Photo by Jake Olson: Fairmont starting pitcher Brylee Miller celebrates with the rest of her infield during the second inning of Tuesday's Section 2AA Softball Tournament match up against Blooming Prairie at Cardinal Park. The No. 4 Cardinals will face No. 5 Randolph this Thursday.

FAIRMONT – It’s playoff time for the Fairmont softball team. Despite dropping its past three contests heading into Tuesday afternoon’s first-round matchup against No. 13 Blooming Prairie, the No. 4 Cardinals still had high hopes for another deep run in the Section 2AA Bracket.

Cold and windy conditions at Cardinal Park posed their fair share of challenges for both teams initially. But a steady serving of Brylee Miller’s fast, up-tempo pitching arsenal and a consistent output from Fairmont’s offense was enough to push the home team past the Awesome Blossoms 9-1, sending Fairmont to a second-round matchup against No. 5 Randolph this Thursday at 5:00 p.m.

“Before the game started, we looked at our first-round scores over the last five or six years, and we’ve not played great,” Fairmont head coach Cory Hainy said. “We’ve won them all, but they were closer than they should’ve been. This one, right here, 9-1 is good enough.”

Fairmont’s batting order didn’t have any long, drawn-out innings against Bloomington Prairie pitcher Aubree Johnson. Johnson’s frequent change of pitch speed did a good job of preventing many hard-hit balls and kept the Cardinals on their toes throughout the contest.

However, Hainy’s team did execute with runners on base. Fairmont finished hitting 7-9 with runners in scoring position.

Bria Williamson started off the contest with her RBI single in the first inning that sent home Lexi Sundeen from second. She tacked on the final run of the frame after Johnson’s passed ball allowed her to scamper home with ease from third base.

Hainy called Miller’s outing almost “business-like” from the circle. The senior never showed signs of emotion during the highs and lows of her performance. She was simply automatic.

The only knock Bloomington Prairie’s offense, a unit that has scored 14, 12, and 26 runs heading into Tuesday, put on Miller’s complete game showing came in the second inning.

Two-hole hitter Bella Schiller roped a pitch that bounced off third base before slowly trickling into shallow left field. Moments later, Kenley Bangert responded immediately with a single that landed in right field and cut Fairmont’s lead in half.

But that was the bulk of the Awesome Blossoms’ offense the rest of the way. Miller allowed just one more hit over the next five innings and compiled a total of 10 strikeouts and two walks. It was the type of performance Hainy needed from his senior.

“Brylee’s been our ace for a long time, and she was very businesslike today. She didn’t get too high or too low,” Hainy said.

Fairmont’s offense answered with a little magic of its own in the home half of the third. This was much thanks to the bottom of the Cardinals’ batting order.

A walk from Avery Kurt moved Sundeen over to second with one away. A string of consecutive hits from Ariel Oskerson and Sydney York to the left side of the field drove in three additional runs to separate from the Awesome Blossoms. Fairmont’s bottom four batters had three of the team’s five hits heading into the fifth. A much-needed contribution.

“That’s why you have nine batters. It’s not always going to be the same ones,” Hainy said. “Now, you have some hitters at the top that are really good, and usually good all the time. But you can’t say that they are the only ones who can ever get a hit. You have to get production from everybody, and today we did.”

The top of Hainy’s lineup did what they usually do by the time the later innings rolled around. Miller picked up her lone hit of the afternoon on a drive into deep, left-center field that drove in Gwyneth Schultz before sliding into third base.

Fairmont then used consecutive RBI base knocks from Sundeen, Williamson and Kurt in the sixth inning to extend its lead to 9-1 and push the game out of reach. The Cardinal offense finished with 10 hits and seven walks. It’s the 10th time this season they’ve scored seven runs or more.