Although the Aberdeen Central softball team failed to pick up a win Tuesday inside the Aberdeen Dome, the team continued to show progress.

The Golden Eagles fell to Sioux Falls Jefferson 20-0 in three innings in game one, before dropping a 14-7 decision to Mitchell in game two, in a contest that was tied after five innings.

Against Jefferson, Central held its own in the first inning, allowing just two runs to a Cavaliers squad that placed third at last season’s inaugural Class AA State Tournament.

“We started out pretty well,” said Central coach Cassidy Neer. “We were playing some solid defense.”

After the Golden Eagles were able to force the first two outs early in the top of the second, Jefferson proceeded to score five runs, three on a home run by Tya Devericks, to stretch its lead to 7-0.

Central junior pitcher Kylee Hoffmann said the Golden Eagles knew about Jefferson’s strengths and did the best they could to slow down its offensive firepower.

“We came into the game knowing that Jefferson is a really good hitting team,” Hoffmann said. “I think just knowing that they’re a good team and those bases are going to happen, you just got to get the outs when you can. Not much to hang your head off of when you know coming in, they’re a very good team.”

The Cavaliers finished the game in the third inning by scoring 13 more runs. Jefferson did not allow the Golden Eagles a single hit in the game. Junior Reese Comstock was the only Central runner to get on base after being hit by a pitch.

“Once we kind of gave up a big-hitting inning, we just didn’t really recover very well,” Neer said.

The Golden Eagles bounced back against Mitchell matching the Kernels run-for-run in the first five innings the game.

Neer motivated her players in between contests to get them prepared for the matchup with Mitchell following the loss to Jefferson.

“I just told them we had to wash it. There’s nothing we can do about it, and you have to have a short memory in softball,” Neer said. “I told them that whatever it takes to forget about that game, they needed to find a way to be successful on the field game two, and they did just that.”

After giving up two runs in the top of the first, Central responded with a pair of runs of its own. Senior Ayrlie Waldo, who reached on an error and then scored on another error, added a two-run single in the second inning to tie the score at 4-4.

Waldo said she was motivated after the loss to Jefferson.

“First game I actually struck out the first time and I just knew that I had to step it up and be there for my team,” Waldo said. “Those last couple at bats, there were a lot of base runners, so I knew I had to get a big hit to try to get them home.”

Neer praised Waldo for being a leader and keeping her team in the game.

“She’s one of our seniors and she does the little things right; the things nobody sees behind the scenes,” Neer said. “She acts the right way, she treats her teammates with respect, and those are the types of things that they pay off on the field.”

The Golden Eagles and Kernels each added a run in the fourth inning and headed into the sixth inning tied at five. From there, Mitchell pulled away with a nine-run sixth inning, a stretch that began with a solo home run by Macey Linke that gave the visitors a lead they never relinquished.

Waldo attributed the inning to a few Golden Eagle errors that allowed the Kernels to pull away.

“It was just a couple of errors that they were able to capitalize on and get a couple of runs,” Waldo said. “You’ve just got to minimize your errors.”

Central scored the final two runs of the game on a two-run single by Alivia Roettele in the seventh inning, however the deficit was too much to overcome as the Golden Eagles dropped to 0-4 with the loss.

Waldo, Roettele and Laney Gonsor each finished with two hits to lead the Eagles.

Central will now look to prepare for a trip out west as it plays at Spearfish on Friday and Rapid City Central on Saturday. Neer said despite Tuesday’s setbacks, there are many things the team can take and learn from moving forward.

“Just having that winning mindset. When you’re playing like you’re winning, playing loose, playing to have fun, and just doing the little things in the long run (that) pay off,” Neer said. “We have games to win this weekend, so we’ll be back at it at practice (Wednesday), girls got lift in the morning, and there’s a lot to be done between now and Friday when we go to Spearfish.”

Sioux Falls Jefferson 25(13) – 20 17 4

Aberdeen Central 000 – 0 0 0

Whitney Portner and Brooklyn Herrera; Kylee Hoffman, Elsa Schiferl (3) and Alivia Roettele. 2B – Sioux Falls Jefferson, Krull (2), Portner (2), Herrera, Rayna Reisdorfer; 3B – Sioux Falls Jefferson, Mueller, Herrera, Isabel Ingalls. HR – Sioux Falls Jefferson, Tya Devericks.

Mitchell 220 109 0 – 14 5 7

Aberdeen Central 220 100 2 – 7 7 5

Rylee Jennings, Macey Linke (7) and Matteah Graves; Kylee Hoffman and Alivia Roettele. 2B – Mitchell, Matteah Graves. HR – Mitchell, Linke.