Photo by Jake Olson: North Union pitcher Ainsley Ulrich walks off the mound after striking out three Bishop Garrigan batters in the first inning of Wednesday afternoon's contest in Swea City.

SWEA CITY – It had been just 24 hours. 24 hours since North Union softball played what head coach Kim Price called its worst game of the summer season.

The 9-5 loss to Estherville Lincoln Central didn’t just spoil the recognition of seniors Olivia Price, Brylie Deim and Kyla Irmiter. It left the Warriors with a sour taste as they headed into Wednesday’s Class 1A Region 6 quarterfinal matchup against Bishop Garrigan. Kim Price wanted her team to flush what was its 10th loss of the season. Focus only on the game that’s ahead and nothing more.

“We basically pushed the message of moving on,” Kim Price said. “Yesterday was yesterday, and we have to continue to compete in the next most important game. I talked with them about not bringing that into this game. So we just came out and competed the way we know how.”

And they did just that. Wednesday’s contest felt like a typical North Union home game in Swea City. The offense scored in all but two frames, Ainsley Ulrich was consistent in the circle and the Warriors ended things in the sixth frame, invoking the mercy rule with a dominant 11-3 victory. It was the third win over Bishop Garrigan this year.

“It showed our drive and passion to keep moving forward,” Kim Price said. “To come back today and have them perform and compete that way, that means a lot to me. It shows them that one loss, one error, or one strikeout doesn’t define us. …I’m super proud of that.”

One thing Kim Price noted was the energy her team showed both on the field and in the dugout. This intensity was sparked immediately in the first frame. Shallie Walders connected on the pitch to drive in her 10th home run of the season, a two-RBI drive that sent her teammates and the North Union faithful into a frenzy.

The Warriors didn’t look like a team that just dropped its most disappointing loss of the year. They looked like a confident team, vying to continue this playoff run until their end goal was reached. Or to fight tooth and nail until they couldn’t anymore.

Ulrich compiled a perfect start to her night over the first three innings. Five of the nine Bishop Garrigan outs came on swings and misses. The only contact they made was sternly defended by North Union’s defense, including an impressive diving catch by shortstop Aslynn Sobolik to take away an Anaya Thomas base knock.

Early dominance from Ulrich allowed the Warriors to extend their lead in the bottom of the third.

It again started with the longball. Deim began the frame with an invigorating pop from her right-handed stance, clearing the left-center field wall to continue the offensive output. Massey Bierstedt’s towering double, mere pitches later, was converted into another score thanks to Irmiter’s bat.

North Union’s four-run frame was capped off by another RBI flyball. While Ulrich’s pop-up to right field was caught by the Golden Bear outfield, the distance from home plate allowed Irmiter to glide home without issue. 6-0 Warriors.

Consecutive strong frames from Bishop Garrigan’s offense cut the lead to three heading into the bottom of the fifth. Lillian Erpelding-Wickman joined the home run party with a two-run blast before Emma Garman scampered home on a passed ball an inning later.

But nothing seemed to faze North Union. In fact, after Walders added another run with a fifth-frame RBI single, the Warriors remained aggressive at the plate and on the basepaths. They wanted to pull away for good.

“Even though we weren’t up by a lot like the last couple of games [against Bishop Garrigan], going into the sixth inning, we kept plugging away and getting more runs,” Kim Price said. “Being able to get hits and score those runs was what made us finish the game.”

Of the five hits generated in the final frames, none were bigger than the two by Jacie Johnson and Walders.

Johnson struck first after taking advantage of the bases loaded. Her sharp single up the middle paved the way for Sobolik and Ariana Giddings to touch home. The game-ending delivery from Walders drove in her fourth and fifth runs of the night after a double to left field.

North Union finished with 14 hits and 11 RBIs. Everyone in the lineup recorded at least one hit during the night, with three individuals claiming multiple. Kim Price said the production came down to her team having the at-bats she typically sees.

“I think we had better discipline than last night. For the most part, we were aggressive, and if a pitch was in there, we were swinging the bat. I thought that it went well,” Kim Price said. “Even when we had girls popping up on their last at-bat, it didn’t faze or get them down. They knew there was a new at-bat and did their thing.”

Ulrich’s final stat line read three earned runs and four hits over the six frames. The junior struck out nine batters and walked zero while holding Golden Bear hitters to a .174 batting average. Another strong showing.

Kim Price and the Warriors now travel to Fonda on Friday for a semifinal matchup against Newell-Fonda. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m. The winner of this will be one of two teams competing in the Regional Championship next Monday with a chance to earn a state tournament bid.