Softball

     The Barnum Bombers outdueled the Gobblers Thursday in a 3-2 matchup at the home of the Bombers. Barnum scored two runs in the first and another in the second but the Gobblers buckled things up after that and held them scoreless the rest of the way. Sienna Melz struck out five and took the loss in the circle. Trailing 3-0 and with two out in the 7th the Gobblers got a pair of runs to make it close. Charlotte Lundgren reached on an error and scored on a double by Samantha Edwards who then scored on a base hit by Melz. That was it and the Gobblers fell to 5-4 on the season. Melz led the offense with a 3-4 day while Edwards, Haley Shereck, Natalie Stueven, Kate Palm and Madyson Burgstaler each had one hit.

Gobblers   2 8 1

Bombers   3 7 1

     The Aitkin JH Gobblers traveled to Isle Thursday and came home with a 22-7 win in six innings. Coach Lena Broeckel picks it up from there, "Shelby Anderson made her pitching debut in the win. She showed great work, concentration and attitude. Grace Hoppe came in and finished up, striking out 7 hitters. Brenynn Huse and Brianna Ecklund did a great job catching on the night. Great presence behind the plate and running the field. I couldn't be prouder of their hard work. We had a lot of batting highlights. Aubrey Aspelin and Sophie Crain had singles, Hannah Fowlds had two singles, Kenzie Klee and Grace Hoppe both had two singles, Natalie Wenzel, Evelynn Olson, Eleanor Hughes and Aubrey Edwards all added singles to the scorebook. Leah Palm had a fantastic fake bunt-swing for a double."

     Aitkin will host Rush City Friday.

       Kate Palm smacked a grand slam homerun in the first inning ignited a 13 hit Gobbler attack as they beat the Ogilvie Lions on the road Tuesday 16-0. The win gives the Gobblers a 5-3 record heading into Thursday matchup at Barnum. Sienna Melz went the distance striking out 8 and allowing just one hit in the game and she had plenty of help from the offense. Haley Shereck was 3-3 and scored four runs, Natalie Stueven was 2-3 and scored 3 runs while Palm was 2-3 with her second homerun of the season. Aitkin scored 5 runs in the first, 4 more in the second, 4 in the fourth and 3 more in the fifth on their way to the win. 

Gobblers 16 13 0

Lions          0  1  4

WP-Sienna Melz

LP-A. Jacobson

       The Gobbler JV posted a 21-2 victory over the Lions. Ada Samuelson picked up the win in the circle while Macy Ryan was 3-3 and scored four runs in the game. Bella Nybeck was 3-3 with three runs scored and Natalie Simonson was 2-3 with four runs scored. Aitkin scored three in the first, thirteen in the second and another five in the third. Samuelson fanned eight hitters in the three innings game.

      The JH softball teams swept a pair from Pine River-Backus on Tuesday. The 7th grade won 12-3 in three innings. Carlie Parker struck out 3 while picking up the win in the circle. Coach Lena Broeckel after the win, "Evelynn Olson did the catching and made several great stops behind the plate. Batting highlights included Tori Paulbeck with two singles, Evelynn and Zoey Baierl with singles, Sophie Crain with a double, her first of the season and Zoey had a triple, her first of the season. I also want to give a shout-out to Hannah Fowlds who executed a situational fake bunt and swing to push the Gobbler lead to 7-3. The 8th grade won their game 10-0. Averi Winter added 7 strikeouts in the three innings. Leah Palm did a great job catching, they were in perfect sync all night. Leah controlled the game with confidence and poise. Averi had a single and Kenzie Klee had a huge hit, her first triple of the season."

      The Aitkin JH Gobbler girls posted two more wins Friday as they swept the Rush City Tigers on the road. The 7th grade ran up a 15-0 victory with Aubrey Aspelin leading the way in the circle with 8 strikeouts. Tori Paulbeck had a double and Aspelin added a triple to lead the offense. Grace Hoppe was in the circle for the 8th grade in their 15-0 win. She had 9 strikeouts in the game. Evelynn Olson had a double to lead the offense. Coach Lena Broeckel, "These girls have worked so hard and come so far, can't wait to see what's next for them."

        The Gobblers bounced back from a doubleheader loss to Rush City with a 15-2 whipping of Pine City on the road Tuesday. Aitkin pounded out 10 hits and scored in every inning to move their record to 4-3 on the season. Sienna Melz, who pitched the first two innings got the win and also had a 2-2 night along with Natalie Stueven, Kate Palm and Charlotte Lundgren who all had two hits. One of Lundgrens hits was her first homerun of the season. Madyson Burgstaler and Macy Ryan each had a hit in the win. Coach Jim Leiviska after the win, "A few girls got their first varsity time in this game, Ada Samuelson, Charlotte Ryan and Macy Ryan. It was a nice bounce-back from Monday."

Gobblers 15 10 2

Dragons    2  5 3

WP Sienna Melz

       The Gobbler JV also picked up a win, 18-4 over the Dragons. Aitkin had 6 hits in the game led by Bella Nybeck with two hits while Ada Samuelson picked up the win in the circle, striking out 6.

