The bad news? Devils Lake baseball got swept by Fargo Davies on Tuesday.
The good news? The Firebirds are done with regular-season road games, and they’re still in a good position in the standings because they swept Fargo South on April 24.
Devils Lake (5-5, 5-5) lost both games to the Davies Eagles (6-6, 4-5) on Tuesday at Davies High School. The scores were 7-2 and 5-0. It was the first time they’ve been swept in a doubleheader this season.
Devils Lake, however, saved its top two pitchers, Mason Palmer and Will Heilman, who haven’t pitched since April 21 — exactly a week before Tuesday’s games.
Instead, the Firebirds started Jaxon Strong in Game 1 and Ben Brodina in Game 2. They also used Riley Brenno-Quale, who started on April 24, in relief.
In the first game, a 7-2 loss, Devils Lake permitted three unearned runs in the first inning. Strong walked six batters over 2 1/3 innings, but his defense didn’t do him many favors with a pair of two-base errors in the opening inning.
The Firebirds’ offense chipped away. They scored one in the third on a sacrifice fly by Brodina, and one in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Mason Palmer. They cut the Eagles’ lead to 3-2.
Brenno-Quale, who took over in the third inning, allowed two runs in the fourth. But only one was earned, as Devils Lake made its third error of the game.
Tayven Wiberg made his first pitching appearance of the season in the sixth inning. Davies rallied for two insurance runs on a hit and four walks.
The Firebirds had one baserunner in each of the final three innings but couldn’t string anything together. They outhit Davies 9-5, but their three errors and 13 walks made the difference.
Before Tuesday, Devils Lake’s offense had been following a peculiar trend of struggling in the first game of doubleheaders while thriving in the second. Across four openers, they’d scored a total of eight runs. Across four nightcaps, they’d scored a total of 42 runs.
That trend was broken on Tuesday, though, as the Firebirds were shut out 5-0.
Eagles freshman Mason Sinner threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. Sophomore Tyler Frederick threw 1 1/3 hitless innings to close it out.
Devils Lake was limited to four hits and four walks.
Brodina, in his second varsity start, struck out nine over 4 1/3 innings. But he allowed five runs (three earned) on six hits and four walks. Devils Lake committed two errors, totaling five on the day.
In Brodina’s first start, he had only struck out two over five innings, but he’d held West Fargo Sheyenne scoreless.
Davies scored all of its runs between a two-run second inning and a three-run fifth.
Max Palmer took over mid-inning for Brodina, inheriting two of his baserunners. The Eagles broke it open to 5-0 on a two-run double by Joshua Tandeski.
Palmer threw only four pitches while recording two outs in his first pitching appearance of the season.
Henley Driessen made his varsity pitching debut in the sixth. He threw a scoreless inning with one hit and one strikeout.
The Firebirds will now return home for the foreseeable future. Because May 8’s doubleheader against West Fargo Horace was moved to Devils Lake, the Firebirds’ final 10 games of the regular season are all scheduled to be played at home.
And they’ll have an immediate golden opportunity. Devils Lake hosts Grand Forks Central and Wahpeton, who have the two worst records in the Eastern Dakota Conference, Thursday and Friday. At 5-5 in EDC play, putting them in the middle of the pack, the Firebirds have a key chance to gain some ground. After Tuesday’s losses, they fell to fifth place in the EDC.
The Firebirds’ regular season will conclude by hosting fourth-place Grand Forks Red River on May 5, first-place Horace on May 8 and eighth-place Fargo North on May 12.
The EDC tournament begins May 19. If the Firebirds finish in the top four of the EDC, they will host a game that day. If they finish somewhere in the 5-8 range, they’ll travel somewhere for their first playoff game. If they fall out of the top eight, they won’t play at all and their season will be done.
That last scenario is unlikely, though, considering the solid campaign Devils Lake has put together so far.
But the Firebirds need to take advantage of this weekend’s games against Central and Wahpeton.
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