DEVILS LAKE — After a postponement last week, the Devils Lake baseball team (3-4) finally got to play a game at DLYA Legion Field on Friday.
“I coached the last game July 13th, about two years ago,” head coach Brent Luehring said. “So it’s good just to get out here.”
The Firebirds ignited their flames in the home opener. They flew to an 11-1 victory over Turtle Mountain Community High School (1-2), getting a home run from Jackson Baeth and five strong innings from Cayden McCarthy. They won by mercy rule after scoring four in the bottom of the fifth.
“This is the best I’ve felt about a Devils Lake team that I’ve been a part of,” Baeth said. “We’ve got a lot of pieces. We’ve got a lot of young kids that still have experience, so I think we could make a deep run.”
McCarthy followed up the first outing of his high school career — one in which he didn’t allow an earned run in five innings — with another gem on Friday.
He was pumping in a firm fastball from the outset. He struck out two in the first inning, including some high heat to finish the frame. He worked around a one-out walk and a wild pitch, showing occasional flashes of wildness but staying within himself to put up a zero.
“I don’t think he was as good as he was last Saturday, to be honest with you,” Luehring said. “But he was good enough for us today, and that’s all that matters. I think he was a little nervous being a freshman in front of the home crowd, first game here.”
In the bottom of the first, leadoff hitter Beau Brodina was hit by the first pitch he saw. He immediately stole second, then advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a Mason Palmer sacrifice fly.
The Firebirds grinded out another run with two outs. Baeth worked a walk, which was much-needed given his .150 OBP coming into the day. Ben Larson and Trason Beck followed with back-to-back singles to give Devils Lake an early 2-0 lead.
“Just trying to slow things down a little bit,” Baeth said. “I get a little rush sometimes.”
Will Heilman drew the Firebirds’ second walk of the inning, which loaded up the bases. The team entered the game with a 15.6% walk rate, an approach that’s helped them find some offensive production amidst low hit totals — especially in regards to extra-base hits. They drew 11 walks on Friday, along with two hit-by-pitches.
“I’ve actually been preaching the opposite,” Luehring said with a chuckle. “So I don’t know what’s going on. That means they’re not swinging at pitches they shouldn’t, at least.”
A groundout left three stranded. But the Firebirds came right back with three more in the second. After they loaded the bases on a trio of free passes, Baeth roped a two-run double to left field. The Firebirds’ cleanup hitter looked good at third base as well, moving in on a couple plays and staying balanced with his throws. As a well-rounded baseball player with pop, Baeth is committed to play at the University of Minnesota Crookston next year.
“He’s put a lot of work into his swing,” Luehring said. “He’s his biggest critic. He just shows up every day; he’s the first one here, last one to leave.”
McCarthy continued to rely on his fastball, though he mixed in a couple curves in the second inning. The first one spun over the inner half of the plate, while the second one strayed too far in and hit the batter. He said it’s a pitch his dad has helped him with in the backyard at home. He worked around a pair of two-out baserunners to throw a scoreless second.
McCarthy still didn’t have his sharpest control. He walked the first batter of the third inning, and a two-out single put runners on the corners. The Braves then executed a double steal, getting catcher Beck to throw down to second, which allowed the runner from third to come home.
McCarthy ended the frame with his fourth strikeout to keep Devils Lake up 5-1.
He got into his biggest jam yet in the fourth, letting the Braves load the bases after a pair of singles and a one-out hit by pitch. Luehring came out to talk to him.
“Just calm down and throw strikes,” McCarthy said. “You’ve got nothing to lose.”
He settled down, getting a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning.
“He’s used to playing junior high and 14U baseball,” Luehring said. “And I said, ‘You’ve got a varsity defense behind you… You’ve gotta let them put it in play, and they’re gonna hit it at guys. They’re gonna get themselves out if you just attack the zone.’”
Baeth, who’d already reached base twice on the day, smacked a two-run homer to left-center in the bottom of the fourth. It was Devils Lake’s second home run of the season — both of which belong to Baeth. He’s now batting .278 with a .611 slugging percentage.
A throw sailed out of Baeth’s hand in the fifth, tainting his perfect afternoon with an error. He looked confused more than anything, as if the ball had been wet or slippery. He clarified after the game that he gripped the ball with all five fingers, almost in his nails, so the throw was doomed from the start.
“When I charged the ball hard, I threw it well,” Baeth said. “Just the one I laid back on a little bit, it got away from me.”
McCarthy ended his fifth inning of work with a groundout to first baseman Hunter Remmick, who booted the ball initially but recovered to make the play.
Then in the bottom half, Brodina smacked an RBI double to drive in Max Palmer, who’d drawn his second walk of the evening. Brodina reached base three times in the game and now owns a .444 OBP.
Two more runs came in on a pair of errors in the infield. The Braves intentionally walked Baeth, but it just added more traffic to the already-accelerating jam. The fourth run of the inning came in on the third error of the frame — a throw from the catcher that sailed into right field, allowing the Firebirds to secure the mercy-rule victory.
Devils Lake is 1-0 in the new Legion Field era.
“We can accomplish a lot of things,” Luehring said. “It’s a work in progress. I think our arms and our defense, I’m happy where we’re at, but our bats, we gotta have some more situational-type stuff. Hitting is contagious. We seem to be successful when we get our leadoff guy on.”
Next up is a doubleheader on Saturday against a tough opponent: Bismarck Legacy, which was picked No. 2 in the state before the season. The first game is scheduled for 12 p.m. in Devils Lake.
“They’re pretty tough. They’re gonna put the ball in play,” Luehring said. “It’s a good thing for us to see more arms, and more caliber guys we want to see in order for us to compete. So yeah, I’m excited to see what they have. They’re a new program. They’re really well-coached.”
