FORT DODGE, Iowa – The North Union softball team ended its season on Friday, July 11, after an 8-1 loss to St. Edmond in the Class A, Region 7 semifinals.

The Warriors finished the year dropping three of their last five contests.

Here are a couple of takeaways from the game.

Errors and pitching doom the Warriors

The first two games of the regional playoff season have been kind to North Union sophomore pitcher Ainsley Ulrich. Tossing 13 innings, Ulrich tallied 22 strikeouts while giving up one earned run.

However, her competition would increase rapidly against St. Edmond. The Gaels’ offense this season ranks second among Class A in batting average (.387), home runs (25), and stolen bases (200).

Despite this, Ulrich pitched a relatively solid game. Tossing just over three innings, the sophomore gave up one earned run while striking out two batters.

The other three runs allowed came from a handful of untimely errors by North Union. Out of the eight runs scored by St. Edmonds, four came from errors and miscues from the Warrior defense.

Offense struggles to get momentum

The North Union offensive attack was unable to recapture the same offense in the first two rounds of the regional playoffs.

Scoring a combined 18 runs against West Hancock and Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire in the previous outings, all signs pointed towards another offensive outbreak against the Gaels.

St. Edmond pitcher Toryn Helle had other things in mind. The freshman pitcher dazzled North Union bats all evening long, tossing a complete game consisting of one run and five strikeouts.

Sophomore catcher Shallie Walders led North Union with two hits on the evening, tallying a pair of singles in three plate appearances.

Helle improved to a 14-5 record, lowering her earned run average to 1.98, good for the 14th best in Class A.