DEVILS LAKE — The Firebirds’ hosting chances evaporated Monday evening after a long, windy night of baseball that featured an eight-run inning, a team batting out of order and a half-hour lightning delay.
Devils Lake (9-9, 9-9) saw its losing streak extend to four as it was swept by Grand Forks Red River (12-6, 12-4) at DLYA Field.
The losses made it mathematically impossible for the Firebirds to finish in the top four seeds in the Eastern Dakota Conference. They’re now a game behind Fargo Davies (10-8) for the No. 6 seed and a game ahead of No. 8 seed Fargo North (7-9).
“We know that we won’t host now, but the goal is to finish as high as we can and hopefully put ourselves in a better chance for the EDC tournament,” Devils Lake head coach Brent Luehring said.
Devils Lake combined for seven errors between losses of 15-3 and 6-2 on Monday.
“We like our group. We’ve just got to play better. We’ve got to be better; we’ve got to be more focused,” Luehring said.
Game 1: Grand Forks Red River 15, Devils Lake 3
The Firebirds committed five errors and didn’t get much going offensively as they dropped the opener. Will Heilman kept Devils Lake in it for six innings, but Red River poured it on with an eight-run seventh against the bullpen.
In the first inning, back-to-back free passes burned Heilman. With two runners in scoring position, he recorded a key strikeout but gave up an 0-2 single to left field, putting Devils Lake in a 2-0 hole.
Heilman retired Red River’s 7-8-9 hitters in the second and fourth. The Riders added two runs in the third inning with the help of two Devils Lake throwing errors.
The Firebirds got on the board against Iowa Central Community College commit Alex Seaver in the bottom of the fourth. Mason Palmer led off with a single, and he eventually scored on a Ben Brodina single.
Heilman retired the top two hitters in Red River’s order to start the fifth. But Matt Dosch reached on a dropped throw at first base, advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher and scored on a passed ball.
Heilman gave up three straight singles in the sixth — which would have merely loaded the bases, but an error in the outfield made it a two-run inning for Red River.
When Heilman’s outing was complete, Red River led 7-1. Only four of the runs against him were earned. Heilman struck out five batters, walked two and hit two.
“I thought Will threw pretty good. If we had fielded it behind him, I think that would have been a better game,” Luehring said. “So yeah, tip your credit, because when we gave them a free pass or when we gave them an extra out, they capitalized and kind of put us away.”
Red River capped Seaver’s outing at 3 2/3 innings and 57 pitches, presumably saving him for Thursday’s matchup with West Fargo. He allowed one run and struck out six.
Seaver is the No. 4-ranked senior in the Dakotas.
“He’s one of the better arms in our league,” Luehring said. “And I thought he did a good job of mixing his slider and fastball, and kept us off balance and kind of set the tone for them.”
Reliever Gabe Schauer threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen for Red River.
Mack Elsperger made his varsity pitching debut for Devils Lake in the top of the seventh. He permitted a trio of free passes, then was replaced with Riley Brenno-Quale.
The Riders proceeded to rally for eight runs. Red River skipped Schauer in the order — he had been set to lead off — but nobody appeared to notice or question it. The teams’ GameChanger feeds had a discrepancy in who was batting for about half of the inning.
Schauer’s spot in the order came up again and he grounded out.
“We caught it after it was too late,” Luehring said. “It was kind of one of those deals like we didn’t really know if it was gonna make a difference or not. But yeah, we could have stolen an out. … I kind of got after my student manager a little bit.”
Regardless, 11 Roughriders batted in the inning. Seven consecutive straight hitters reached, including five consecutive hits, to make it 15-1.
Devils Lake tallied four straight two-out hits in the seventh, scoring two on a single by Taydon Triepke.
It was a lone shot of momentum in an otherwise deflating game for the Firebirds.
Game 2: Grand Forks Red River 6, Devils Lake 2
Cayden McCarthy gave the Firebirds a solid start, but the bats remained stagnant.
McCarthy faced the minimum through two innings, striking out three. Red River scratched out a run in the third, then added two in the fourth behind a leadoff walk and a pair of hits.
Red River starter Austin Allery faced the minimum through three innings, allowing just a Heilman single.
Down 3-0, Devils Lake got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Max Palmer drew a leadoff walk, and Mason Palmer drove him in with a sharp single to left field.
Like Seaver before him, Allery was limited to under 60 pitches. He threw 3 2/3 innings and 57 pitches.
With a 3-2 count on Brodina to lead off the bottom of the fifth, a flash of lightning struck in the sky. The teams were forced to depart the field. There was a brief downpour, but it passed quickly and the players returned to action after a 32-minute delay.
Upon resumption, Brodina drew ball four, then scored on a long single by McCarthy. The Firebirds got a run closer, down 3-2, but stranded the go-ahead runs on base.
McCarthy stayed on the mound after the rain delay. He had thrown a perfect fifth before having to sit.
Luehring recalled saying to McCarthy, “If you feel anything, I’m gonna shut you down. We can go to somebody else. It’s not worth it long-run.”
And McCarthy replied, “No, you’re not taking me out.”
McCarthy worked around a two-out walk to throw a scoreless sixth. He finally came out after 6 1/3 innings and 112 pitches — with two runners on base, one via an error.
Luehring said McCarthy’s velocity was up to about 83 or 84 mph.
“Cayden threw really, really well. Was able to locate his slider down in the zone and kind of spin his curveball off his fastball,” Luehring said. “He competed. … Really proud of him.”
McCarthy has given Devils Lake three strong efforts in a row.
“His last three starts have been awesome,” Luehring said.
The Riders added three insurance runs against Triepke with a double and another infield error.
The Firebirds’ 2-3-4 hitters went down in order in the sixth, and they left two on base in the seventh. Ryne Richau pitched the final 3 2/3 innings for Red River, allowing just one run while striking out five.
One last battle before the postseason
The Firebirds conclude their regular season at home Tuesday against eighth-place Fargo North (7-9 EDC) at 4:30 p.m.
If they lose, they could potentially fall as low as the No. 8 seed. They’re likely fighting for No. 7, though they still have an outside shot at the No. 6 seed.
“The big thing now is if we can get tomorrow, that keeps us out of the eight, hopefully out of the seven,” Luehring said. “Hopefully tomorrow it happens. Senior Night, so it’s the last time here for some of these kids.”
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