DEVILS LAKE, N.D. – The Devils Lake Storm B 18U faced off against the Harvey Eagles in Class B Legion action on Monday, June 29, at DLYA Field, winning 13-3. The contest was initially scheduled as a doubleheader but was reduced to a single seven-inning game due to the weather.
Harvey got on the board first, with Nixon Buchmiller scoring on a wild pitch. Devils Lake struck back with force in the bottom of the first. Easton Kraft doubled deep into right field, driving in three runs. Kraft and Blake Nelson scored on errors, Talan Gregory scored on a passed ball, and John Molina stole home to take an early 7-1 lead.
After a scoreless second inning, the Eagles added two more runs in the bottom of the third, with Carter Labier scoring on an error and Tyler Swong driving in one with a double to center field. The Storm also scored two that inning, with assistance from Kitson Beck’s single driving in one run and then scoring on a passed ball for a 9-3 lead.
Devils Lake entered double digits in the bottom of the fourth, scoring two runs off ground outs by Riley Brenno-Quale and Talan Gregory for an 11-3 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, Henley Driessen doubled on a fly ball to center field to drive in a run, and Easton Kraft grounded a fielder’s choice to drive in Alex Hammond to end the game with the run rule at 13-3.
Mack Elsperger earned the win for Devils Lake. The starter threw for all five innings, allowing three hits and three runs (zero earned), striking out five and walking two. Chris Marchand and Tyler Swong took the mound for Harvey, combining for nine runs allowed (seven earned), two strikeouts and eight walks.
Kitson Beck and Easton Kraft had a strong night on the plate for the Storm. They both had two hits, with Beck driving in three runs and Kraft driving in two. The Storm stole six bases in the game, with John Molina accounting for three of them and Kitson Beck for two. Chris Marchand, Tyler Swong, and Nixon Buchmiller each collected one hit for Harvey.
The Devils Lake Storm B 18U return to action against Cando on Wednesday, July 1, in a home doubleheader at DLYA Field.