After both Lake Region State College diamond sports swept doubleheaders over Dakota College at Bottineau in Devils Lake on Saturday, the teams traveled to face the Jacks again on Sunday. The softball team kept its winning ways going with another doubleheader sweep, while the baseball squad couldn’t keep the magic alive.
Softball star Darian Bender said on Saturday that she wanted the team to get another sweep on Sunday. And not only did the Royals achieve it, but they did so in emphatic fashion.
They won 17-6 and 15-3, taking both contests in mercy-rule fashion. The four consecutive wins over last-place Bottineau have boosted LRSC to fourth in the Mon-Dak Athletic Conference with a 7-9 conference record. The Royals were previously second-to-last, ahead of only the Jacks. They’re 11-23 overall.
Bender had yet another productive day at the dish. She went 3-for-3 with a walk in the first game, then 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the second game.
The Royals actually trailed 5-2 going into the fifth inning of Game 1. But they scored an absurd 15 runs in the top of the fifth to put the game away. Maggie Bender homered in the inning, while eight consecutive Royals reached at one point. Madison Dauphinais pitched all five innings for LRSC.
In Game 2, the big blow came in the second inning. After the teams traded runs in the first, the Royals put up an eight-spot in the second. M. Bender had two hits in the inning, while Madden Wiebe hit a triple.
LRSC scored five more in the fifth to make it a 12-run margin. Morgan Cervantes knocked a two-run double, while both Benders had hits.
M. Bender pitched all five innings in the circle, in addition to her four hits at the plate. She allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out one.
The baseball team, meanwhile, couldn’t extend its good fortune into its road games. The Royals ended a 10-game losing streak with a doubleheader sweep at home on Saturday, but they got back into the losing column with two losses to the Jacks on Sunday. They fell 10-9 and 10-6.
To rub salt in the wound, they actually led 9-3 with only three outs to get in the first game. The Jacks rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to win in walk-off fashion, four of which came with two outs.
The Royals had gotten off to a 3-0 start after drawing five walks in the first inning. The score remained stagnant until the fifth, when starter Marshel Herman surrendered a three-spot. He made an error that allowed the first run to score, and later gave up a game-tying triple.
Tyler Kleinjan gave LRSC the lead back with a two-run single in the sixth, driving in another pair of walks. Then a four-run rally in the seventh seemed to put the Royals in a comfortable spot.
But Herman couldn’t get through his final inning. He allowed a two-run double, then was taken out after issuing a walk. Keegan Wade-Parker got the second out, but then permitted three walks, a hit by pitch, a double and a single. One of the walks tied the game, while the single won the game for Bottineau.
In Game 2, the Royals tried to battle back from an early 9-0 deficit. They scored three in the third, one in the fourth and two in the fifth. But there was no offense from either team after the top of the fifth, ending the game with a 10-6 score.
TJ Olson gave LRSC 3 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. But by then, the struggles of Brady Omdahl and Carter Newman, along with four errors, had put the Royals in too deep of a hole to overcome.
LRSC is second-to-last in the conference with a record of 7-23 overall and 2-14 in conference games. Its conference record is the same as last-place Dawson Community College’s.
Both Royals squads will return home for doubleheaders against North Dakota State College of Science on Monday, then games against Williston State College and University of Jamestown JV on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
