TOLNA — Out below the southeastern edge of Devils Lake’s hulking body of water, just outside the Spirit Lake Reservation, baseball was played in the tiny town of Tolna, North Dakota, on Thursday. The crack of the bat, the scuffle of the dirt and the grunts of umpires returned to the Lake Region, officially marking the start of the area’s 2024 baseball season.
The Nelson County/Midkota Chargers hosted the Midway/Minto Mustangs at Tolna Baseball Field, and took them down in commanding 13-3 fashion. An eight-run second inning led them to a victory they’d eventually clinch via the mercy rule after five innings of play.
“It’s a nice day for baseball,” Chargers head coach Logan Lund said. “First time out, we just want to see our guys through and make adjustments, and build off of success and the mistakes.”
Left-hander Preston Lee got the start on the hill for NC/M. Working a primarily three-pitch mix, he kept Mustangs hitters off balance. He was hurt in the first inning by some sloppiness: a leadoff error from shortstop Brody Rainsberry and a hit by pitch, both of which came around to score.
After a wild pitch put the runners in scoring position, the game’s first run came in on a groundout. Andrew Riske then tapped a dribbler up to Lee, who tried to get the out at home but threw it past the catcher. It was ruled an infield hit, and M/M led 2-0.
Lee capped the inning with back-to-back strikeouts. Despite allowing two runs, he didn’t let the ball leave the infield.
The Chargers struck right back with two in the bottom of the first against right-hander Kole Kittleson. Catcher Zach Gibson ripped a double down the left field line, and third baseman Kyle Johnson reached on a walk. They each stole a base completely uncontested. NC/M cleanup hitter Landon Sundeen hit a ground ball to second base, but the second baseman flubbed it and allowed both runs to come home.
It was quickly knotted back up on the error. Kittleson was struggling to find the zone, and his fielders weren’t doing him many favors. So the Chargers took advantage.
“We’ve been hitting all week, and [our coach] just said, ‘Be ready to hit,’” Gibson said. “And we were ready to hit.”
Lee worked through a smooth second inning, sending the Mustangs down one-two-three.
M/M tried to counter with a lefty in the second inning, sending its starting first baseman, Ben Gudajtes, to the bump. But the Chargers were all over the southpaw. They slapped together six hits in a seven-batter span, with the only other batsman reaching on the Mustangs’ second error. The leadoff hitter, Rainsberry, had a go-ahead single, and the inning spiraled into an eight-run rally that gave them a 10-2 lead.
“It’s tough when you get these games early on where they’re switching pitchers every inning,” Lund said. “You just ask your guys to adjust the best they can… I thought we had a lot of good at-bats, but we need to sit back a little more and not get so antsy.”
With still only one out, Gudajtes struck out Brody Hoyt, but the ball got by the catcher and Hoyt reached safely. That ended Gudajtes’ afternoon. Shortstop Elijah Robinson came in to pitch and set down the final two batters of the inning, bringing a merciful end to the frame.
Working with an eight-run lead now, Lee had his shakiest inning in the third. The Mustangs got on the board with a pair of hits, along with a stolen base and a wild pitch. Lee’s command was off, as he struggled to put the pitches where he wanted to.
“He’s got great stuff. He can locate well. I think that was the part that he struggled with today, was his location,” Lund said. “The 0-2 pitches gotta be on the corner. Then when you get to that 2-2 count, then you’re back in attack mode. So he’s gotta just work on location, location, location. And that’s what he’s great at. Just wasn’t on his A game today.”
The inning could have gone worse if not for a runner caught stealing by Gibson. He gunned down Gudajtes for the second out after Lee walked him. Gibson also recorded three hits on the day.
“He’s an all-state caliber player,” Lund said of Gibson. “Phenomenal, phenomenal talent.”
Rainsberry and Johnson each smoked a long double in the bottom of the third — and Johnson’s nearly left the yard. But with the chilly air and a bit of wind, he had to settle for an RBI double. Ross Thompson chipped in with an RBI single, and the Chargers led 12-3.
Thompson then promptly took the mound for the top of the fourth. He worked a hitless inning with just a walk allowed.
Hoyt led off the bottom of the fourth with a double. The next two batters made outs, but Rainsberry knocked Hoyt in with his third hit. The run stretched the margin to 10, putting NC/M in line for a mercy-rule victory.
Johnson was called upon for the final three outs. He allowed a single to the leadoff hitter, Robinson, who eventually reached third on a stolen base and a passed ball. With two outs, the game was nearly extended as second baseman Gage Flaagan had a shaky pickup on a ground ball. But he stayed composed and made the play — only barely in time to record the game’s final out, with a double-digit lead intact.
And so NC/M charged on to a comfortable season-opening victory.
“We know what we need to work on,” Lund said. “I think the biggest thing I took away from that is we gotta stay involved in the game, even up eight runs. You’re gonna find yourself in spots where eight runs isn’t that comfortable anymore. So we gotta stay with it until the game’s done.”
