Mickey the Mouth
The Syndicate News Wire
- May 21, 2026
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May 23—GRAND FORKS — Before Fargo Shanley junior Emmalise Maher came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning, she asked, "Why am I always in this situation?"
The first-seeded Deacons had runners on first and second and were tied with sixth-seeded Fargo North in the Eastern Dakota Conference's first state qualifier game.
Maher delivered a single to shallow right field. Senior Alexa Gregg rounded the bases and raced home, securing a 4-3 victory for Shanley on Saturday.
"We put (Maher) in that situation exactly because that's what she does," Deacons head coach Dale Dingmann said. "The message right away was we've got to fight any way we can to get on base. You've got to find a way, and these guys have been doing that all year."
Shanley will make its first appearance in the state tournament since 2016.
"I knew that they were going to make it home," Maher said. "Whatever happened, I just wanted to put the ball in play and drive it out there, and it worked. ... It feels pretty good. I love this game, and it's so exciting."
Junior pitcher Taelyn Card pitched all seven innings to earn the win, striking out six batters and walking one. She allowed six hits and three runs.
"She is just a grinder," Dingmann said. "She just grinds everything out, and she never gives up. She has been a phenomenal pitcher all year."
Maher's walk-off single was a fitting end to a game featuring multiple ties and lead changes.
"It's like a weight being lifted off," Card said. "You worked so hard since day one, it's just really fun to see all of our work pay off and finally get our goal to go to state."
Senior Kenleigh Fischer gave the Spartans a 1-0 advantage in the top of the first inning with a sacrifice fly.
The Deacons were quick to respond. Eighth-grader Addy Carrete knocked a two-run single to left field for a 2-1 lead.
"That was huge," Dingmann said. "Our goal every inning is to win the inning — tie or win the inning. We got down one run, told the girls, 'Hey, we need to tie this or win it,' and they came out and scored two runs right away. That kind of eases everybody, calms nerves."
The teams traded runs in the third. North sophomore Charlotte Duff's RBI double to right field tied the game at 2-2, but Shanley recaptured its one-run advantage with an RBI single from Maher.
Duff, the starting pitcher, silenced the Deacons' bats until the seventh inning. She finished with 10 strikeouts and two walks while allowing eight hits and three earned runs.
"She threw a lot of pitches, got a lot of 2-2, 3-2 counts," Dingmann said. "I just said, 'Be patient, get your pitch, hit a mistake,' and we did that."
Spartans sophomore Paige Rohrich tied the game again in the sixth inning with an RBI triple down the right-field line.
Junior Quinn Buckmiller opened the seventh inning with a single, but she was tagged out at third on a subsequent bunt attempt.
Carrete and Maher each ended the day with two RBIs. Maher led the Deacons by going 3 for 4.
"I've just been trying to put the ball in play all season, and it feels good for it to show," Maher said. "(We were) making contact, seeing the ball and waiting on it."
Read the full recap...
The first-seeded Deacons had runners on first and second and were tied with sixth-seeded Fargo North in the Eastern Dakota Conference's first state qualifier game.
Maher delivered a single to shallow right field. Senior Alexa Gregg rounded the bases and raced home, securing a 4-3 victory for Shanley on Saturday.
"We put (Maher) in that situation exactly because that's what she does," Deacons head coach Dale Dingmann said. "The message right away was we've got to fight any way we can to get on base. You've got to find a way, and these guys have been doing that all year."
Shanley will make its first appearance in the state tournament since 2016.
"I knew that they were going to make it home," Maher said. "Whatever happened, I just wanted to put the ball in play and drive it out there, and it worked. ... It feels pretty good. I love this game, and it's so exciting."
Junior pitcher Taelyn Card pitched all seven innings to earn the win, striking out six batters and walking one. She allowed six hits and three runs.
"She is just a grinder," Dingmann said. "She just grinds everything out, and she never gives up. She has been a phenomenal pitcher all year."
Maher's walk-off single was a fitting end to a game featuring multiple ties and lead changes.
"It's like a weight being lifted off," Card said. "You worked so hard since day one, it's just really fun to see all of our work pay off and finally get our goal to go to state."
Senior Kenleigh Fischer gave the Spartans a 1-0 advantage in the top of the first inning with a sacrifice fly.
The Deacons were quick to respond. Eighth-grader Addy Carrete knocked a two-run single to left field for a 2-1 lead.
"That was huge," Dingmann said. "Our goal every inning is to win the inning — tie or win the inning. We got down one run, told the girls, 'Hey, we need to tie this or win it,' and they came out and scored two runs right away. That kind of eases everybody, calms nerves."
The teams traded runs in the third. North sophomore Charlotte Duff's RBI double to right field tied the game at 2-2, but Shanley recaptured its one-run advantage with an RBI single from Maher.
Duff, the starting pitcher, silenced the Deacons' bats until the seventh inning. She finished with 10 strikeouts and two walks while allowing eight hits and three earned runs.
"She threw a lot of pitches, got a lot of 2-2, 3-2 counts," Dingmann said. "I just said, 'Be patient, get your pitch, hit a mistake,' and we did that."
Spartans sophomore Paige Rohrich tied the game again in the sixth inning with an RBI triple down the right-field line.
Junior Quinn Buckmiller opened the seventh inning with a single, but she was tagged out at third on a subsequent bunt attempt.
Carrete and Maher each ended the day with two RBIs. Maher led the Deacons by going 3 for 4.
"I've just been trying to put the ball in play all season, and it feels good for it to show," Maher said. "(We were) making contact, seeing the ball and waiting on it."
Read the full recap...