Photo by Jake Olson: Fairmont's Brylee Miller points to Bria Williamson following her RBI single in the third inning of Monday afternoon's contest against Windom Area at Cardinal Park.

FAIRMONT – Brylee Miller’s dominance on both sides of the diamond propelled Fairmont softball past Windom Area 5-1 during Monday afternoon’s contest at Cardinal Park. Outside of giving her team a complete game performance in the circle, the senior went 3 for 4 from the plate, including an RBI single in the fourth inning to bring home Brooklyn Stone.

Fairmont head coach Cory Hainy knew offense was going to be difficult to come by with Eagles pitcher Anja Nielsen getting the start. He regarded her as one of the tougher pitchers in the area. Nonetheless, the Cardinal offense did everything possible to force Windom Area’s defense to execute at a high level.

“We knew it would be very tough; she [Nielsen] was very solid. They helped us out there a little bit with a couple of errors, but I told the girls, ‘You put the ball in play, and sometimes good things happen,'” Hainy said.

It all started in the third inning. Miller got things going with a two-out single through the right side before Alexis Sundeen reached base on a hit by pitch. Bria Williamson served the game-tying hit after pushing the ball up the middle for her first of two base knocks on the evening.

The Cardinals tacked on two more runs on a pair of errors from the Windom Area defense. Avery Kurt and Jadyn Musser sent pop-ups to the centerfielder and pitcher that both hit the ground, finishing off the four-run frame that gave Fairmont the edge.

Miller bounced back in a big way after allowing an earned run in the opening inning. She responded by giving up just one hit the rest of the way, striking out nine total batters and making quick work of the Eagles’ lineup. She retired the Windom Area offense in order on three separate instances – third, fifth and seventh innings.

“She battled,” Hainy said. “The first inning just didn’t quite go our way, and they snuck a cheap one in on us. But from then on, she was pretty sharp, honestly. Kept them off their toes and just had them put the ball in play. We played good defense behind her.”

Hainy is nothing short of impressed with his team’s effort to start the season with a 2-1 record. Battling stiff competition from the likes of St. James Area and Windom Area, the Cardinals’ coach is happy with where things stand, considering the youth of his roster.

Fairmont will travel to Worthington on Tuesday before facing Pipestone Area in a doubleheader two days later. The Cardinals’ next home game is scheduled for Thursday, April 23, against Redwood Valley.

“Considering we are pretty young and the [opposing] pitchers that we’ve seen, starting 2-1 is an excellent start to the season,” Hainy said. “We will see if we can keep this momentum going tomorrow, then a tough doubleheader in Pipestone, which that trip is always tough.”