Warriors repeat as Section 8-4A champs; Lumberjacks fight until somber end
· Yahoo Sports
May 29—BRAINERD — Even down eight runs in the fifth inning, the Lumberjacks still believed.
Unfortunately, belief only went so far for the Bemidji High School softball team in the Section 8-4A championship game against Brainerd.
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The Warriors scored in each of the first five innings, pulling away to a 9-4 win. They will play in the Class 4A state tournament for the second consecutive season.
Bemidji, though, saw its season end at Brainerd High School.
"You have to give credit to them," Bemidji coach Brad Takkunen said of the Warriors. "If we had beaten them, you'd have to give credit to us. It was two good teams with two good pitchers, but their pitcher kept us a little more off balance. We hit some balls, but they hit the ball harder and caught some breaks on balls they made great plays run. We never quit, but we never really found the holes we needed to."
Maddie O'Grady and Hadley Erlandson each brough home two runs on singles in the first two innings. Ari Halbert made it 5-0 in favor of Braienrd with a sacrifice fly in the third inning.
Halbert's RBI followed a missed opportunity for the Jacks.
Bemidji loaded the bases in the top of the third inning. Amelia Vernlund singled before Karley LaZella and Clara Sherwood reached on a fielder's choice and an error, respectively. However, with two outs, O'Grady struck out Aubrey Hanson to strand all three runners.
"It was just a game they earned," Takkunen said of Brainerd, a team Bemidj played five times in 25 games this season, including three Section 8-4A Tournament games. "We played five times, and it ends up being a series of some sort. That's softball."
The Warriors extended their lead to 8-0 with a three-run fourth inning, thanks to RBI hits from Carlson, O'Grady and Keira Rademacher. However, the Jacks found some life.
Clara Sherwood brought home two runs with a double before Aubrey Hanson made it 8-3 with an RBI single.
"They just had too much to overcome," Takkunen said. "I'm just proud of the way they kept going after it. If you're down 8-0 going into the fifth inning, you could easily just say, 'Let's get it to 10-0 and go home.' But they stepped up and kept trying. It might seem odd to say, but there wasn't really a whole lot standing between us getting a few more runs and winning this one."
Bemidji (15-10) attempted to rally one more time in the seventh inning, with Olivia Birt and Ridley Hadrava reaching with singles to lead off the inning. However, on LaZella's sacrifice fly to make it 9-4, Hadrava was doubled up at first base.
O'Grady got Emma Greiner to fly out to clinch Brainerd's (17-8) section championship.
A year ago, programs like Bemidji and Brainerd couldn't have been further apart.
The Warriors had just won the Section 8-4A championship. The Jacks hadn't played for over a week when that happened after being eliminated in two games from the postseason.
The year before was more of the same, as was the year before that, and the year before that.
Since becoming a Class 4A program, Bemidji's highest-ever seed in the 8-4A playoffs was No. 6 in 2025. The Lumberjacks played and lost two play-in games at home and had never won a winner's bracket contest.
Bemidji's 2026 season wasn't just a few steps forward; it was a remarkable and unexpected testament to the competitive maturity gained after years of early exits.
"Tremendous growth from this group. Tremendous," Takkunen said. "We started the season saying, 'Who's going to play here? Who's going to play there? I'm not exaggerating in any way. We were pretty sure Karley was going to pitch and Liv was going to catch. The reality is, we had to sort through all of that, and we did. And not only did we do that, but we flourished. They embraced this. They started believing in themselves and what we're trying to do. It was just really fun to watch."
For Bemidji's five seniors — Hayden Dahl, CeCi Brown, Hadrava, Birt and Vernlund — the sting of wearing a red medal instead of a blue one will be fresh for the foreseeable future. But Takkunen hopes their legacy is being the group that pushed his program to the brink of a historic season.
"It's what they should be remembered for," Takkunen said. "They were great leaders. They demonstrated that, even through all of the chaos, they didn't want this to end. And even though we didn't get (to state) and even though that hurts, the reality is that Brainerd beat us today. We did our best, they did their best. Their best was just a little better today. When that happens, what else can you do?
"I think the seniors modeled that tremendously. I think this will be something they remember. Obviously, there will be a new group of kids next year, but that's what a program is. You hope they follow the mentorship that came before them."
Bemidji will return its core of players, including six starters, next season. They will have a wealth of experience that the graduating seniors never had to bring into a season.
"Games like this are why you try to fill the bench up as much as you can," Takkunen said. "You want them to feel the ups and the downs, the pain and the glory. Experience is irreplaceable. As a team, you hope to be right back in this position, fighting for the section again next year. We're going to lose a few key pieces, but we have a lot of pieces coming back and pieces who will grow from the JV team, too."
For Takkunen, now Bemidji High School's longest tenured head coach after completing his 31st season at the helm, the 2026 campaign sticks out among his most memorable.
"It was such a unique and fun year, and it's hard to replace it," he said. "The characters on the team were so unique this year. That's what makes this fun, and that's what will make them missed."
Brainerd 9, Bemidji 4
BEM 000 030 1 — 4-10-0
BRD 221 310 X — 9-13-3
WP: O'Grady (7 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K)
LP: LaZella (6 IP, 13 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 1 BB, 8 K)