DEVILS LAKE — All three times the Devils Lake baseball team has played doubleheaders this season, the Firebirds have lost the first game.
And all three times, they’ve won the second.
“I don’t know why,” Devils Lake head coach Brent Luehring said. “It seemed like over the summer and last year’s team, we kind of flipped it, where we played really well early and then we would run out of gas.”
One change, though, was the location. The Firebirds finally got to play on their home turf Tuesday.
“No kidding,” Luehring said. “It’s just nice to get out here.”
The Firebirds (3-3, 3-3) split with Shanley (1-9, 1-5) at DLYA Field. They lost 8-3 before concluding the night with a 6-0 win. Mason Palmer pitched a complete-game shutout with 11 strikeouts in the nightcap.
Game 1: Shanley 8, Devils Lake 3
An ugly second inning sunk the Firebirds in the opener.
Devils Lake made four errors, with at least one in each of the first three innings.
Shanley starter Caleb Dahl brought a no-hitter into the fifth inning.
Devils Lake went back to the top of the rotation in Will Heilman, who pitched well in a loss last Tuesday. He stranded two runners in the first inning with back-to-back strikeouts, with a high fastball to end the frame.
Devils Lake took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first despite not collecting any hits. Mason Palmer reached on a three-base error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Heilman.
But the Deacons rallied in the top of the second. Heilman issued a bases-loaded walk, then surrendered a grand slam to Eli Emineth.
Back-to-back singles, with a throwing error by Heilman on a soft comebacker, added another run for Shanley. It was 6-2 when the dust settled.
Heilman got the first two outs of the third inning. But two more errors by the infielders led to two more runs. Heilman’s pitch count was already in the 80s, his team trailing 8-2.
“We make a few more of those plays, and that’s a one-run game,” Luehring said.
Heilman managed to settle in over the fourth and fifth. He retired the final seven batters he faced. He ended up being charged with eight runs (five earned) on five hits, striking out seven and walking three. He threw 103 pitches (76 strikes).
“The thing about Will, he’s going to compete and keep grinding,” Luehring said. “Even if he’s not his best, sometimes his best is good enough just to keep us in it. And yeah, I mean, I felt kind of bad for him. He was making some good pitches, and we just didn’t field it for him.”
The Firebirds’ batters only struck out twice through the first four innings, but they didn’t record any hits. Nine-hitter Tayven Wiberg ended the no-hit bid with a single, knocking Dahl out of the game.
Max Palmer followed with another hit, but Devils Lake stranded a pair.
The Firebirds got one back on a two-out RBI single by Henley Driessen in the sixth. Taydon Triepke threw two scoreless innings out of the bullpen to hold Shanley at eight runs. But Devils Lake stranded a leadoff hit by Wiberg in the final frame.
Game 2: Devils Lake 6, Shanley 0
Mason Palmer cruised through the Deacons’ lineup to send Devils Lake home with a win.
The only sticky inning was the first. Shanley recorded a pair of soft hits to load the bases with two outs. Palmer got out of the inning with a lineout to his twin brother, Max Palmer, at shortstop.
Palmer retired the final 19 batters he faced.
“He kind of wiggled out of that first inning, and he settled down after that,” Luehring said.
Palmer collected 11 strikeouts. He issued one walk, and it was the second batter of the game. He threw 98 pitches (70 strikes).
He pumped his fastball, which tops out in the high 80s, along with an effective curveball and developing changeup.
“I think all my stuff was working tonight,” Palmer said.
Palmer has now thrown 12 consecutive scoreless innings after allowing a two-run homer in his first inning of the year. He’s combined for 20 strikeouts in the two games.
On the offensive side, Devils Lake put up three-spots in the first and third. Brodina and Cayden McCarthy hit RBI singles, while Jaxon Strong ripped a two-run triple to right field.
Mason Palmer walked and hit a pair of doubles in addition to his dominance on the mound.
The road ahead
Despite the lackluster start to the doubleheader, Devils Lake came away with another split.
The Firebirds’ three wins have kept them in the mix in the Eastern Dakota Conference. They need to finish in the top eight out of 11 teams to make the EDC tournament.
The first two splits were against the preseason No. 6 and 4 teams in the EDC. Tuesday’s split was against the preseason No. 9. Devils Lake was the preseason No. 7.
“I don’t really like to look at preseason rankings, but last week we stole two against teams we were predicted not to steal two against,” Luehring said. “And then you kind of give one back here tonight, maybe a little bit. But like I told the kids, if we can just keep at it and try to get one out of two, we feel pretty good about things.”
Devils Lake travels to preseason No. 2 Fargo South on Friday, April 24. It will likely have to face Texas A&M-committed righty Caden Nelson. The following week, the Firebirds have Fargo Davies, Grand Forks Central and Wahpeton on their schedule.
“We’re gonna be in for a dogfight with playing South on Friday,” Luehring said. “Six games next week, it’s gonna really test us. … If you only get one, I guess it’s better than nothing. So yeah, we’re just excited. I mean, we’ve got a young group, a lot of kids that haven’t played a lot of varsity baseball. So it’s a learning curve for them, too.”
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