The 2025 Black Hills softball team made it further than no other squad had in the last decade: day two of the 2A District 4 Tournament.
But from the looks on the faces of the Wolves after their heartbreaking 15-11 loss to Woodland in an elimination game Thursday, they knew they were mere moments away from seeing a third day.
Fourth-seeded Black Hills dropped its quarterfinal matchup against top-seeded Mark Morris 4-2 to start the day due to a poor showing from its offense, but the Wolves' bats turned up the heat against Woodland. They churned 11 runs in a four-inning stretch to assemble an 11-7 lead entering the sixth.
The Beavers crept closer with two runs in the sixth before torching the Wolves in the seventh. Jolie Oathes tied the game with a one-out, two-run home run, and, four at-bats later, Woodland took its first lead since the first inning on an RBI single by Emma Barrow that just skipped past Kailey Miller at shortstop.
Black Hills’ crowd and team energy were quiet before Brynn Skelton silenced them for good, smashing a three-run bomb to extend the lead to 15-11 and cap a six-run seventh inning for Woodland.
With Black Hills looking for a desperate rally to keep its season alive, Makenna Oderman led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, but she was stranded at third.
“It’s pretty emotional for everybody right now. I’m proud of how they battled. In the two games today, they competed, and that’s what we came to do,” Black Hills head coach Mike Vessey said. “We made steps today even though we didn’t win a game.”
The Wolves had their heads held high entering the loser-out game against Woodland because of an impressive performance against the mighty Mark Morris Monarchs. Montana commit and Monarchs ace Mackenzie Henthorn stymied Black Hills’ offensive attack, striking out 12 batters while allowing just four hits.
But Maddie Knight and Hannah O’Shurak pitched well for the Wolves, and their defense played a clean game. A couple hours later, those trends didn’t continue against Woodland.
“[There were] a couple of communication errors with our fielders. We would have been out of that inning, so some of that’s on us,” Vessey said. “We left our pitcher in there too long. They’re a good hitting team, but boy, if we clean up a few things, that game’s probably over and we’re moving on to tomorrow.”
Black Hills finishes the season with a 10-13 record and graduates three seniors: Ella Goheen, Kiley McMahon and Madi Malone. When those athletes were freshmen, the Wolves went 0-18. Three years later, they helped bring the program its first district win in 10 years when Black Hills beat R.A. Long 14-2 on Tuesday.
“When they were here as freshmen, we were winless. Now look where they’ve taken this. That’s a lot to say for that senior class. That’s pretty impressive, and that’s because of those seniors,” Vessey said. “I’m gonna miss them, but we’re looking forward to next year already and what this team can continue to do. They’re pretty young, but I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
