Blackduck tops Northome/Kelliher, advances in section softball play

Blackduck turned a familiar rivalry into a postseason step forward, beating Northome/Kelliher 8-2 on Thursday, May 21, to advance in Section 5A softball play and keep its state tournament path alive.

The result mattered because it came in the winners bracket of the 2026 MSHSL Section 5A softball tournament, where every win moves a team closer to one of only 32 spots in the Minnesota state tournament. Blackduck entered the game at 14-6, had a bye into the bracket, and arrived with momentum after winning five of its previous six games.

That recent stretch was built on control rather than fireworks. Blackduck was allowing just 1.8 runs per game over those six contests, and the section win over Northome/Kelliher fit that pattern. In a matchup where pressure usually rises quickly, Blackduck again kept the game on its terms and limited a rival that has proven it can handle playoff expectations of its own.

The significance also came from who stood across the diamond. Northome/Kelliher was the No. 3 seed in the winners bracket and had already shown postseason pedigree in recent years, earning the school’s first softball state tournament berth in 2024 after winning its first-ever softball section championship. That gave Thursday’s game more weight than a routine bracket result. It was Blackduck against a neighboring program with a history of breaking through.

Blackduck had already beaten Northome/Kelliher 8-2 in the regular season on May 14, but the section matchup carried a different kind of consequence. The first meeting was about standing in the standings. The second was about survival and advancement, with the bracket now narrowing and the margin for error shrinking by the round.

For Blackduck, the win confirmed that the team’s recent run is no fluke. The same pitching and defense that had carried the team through its best six-game stretch again held up under sectional pressure, giving Beltrami County fans another local program still playing with something bigger ahead.