Bismarck State rallies past Carroll 9-8 in Frontier Conference tournament opener

Bismarck State (N.D.) held off a late Carroll (Mont.) push and escaped with a 9-8 win Thursday in the 2026 Frontier Conference Softball Championship at Bravera Field in Dickinson, North Dakota. In a seven-inning game that featured multiple lead changes and steady pressure from both lineups, Bismarck State built an early advantage, answered each Carroll surge and then survived a one-run game in the seventh.

Bismarck State struck first with three runs in the bottom of the first. Brielle Wrangham supplied the biggest swing of the inning, a two-run home run that opened the scoring, and Grace Grimm followed with an RBI single for a 3-0 lead. Carroll answered immediately in the second. Carlee Smith delivered a two-run double as the Saints scored three runs to tie it 3-3, but Bismarck State responded again in the bottom half with four runs to move back in front, 7-3. One of the key plays in that inning came when Savannah Gustavsson reached on a fielding error that helped produce multiple runs.

Carroll kept applying pressure in the third. Ella Seaman reached on an error that allowed two unearned runs to score, and Smith added an RBI single as the Saints trimmed the deficit to 7-6. The comeback threat continued to build after Carroll had scored six runs across the second and third innings, but Bismarck State regained some breathing room in the fourth when Gustavsson hit a solo home run to make it 8-6.

Wrangham came through again in the sixth, lining an RBI double that pushed the lead to 9-6. She finished as one of the game’s top performers for Bismarck State, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a home run, a double, three RBIs and a walk. Gustavsson scored three times and added two RBIs, including her solo homer in the fourth. Bismarck State totaled seven hits, including two home runs, and made the most of its opportunities despite being outhit 8-7.

Carroll made one last charge in the top of the seventh. Brooke Thompson’s two-run single brought the Saints within 9-8 and put the tying run in play, but Bismarck State closed it out before needing to bat in the bottom of the inning. Smith led Carroll with two hits and three RBIs, while Sammie Labrum scored twice and collected two hits, including a double. Thompson added two RBIs in the final inning as Carroll nearly completed the rally.

The game was played in clear but brisk conditions, with temperatures around 50 degrees and a north-northwest wind at 15 mph. Attendance was listed at 100. Carroll finished with three doubles and a triple, while Bismarck State left only three runners on base and got the decisive swings from Wrangham and Gustavsson in a tournament opener that stayed unsettled until the final out.