DEVILS LAKE — The Firebirds’ bats corrected course on Tuesday.
After losing four straight, Devils Lake (11-9, 11-9) got back on track against Fargo North (8-12, 7-11) with wins of 7-4 and 12-3. The Firebirds combined for 22 hits and 19 runs. They scored in every inning of the nightcap, regaining some momentum ahead of the postseason after things had gotten ugly for a short period there.
“Like I told Coach [Alex] Lundon in the dugout, I said, ‘Boy, I feel way better than I did the last two times we were out here,’” Devils Lake head coach Brent Luehring said. “So yeah, it was nice to see us string some hits together. There were some times in those games that we had two outs, and we’d come up with the clutch hit, and it kind of broke it open for us.”
With the wins, Devils Lake clinched the No. 7 seed in the upcoming Eastern Dakota Conference tournament.
Here are four key takeaways from a good night of baseball.
Ben Brodina holds his own on the mound
The Firebirds’ success on Tuesday started with Brodina. And boy did they need it.
Over the four-game losing streak, Devils Lake’s team ERA on the season had ballooned from 3.56 to 6.09.
Brodina, who hadn’t pitched since April 28, threw a complete game with four runs allowed in the 7-4 win. He was particularly effective early on; he allowed just one hit through the first three innings, facing the minimum.
Brodina permitted back-to-back walks in the fourth, and North scratched out a run. The Spartans scored exactly one run in each of the final four innings against Brodina. He bent, but never broke, staying in there to finish the game on 99 pitches. One of the runs was unearned.
Three straight hits in the seventh got North within three runs, but Brodina induced a 6-4-3 double play to end it.
He only struck out one batter, but he also limited North to two walks. The Spartans had eight hits.
Brodina, a sophomore, finished his first varsity regular season with a 3.12 ERA (six earned runs in 17 1/3 innings).
“His last three outings have been great,” Luehring said. “And the thing with Ben, he’s one of the biggest competitors on our team. And he wanted the ball in Game 1, and glad we went to him.”
Taydon Triepke puts a bow on productive season
Triepke was one of the seniors celebrating Senior Night on Tuesday alongside the Palmers, Riley Brenno-Quale, Jaxon Strong and student manager James Mikkelson. He’s been somewhat of an unsung hero on this team for quite some time, and this season has been the most productive of his high school career.
In the past, Triepke was more of a defensive option or nine-hole hitter. But he’s spent most of this season in the two-spot, and he’s quietly been one of Devils Lake’s best hitters.
He capped his regular season with a 4-for-4 performance. He doubled, scored two runs and had two RBIs.
“I just think he’s bigger and stronger. And there’s no more secrets,” Luehring said. “He started for us off and on as a sophomore, and all year last year as a junior. Especially today, he just took it where it was pitched and drove it. Didn’t try to do too much with it. And I think that’s just growing up, getting some experience.”
Triepke’s big game improved his average to .309.
He also leads the team in walks, which has been particularly valuable in the top part of the order. His .458 OBP is tied with Mason Palmer for second on the team, only narrowly behind Brodina’s team-leading .459.
“We’ll take it any way we can get it,” Luehring said. “Earlier in the year, he was hitting in the two-hole, and he might end up back in there. But yeah, no matter where he’s sitting in the lineup, we’re pretty much expecting him to have a good at-bat and be a competitor for us.”
Alex Hammond, Easton Kraft take better at-bats to lead bottom of the order
Luehring shook up the lineup order on Tuesday. He moved Brodina from the five-spot to leadoff, Triepke down to sixth and Max Palmer down to second.
“Just trying to spark our lineup,” Luehring said. “I felt kind of not sure where to go because Benny’s been leading our team in RBIs. But yeah, it worked. Thank goodness our bottom of the order kept getting on and giving our top guys some chances to plate some runs.”
Hammond, a sophomore first-year starter, has quietly been taking some better at-bats lately in the bottom third of the order. He went 1-for-2 with a walk in the first game. At one point, he had reached in five of his last seven plate appearances.
Despite a slow start to the season, Hammond now owns a solid .349 OBP. He has more walks (six) than strikeouts (four), which is always a good sign for a hitter.
“This is my first time really coaching him. He’s been kind of down on the B with the Legion and then on our JV. And all I know is that the kid’s gonna put together a good at-bat,” Luehring said. “He sees a ton of pitches. … It’s extending our lineup.”
Kraft also had a good day out of the seven-hole. He went 2-for-5 with two walks between the two games. He slumped early in the season but now has an OBP over .300.
Devils Lake got contributions up and down the order. Each Palmer homered, with Max in Game 1 and Mason in Game 2. And the Firebirds just kept pouring it on in the nightcap. It was exactly the type of outburst they needed.
“We weren’t hitting it very well, but we never lost confidence,” Max Palmer said. “We know one through nine can put the ball in play and make the defense make plays. So tonight felt really good, hitting balls where people weren’t.”
Mason Palmer is established as a force on the mound
Palmer finished his regular season on the mound with another strong showing.
He hadn’t pitched since April 30. He gave up a run-scoring double in the first inning and had to navigate two baserunners in the second.
“I think part of that’s on us,” Luehring said. “I think he showed a little rust early.”
Palmer retired eight in a row from the second inning through the fourth, four via the strikeout. He struck out three batters in the fifth. His final four outs were all weak fly outs.
“Kind of go back to his curveball to get his fastball going, and then at the end he was just overpowering people,” Luehring said.
Overall, Palmer struck out and 10 and walked only two in a complete-game effort. He allowed three runs on five hits.
“I was able to locate my curveball pretty well today,” Palmer said. “They were trying to tip signs, so that was kind of hard to work around. But once we worked around it, I think my curveball was working good. My fastball was a little mid today.”
More important than Palmer’s singular performance was the overall body of work he’s given the team this spring. His innings were limited last spring, and he only started showing his full potential on the mound during the summer Legion season.
He’s gone on to post a 2.00 ERA this spring with 13.67 strikeouts per nine innings compared to 2.0 walks.
“I’m proud of him,” Luehring said. “That’s what we saw last summer, and it’s kind of led into this spring. He knew the expectations for him. He knew he was gonna get a lot more innings than he did last spring.”
Palmer finished the regular season with a team-high 27 innings.
“I’m very happy. I haven’t been able to pitch very much in the past because I didn’t really have anybody to fill in at shortstop for me. So I was always there, and I didn’t complain,” he said. “But now, I really like pitching, so I think this year was great for me.”
The EDC tournament begins May 19 at the higher seed.
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