(Charlotte with her homerun ball and Ada Samuelson)

        The Aitkin JH Gobblers swept a pair of games with Pine City at home Tuesday. Coach Lena Broeckel fills us in. "The 7th grade score was 8-5. Carlie Parker had a great night in the circle striking out 10 hitters in five innings. Hannah Fowlds, Evelyn Olson and Shelby Anderson all had singles and Olson added a double. In the 8th grade game, it was a 10-1 win. Kenzie Klee was dominating for us in the pitching department. She had 5 strikeouts on the night. She has put in so much work and it's showing. Natalie Wenzel, Elsie Kyllonen, Brianna Ecklund and Eleanor Hughes all had singles in the game with Ecklund, Evelynn Olson and Averi Winter adding doubles. Klee had a triple as well. Great weather, great softball."

    Four years ago in August, Megan Buchholz made it official. She was committing to the University of Maine-Presque Isle and was going to play college softball. The Gobbler graduate was heading east 1,895 miles to continue her education and pitch at the Division 3 level. Some thought she would stay a year and then maybe get a little closer to home but that wasn't the case. She would stay all four years and although there were some changes along the way she is now an "Owl" forever. I caught up with her last weekend and right now, let's spend three minutes with Megan.

(WSZ) The Owls just swept a doubleheader with VTSU-Lyndon and you contributed in both games, 2-3 with a run scored in the opener, a 12-0 win and 1-3 with a run scored and a run batted in in the 9-0 nightcap win. Another nice day for you Megan.

(MB) "Yeah, thanks, we worked very hard in the off-season and I'm SUPER glad to see it translating."

(WSZ) Changes this season, you spent the first three years in the circle and this season you made a switch to second base as well as still pitching once in a while. How are you liking that change?

(MB) "I love it, it took a while to get used to not pitching all the time."

(WSZ) How do you see the rest of the season going?

(MB) "Honestly we have so much heart on this team and grit that I think we are pretty determined on at least making it to the playoffs. We're kind of in a position where everyone in our conference overlooks us when we actually play, they are sort of stopped in their tracks a little bit. I don't know about records or anything, but I know we're going to go way farther than we have in the past few years."

(WSZ) What's up after graduating for Megan Buchholz?

(MB) "I actually got offered a full time position being a financial/programs analyst at a government contracting company. It's fully remote so I'm going to travel between Maine and Minnesota as much as I can."

(WSZ) That's interesting, any chance you might be around a little more, maybe do a little coaching with the pitchers at Aitkin?

(MB) "Yes, I'm hoping so, I'd love to help out as much as i could, just to give back to the sport and the communities that helped me get here."  

     Owls Coach William Manley has nothing but good things to say about the senior from Aitkin, "Megan is one of the greatest transformations I have ever seen. I named her the "Most Improved Player after our fall season this year for many reasons but mostly because of the athlete she created in herself through hard work. When I first met her, she was battling through an old injury and was still on her path to recovering from it mentally and physically. I told her to go to the position she wanted to play and go show me you can earn it. She played second base and pitched for us. During the 2025 season she was a very average player. Something was missing, it was like she couldn't get out of first gear. During the season I began introducing the team to strength training and challenging them in the weight room. Megan was one of the players who took to it and ran with it. After the 2025 season ended, she was one of the first players to come and ask me for a summer workout program for her and asked many questions on how she could improve as a player. I knew she took my advice seriously because she checked in with me almost weekly talking to me about progression and what she was improving on. When Megan returned this fall I was blown away with what I saw. I had not yet chosen captains because I wait until the fall season is complete and see who really earned the title of team captain. From the very first day she was noticeably faster, more athletic and more powerful. She also showed up every day with a new confidence. I was so excited in who she had become and what was more exciting was that I knew she wasn't settling and she was still working and improving every day. Even her teammates were impressed with her change, and the team truly saw her as a leader and someone that could carry the team. From that moment on I knew she was going to be our captain. She shows up every day with the right attitude, and she is always the first player to help out fellow teammates with any struggles or questions they might have. She is very coachable and a joy to be around. I'm extremely lucky and grateful I've had the chance to coach Megan! I think it's obvious that this team would not be the same without Megan. She leads by just showing up. I also know how she has affected her best friend, Grace Walsh. These two met their freshman year and have been inseparable ever since. They motivate each other and I'm so happy that they both get to experience their senior year together, playing the game they love."

    This former Gobbler really seems to have her helmet on straight with what she wants to do on the field and off so the next time you catch a glimpse of an owl in your tree it might just be Megan Buchholz. Congratulations young lady, hope to see you soon!
    

       The 2026 Gobbler softball schedule is out. Let's take a look

Thursday, April 30-at Barnum

Monday, May 4-Esko

Tuesday, May 5-Mora

Thursday, May 7-at East Central

Saturday, May 9-at Park Rapids Tourney

Tuesday, May 12-Pine City

Wednesday, May 13-at Barnum

Thursday, May 14-at Greenway

Friday, May 15-at C-I