The Lake Region State College baseball and softball teams opened their conference schedules against Bismarck State College in Bismarck on Wednesday.
Each squad played a doubleheader. The Royals combined to lose all four games.
Offense was a struggle for the baseball team, which lost 5-0 and 11-1. The Royals only had one hit in seven innings in the first game; that hit belonged to Tyler Kleinjan. The Mystics got a gem from pitcher Mason Lunzman, who struck out 11 and only permitted a single baserunner in his seven-inning outing.
Simon Beach allowed a run in each of the first and third innings for LRSC. Jacob Ripplinger pitched a scoreless fourth before surrendering three runs in the fifth. Catcher Wyatt Tweet had a home run and four RBIs for the Mystics.
In the second game, the Royals only trailed 1-0 after two innings. But starting pitcher Ronald Nelson couldn’t get an out in the third inning and gave up three runs. The Mystics broke the game open against Hunter Brodina, who allowed five runs in 1 1/3 innings.
LRSC recorded its first run of the day in the fifth inning, getting an RBI double from Nicholas Smith. At the time, the score was 6-1. But BSC responded with five in the bottom of the inning, securing the mercy-rule victory.
The Royals’ baseball team is now 2-10 overall and has lost seven straight.
The softball team also lost a game in five innings, falling 18-4 in the first contest. LRSC’s Darian Bender struck out five and didn’t walk anybody in four innings, but she also allowed 14 runs (10 earned) on 13 hits. Offensively, seven different Royals had hits, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep the game close. A 10-run fourth inning put the game to bed.
The Royals had a better offensive output in the second game — an eventual 11-10 loss. They scored a run in each of the first and fourth innings, then put up a four-spot in the fifth to take a seemingly comfortable 6-0 lead. Pitcher Whitney Rozdeba held the Mystics scoreless up to that point.
But Rozdeba faltered in the bottom of the fifth. She gave up seven runs en route to a nine-run frame for BSC. The Royals battled back to regain the lead with three in the sixth and one in the seventh, but Maggie Bender surrendered two in the bottom of the inning and the Mystics walked it off.
D. Bender was the star for LRSC at the plate, going 4-for-5 with two RBIs. Bender has been the Royals’ best player both at the plate and in the circle. Rozdeba had a strong showing too, with a 2-for-4 and three-RBI line. Catcher Aliya Billay added three hits.
LRSC actually outhit BSC 16-6; the problem was that the Royals issued 12 walks.
LRSC softball is 4-14 overall.
The baseball team has its home opener scheduled for Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m. against the North Dakota State University club team. Softball, meanwhile, will next play on the road against North Dakota State College of Science on Monday at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.
