring in Minnesota.  Sometimes, in order to get a softball game played, the teams have to play in less than desirable conditions.  Such was the case Tuesday afternoon, April 19, when the Dragons of Adrian/Ellsworth ventured to Edgerton for a Red Rock Conference affair. The temperature at first pitch was listed at 37 degrees. Thanks to a nasty 18 miles per hour wind from the southeast, it felt like it was 26.

Thankfully for the Edgerton/SW MN Christian Flying Dutchmen, their bats were boiling and pitcher Paris Van Dyke was percolating in the circle. And, thanks to those busy bats, the Dutchmen girls kept the base paths plenty warm in a 16-1 victory. With the win, E/SW improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference action.

Van Dyke cruised through the top of the first inning, getting the Dragons three-up-and-three-down on 17 pitches.  She struck out the leadoff batter with nine pitches, coaxed a 6-3 play on five pitches, and needed just three to strike out the third batter.  And then the Dutchmen took their turn at bat.

When the first inning was over, the A/E hurler had struck out the side.  Unfortunately for her and her mates, E/SW had sent 13 batters to the plate that did not strike out.  Hits in the first inning went to Ana Veldkamp, Kathryn Prins, Myah Vander Maten, Alyda Vande Griend, and Kinsie Nelson.  For good measure, Veldkamp slapped a pair of safeties in the Dutchmen’s first turn at bat.  Prins got an RBI single, Vander Maten cleared the loaded bases with a triple to the fence, Nelson smacked an RBI double, and Vande Griend uncorked a two-run homer that cleared the fence by plenty.  After the dust had settled, the Dutchmen had put 10 runs on the board.

Van Dyke went right back to work in the top of the second getting the Dragons on an economical amount of pitches—13. The first and third outs were strikeouts.  Often a sports writer would report the pitcher got her teammates off the field quickly and into the warmth of the dugout, but a chain link fence dugout offers little for warmth.