It was one of those unusual moments of competition where both sides walked away feeling good about their performances.

Aberdeen Central picked up a pair of non-conference softball victories over Groton Thursday at the Aberdeen Dome. The Golden Eagles walked off Groton 9-8 in the first game, and then snuffed out a late Tigers rally to claim the second contest 6-3.

“Our girls came out ready to work hard. Props to Groton. It was a beautiful matchup,” said Central coach Cassidy Neer. “I couldn’t have been more proud of the girls, just never quitting, finding how to gel together as a team, utilizing some of our younger players and making those adjustments, not only capitalizing in game one, but carrying that momentum over into game two.”

Groton was just playing its third and fourth games ever as a first-year program and the Tigers held their own.

“I’m so proud of these girls, just in three weeks, to see where they’ve come from,” Groton coach Amanda Bisbee. “Our four seniors have never played fast pitch before. Ever. … We were starting from scratch here.”

The visitors were nearing victory in the first game before Central rallied for six runs in the bottom of the fifth frame to record the walk-off win.

Trailing 8-5 with the bases loaded, lone Central senior Avery Bendewald produced a bases-clearing hit just inside the right field line to tie the score.

“I had faith. I wasn’t sweating it,” Bendewald said of her clutch hit. “I was confident I was going to hit the ball.”

When the right-handed batter was asked if she meant to serve the ball the opposite direction, Bendewald responded with a smile, “That’s classified.”

Bendewald soon came home with the game-winning run on a single by Abby Franks.

“Timely hitting, we’ve talked about it,” Neer said. “It’s contagious, being patient when we can, but not looking to get walked, but looking to hit the pitches that are hittable and right in our wheelhouse, and I think the girls did just that and locked in in that last inning, and really strung hits together and worked together as a team.”

The Golden Eagles wouldn’t have had to face such a big deficit heading into their last at-bat if not for a stellar catch by Groton’s Jerica Locke in centerfield in the fourth inning. The senior snared a blast with the bases-loaded that she turned into an inning-ending double play.

When asked how she made that catch, Locke replied, “I don’t know. It just landed in my glove and I was thankful.”

Locke, who competed in track and field last spring, said she is adjusting to her new sport, and got a bead on the ball.

“It was new for me, too, but I just really saw the ball coming,” Locke said, “tried to get there in time and if not, just sacrifice my body.”

Locke, who is headed to North Dakota State College of Science to play volleyball next season, was involved in two more memorable plays in the second game, just missing a ball that she dove for which turned in a bases-loaded three-run triple for Frank, and then making another highlight reel catch when was able to make a diving catch.

“I was mad about that one,” Locke said of the ball that got by her. “I was like the next one I’m getting.”

Central took a 6-2 lead into the top of the fifth frame in the second contest. The Tigers scratched one run across and had two runners on before a strikeout ended the game.

“We are very proud of our team and the plays that we made,” Locke said. “We struggled batting tonight, but for a while there we were scoring runs and getting people home, and we just couldn’t really connect in that last game.”

The Golden Eagles were aggressive on the basepaths putting pressure on the Groton defense with 13 combined stolen bases in the twinbill.

“Any time we get a chance to keep a game tight, we are going to run. We’re going to be aggressive,” Neer said. “Earlier this week we got in a big hole (against Pierre) and that limited our options at the plate, with bunting and baserunning and offensive strategy, but today we were able to keep it close and we had a lot of options on offense.”

Meanwhile, the Tigers are still learning the fundamentals of the game and were unable to prevent Central from taking off on every occasion.

“We have an entire team full of athletes. They’re volleyball players, they’re basketball starters, they’re track stars,” Bisbee said. “Now we just have to teach them the knowledge of the game, knowing when to steal, knowing when to throw it, knowing when not to throw it.”

For a first-year program just getting out of the blocks, the Tigers appear to be well on their way, already notching their first victory in school history earlier this week.

“Our goals at the beginning of the season were really improve every game,” Bisbee said. “It wasn’t about winning or losing but just learning the game, learning to love the game.”

And in reality, laying down the foundation for future Groton teams.

Locke said the goal this season is “winning games, but more importantly having fun and building up this softball program at Groton now for younger girls to come.”

Central hosts Yankton at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the dome and will now enter that contest with a jolt of confidence after the sweep over Groton.

“These are big, especially these being our second games,” Bendewald said. “I think it really brings confidence to the girls, because our seasons don’t start off very well, and just starting off this season with this momentum, I think it’s going to help us a lot. I think we’re going to be a lot more confident going into Yankton, and I think we’re going to see a lot more wins this season.”

Groton 016 01 – 8 2 2

Aberdeen Central 120 06 – 9 6 0

Kinsley Rowen and Libby Cole; Abby Frank, Sydney Hoag (3) and Alivia Roettele. 3B – Aberdeen Central, Avery Bendewald.

Groton 100 11 – 3 6 1

Aberdeen Central 132 0x – 6 7 1

Rylie Rose and Libby Cole; Sydney Hoag and Alivia Roettele. 2B – Groton, Abby Fjeldheim, Makenna Krause, Talli Wright. 3B – Aberdeen Central, Abby Frank.