Aberdeen Central closed out its season with an 18-2 loss to Tea Area in Eastern South Dakota Conference softball action at Koehler Hall of Fame Field on Thursday evening.

Despite the setback, Central coach Cassidy Neer had a positive takeaway from the day.

“We showed grit in a lot of big situations,” Neer said.

Tea Area opened the game with six runs in the top of the first inning, and the Golden Eagles responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the frame.

Central leadoff hitter Jovee Waldo got on base and later scored on an Estelle Riggs RBI single.

“It felt amazing,” Waldo said of starting the game strong. “I love that I hit first pitch off that pitcher, because she was really competitive.”

Waldo knows how important her role is at the top of the lineup to help set the tone for her teammates.

“Neer put me as a leadoff hitter so I could bring my teammates up and start us off,” Waldo said. “So, that’s my job, to start us off and help everyone get in a groove.”

However, Central left the bases loaded in that frame and Tea Area tacked on four more runs in the top of the second inning, pushing the Titans’ lead to 10-1.

Waldo got another single in the bottom of the second, this time with two outs on the board. Alivia Roettele followed suit by getting on base with a single, but the inning came up empty for the Eagles and the deficit remained at nine runs.

The Titans broke the game completely open with eight runs in the third.

Riggs led off the bottom of the third for the Golden Eagles and hit a triple to get the inning started.

“It feels really good,” Riggs said. “Earlier in the season, I was striking out a lot, and I wasn’t able to get on base, so it feels good to end on that note.”

Riggs’ teammates were also pleased with how she hit during the game.

“Estelle’s doing really good, so hopefully we can bring that into the off season,” Waldo said.

The next batter was Evvy Beidler, who hit a groundout but was able to get Riggs home to put Central’s second run on the board.

​The Golden Eagles finished their season with a pair of victories.

Neer said she saw a lot of improvement throughout the year.

“We definitely started hitting the ball better,” Neer said. “We were better at taking advantage of our at-bats and we didn’t walk as many hitters.”

The Golden Eagles are already looking forward to next year.

“I can’t wait for next season,” Waldo said. “I just can’t wait for our friendships on the team to strengthen. We’ve had some hard times this season, but everything always works out for us.”

Tea Area 648 – 18 12 0

Aberdeen Central 101 – 2 6 5

Kaylyn Hall, Brynn Kline (3) and Allie Wallum; Abby Frank, Sydney Hoag and Alivia Roettele. 2B – Tea Area, Anna Somsen 2, Wallum, Kline and Madison Dragt. 3B – Aberdeen Central, Estelle Riggs.