By the third game of the day, the East Grand Forks Sacred Heart fastpitch softball team may have lacked some energy -- considering the temperature was 44 degrees and the wind was blowing out of the north at 15 mph.
But pitchers Tracy Roach and Darcy Roach had more than enough power in their right arms to carry the Eagles to the Sacred Heart Invitational title with a dominating performance against Bagley.
The Roach sisters combined to no-hit Bagley in a 2-0 win, the Eagles' third of the day. Earlier, Sacred Heart downed North Dakota power West Fargo 3-2 before beating Grand Forks Central 17-0.
"We didn't have as much energy in the third game, but we made some good plays," Sacred Heart coach Mike Marek said. "Our bats weren't as devastating as they could be."
It didn't matter.
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Tracy Roach threw the first four innings before sister Darcy threw the final three innings.
Sacred Heart scored an unearned run in the second before Rachel Scheving drove home a run in the fifth.
The big performance of the day, however, belonged to Darcy Roach in Sacred Heart's 3-2 win against West Fargo, the defending North Dakota state champion.
The Eagles scored three runs in the first inning, then relied on Darcy Roach's pitching the rest of the way.
"West Fargo has a very good team and they hit the ball all over the park in the first two innings," Marek said. "They had opportunities to score.
"But from the third inning on, Darcy kept them off balance. She probably threw her change up more than she has all year. Regardless of the count, she wasn't afraid to throw the change up. And she was confident in her other pitches, too."
It's been a while since Sacred Heart has played West Fargo.
"We really enjoyed playing them," Marek said. "It's good to get a different look. Being pushed into a corner is always good. We have to learn to react to different situations."
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The Packers combined to score 34 runs in their two wins and would have won the title had Sacred Heart lost to Bagley.
Against the Packers, Tia Klein had two hits while Darcy Roach added another and drove in a run. The Eagles improved to 12-2.
Grand Forks Central, meanwhile, went 0-3 in the tournament.
"The teams in the tournament had a lot more experience than us," Central coach Cody Christie said.
The Knights, who were led by Megan Hepper's six hits on the day, capped a busy week as they played single games Tuesday and Thursday before a Friday doubleheader.
Central hosts Devils Lake on Monday, a game Christie said could go a long way in determining the Knights' postseason chances.
