DEVILS LAKE — Cayden McCarthy spent the baseball offseason working to improve.
The junior hit and threw as often as he could. He worked out at the facility in Camp Grafton. He played for a travel ball team in Bemidji, connecting with an old friend who’d moved there. The team played games in Arizona.
“Apparently I hit 86 [mph] there,” McCarthy said. “And it was good weather and everything. It was fun. It was good momentum going into the season.”
McCarthy also adjusted his windup. He now starts his motion with his front shoulder pointed closer to third base, creating more torque as he gears up to deliver the ball.
“My dad actually showed me a video that kind of closing up more will bring some more velocity,” McCarthy said. “And using my legs and hips more.”
With a host of senior pitchers graduating from Devils Lake last year, a role opened up for McCarthy in the rotation.
His third start of the season was his best yet. McCarthy threw a complete-game shutout against Wahpeton on Friday as Devils Lake won its fourth consecutive game, 3-0.
McCarthy struck out eight and walked three. He allowed only two hits.
“He just came out and filled it up, and got some nice ground balls and kept their middle of the order off balance with his curveball,” Devils Lake head coach Brent Luehring said.
McCarthy’s gem was the second commanding pitching performance of the evening. Will Heilman also turned in his best outing of the season, striking out 12 over seven innings in a 7-2 win.
Devils Lake (9-5, 9-5) won its fourth game in two days, completing a straight sweep of the bottom two teams in the Eastern Dakota Conference. The Firebirds took down Wahpeton (1-9, 1-10) on Friday at DLYA Field.
“I think last night, the way we were able to maneuver that game with our pitching staff and able to get Cayden and Will today, we felt pretty good about where we would be at,” Luehring said. “And just kind of getting some runs and letting them settle in.”
Game 1: Devils Lake 7, Wahpeton 2
Heilman’s performance was by all accounts his best on the mound this season. He threw a complete game with two runs allowed on five hits. He collected 12 strikeouts and walked only one.
The strikeout number continued a notable trend for Heilman. Though he was effective last year, he was more of a finesse pitcher and didn’t necessarily rack up a ton of strikeouts. After Friday’s outing, Heilman has now struck out 29 batters in 19 innings — an average of 13.7 per nine innings.
“I think it’s just him being comfortable throwing all three pitches between changeup, fastball and curveball,” Luehring said. “I think his curveball has gotten a lot better this year. Last year, he was kind of more of a fastball-changeup mix. He’s throwing a little harder, too.”
Luehring said Heilman’s fastball velocity was about 81 or 82 mph before the season started.
“So I’m thinking those numbers will keep climbing the more we get that arm in shape,” Luehring said.
Heilman wiggled out of trouble in the first inning, inducing three pieces of soft contact after an error put runners on the corners.
He had two long strikeout streaks: four straight between the second and third inning, then five straight between the sixth and seventh. Heilman pounded batters in and went after them. He didn’t issue any walks until there were two outs in the seventh.
Wahpeton scored on back-to-back hits from the No. 2 and 3 hitters in the third inning. Heilman still bookended the inning with a pair of strikeouts.
He had Wahpeton at one run until a two-out rally in the seventh. Still working with a five-run lead, he induced a fielder’s choice to end the game.
Devils Lake got all the offense it needed with a pair of three-spots in the first and sixth. Mason Palmer and Ben Brodina had RBI hits in the first. McCarthy and Easton Kraft hit back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the sixth; McCarthy scored on a throwing error by the pitcher, then Tayven Wiberg and Alex Hammond hit sacrifice flies.
Devils Lake’s offense stalled in the middle innings. Kraft hit a leadoff double but was thrown out on a tag play at the plate. The Firebirds scratched one out in the fifth on a passed ball.
The three-run sixth gave Heilman all the insurance he needed.
Heilman lowered his season ERA from 6.00 to 3.79 with the strong outing. He threw exactly 100 pitches with 76 strikes.
Game 2: Devils Lake 3, Wahpeton 0
McCarthy spent his evening jamming hitters and getting swing-and-misses with his curveball.
He mixed in a steady dose of high fastballs. The Huskies had trouble squaring anything up.
“My curveball was feeling good right from the start,” McCarthy said. “When you get the swing and miss, it’s kind of satisfying to see that.”
McCarthy struck out two in each of the first two innings, permitting just a walk. He gave up his first hit in the third inning, but he started a 1-6-3 double play to end the frame.
McCarthy retired nine straight batters in the middle innings. He forced hitters to take off-balance half-swings and hit pop flies or ground balls.
The biggest threat against McCarthy came in the sixth, when he surrendered a double to deep center field. He issued his second walk, but he threw a high fastball to get a strikeout, then ended the frame with a grounder to short.
McCarthy allowed a two-out walk in the seventh but otherwise slammed the door.
He threw 87 pitches (56 strikes).
Wahpeton’s Carter Hockert turned in a solid outing in his own right. The only runs he gave up came in the fourth, when Devils Lake scored three runs on three straight singles by Heilman, Brodina and McCarthy. A wild pitch and throwing error aided the rally.
McCarthy has responded nicely from an up-and-down first start against West Fargo Sheyenne. In that game, he pitched three great innings before allowing seven runs in the fourth.
Since then, McCarthy has given up one run over 13 innings.
“I just keep pitching and pounding the zone and let the defense work,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy lowered his ERA to 4.24.
“I think as much time as he’s put in, between some of the travel ball he plays throughout the fall and in the summer, I’ve seen a new Cayden,” Luehring said. “He’s definitely bringing some leadership and some ownership to his game. You won’t find anybody on our team right now that’s working harder than him to try to correct things and do what he can to contribute.”
Up next
The Firebirds have three home doubleheaders to complete the regular season.
Going in with a 9-5 conference record, their chances of making the EDC tournament look quite good.
“Our bats are hot now,” McCarthy said. “It’s the best time to come alive.”
They’ll have some big tests in the upcoming week, taking on third-place Grand Forks Red River on Tuesday and first-place West Fargo Horace on Friday.
“It’s just being up for the challenge,” Luehring said. “It makes us better.”
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