DEVILS LAKE — During his last game in a Firebirds jersey at DLYA Field, Max Palmer predicted he would hit a home run.
“I had a feeling, you know?” he said.
His twin brother, Mason, gave him some encouragement.
“He was calling it early. The wind was blowing out to left,” Mason said. “He was like, ‘Yeah, Mason, I’m gonna go yard today.’”
And then Mason said to Max, “Yeah, I bet you can do it. You’ve just got to get ahold of it.”
Max had never hit a home run.
Not in high school. Not in the lower levels, either. The skinny, 5-foot-10 senior, who’s committed to play baseball at Jamestown with his brother next year, had no long balls to his name.
He chose Senior Night, of all nights, to crank his first one.
“I was kind of surprised. He’s not really a power guy; he’s more of an average guy,” Mason said. “But a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while. He hit it really hard, so props to him. He’s getting better and better.”
It was the first game of a doubleheader against Fargo North. Max had tripled earlier, in the fourth inning. It drove in two runs at the time, extending Devils Lake’s lead to 5-1.
Two innings later, he stepped up with a runner on second.
He got a pitch right in his wheelhouse and cranked it to deep left field.
Max’s approach was simple: “Hit a ball hard.”
“He hung me a curveball, and I elevated it,” he said. “Felt really good off the bat.”
It was a jolt not just for Max, but for this entire Devils Lake team. Throughout a four-game losing streak, Devils Lake had been searching for offense. Max, the team’s usual leadoff hitter, had been slumping a little bit, going 1-for-6 with three strikeouts in Monday’s doubleheader.
“He wasn’t real happy the way he’s played the last couple nights,” Devils Lake head coach Brent Luehring said. “And I told him I thought he was getting a little long and strided out. He hit that triple [in the fourth inning]. … He didn’t miss the next one. Good for him, man.”
Max’s two-run homer extended the Firebirds’ lead to 7-3.
“It felt great, man,” Max said. “I mean, right as I hit it, I knew it was out.”
The blast gave starter Ben Brodina some extra breathing room as he threw a complete game in the win.
But there was still another game to play on Tuesday. And Mason, though generally more of a power hitter than Max, was now trailing his brother in the home run column. Mason had homered before at the high school level but was yet to hit one this season.
“Right as he saw me hit one, he wanted to hit one, too,” Max said.
Mason went 1-for-4 in the first game. He singled in his first at-bat of the second game, then grounded out and struck out.
He had just one at-bat left at DLYA Field as a Firebird.
He made it count.
Mason smacked a ball to a similar spot as Max, though perhaps with a lower launch angle. He used his pure strength to get it out of the ballpark.
“I was kind of just wanting to hit one hard. I kind of struggled today at the plate,” Mason said. “I wasn’t really trying to hit a home run. I was just trying to square it somewhere I could. And it went out, and it was just awesome.”
Mason’s solo shot kickstarted a three-run sixth inning that sent the seniors off into the sunset on a good note. Mason pitched as well, striking out 10 in a complete game. Devils Lake finished the regular season 11-9.
Fellow senior Taydon Triepke also had a big game at the plate, going 4-for-4 in the 12-3 victory. The other seniors honored after the game were Riley Brenno-Quale, Jaxon Strong and student manager James Mikkelson.
The seniors ran the bases at DLYA Field for one last time as high schoolers. They exchanged greetings with teammates at each base.
Mason, Max and the Firebirds will now shift gears to the postseason as they try to make one last run for Devils Lake High School.
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