Cayden McCarthy/Photo by Noah Clooten
DEVILS LAKE — The Devils Lake B team met with Cando Post 79 for the second time this summer on Wednesday, this time with the Storm hosting.
And, once again, the teams split their games. Like in their last meeting, Cando (4-2) won the seven-inning game that counted towards the conference standings, while Devils Lake (3-5) took the second game of the evening.
“Good, competitive games, I thought,” Devils Lake head coach Eric Nygaard said. “We made a couple of mistakes that they scored a couple unearned runs, but we’ll fix those by the time the tournament comes.”
Game 1: Cando Post 79 4, Devils Lake 3
The opener was a strange one, featuring just seven total hits but 16 walks. The teams’ starting pitchers combined for 14 walks and only two hits through the first four innings.
But Cando had the edge. Storm right-hander Cayden McCarthy continued what’s been a theme for him — he was effective, but his outing was both dampened and shortened by walks. Devils Lake made a valiant comeback effort in the fourth inning, but the Bearcats ultimately squeezed out the win.
“He looked a little uncomfortable, I think,” Nygaard said of McCarthy. “And he hasn’t pitched for a little while. So I think he was kind of getting the rust off, too… Just gotta find that ‘out’ pitch for him.”
Dane Hagler started the day off, as he often does, by drawing a walk. Although McCarthy didn’t surrender a hit in the frame, the Bearcats manufactured a run through a sacrifice bunt, a steal of third and a wild pitch. They captured an early 1-0 lead.
Cando’s Zach Jorde got off to a solid start. But not too dissimilar from McCarthy, his outing was hindered by control issues.
He held it together through the first three innings, despite walking the bases loaded in the second. The only hit against him was a Ben Brodina single in the first.
McCarthy also walked three batters in the second inning. He didn’t allow any runs either, largely helped by Brodina catching a runner stealing. Brodina has displayed a strong arm from behind the plate since Nygaard started inserting him back there.
McCarthy almost pulled off the same feat in the fourth, walking three batters but nearly escaping without a run. A rundown between third and home had him on the cusp of getting out of it. But Brodina made a wild throw back to McCarthy, allowing Cando to build a 2-0 lead.
“You guys just get back in the box and let him go,” Bearcats head coach Jesse Vote said of how he told his team to approach McCarthy. “If he wants to keep repeating balls in the ground and balls high, then we’ll take advantage of that. But I said if he starts getting in a rhythm, then we gotta slow him down.”
That did it for McCarthy. In four innings, he threw 95 pitches, 43 of which were strikes. He only allowed one hit and struck out five, but he also walked eight. It was merely the extrapolation of what’s been a trend for the talented but erratic right-hander.
“At this age, I think everyone wants to throw hard. And I think now, if he can just pitch and set up hitters,” Nygaard said, “the big thing here is he can overpower some kids, but he has to pitch and get an ‘out’ pitch, whether that would be an offspeed pitch or what. But he’s learning.”
Then Jorde’s own wildness caught up to him.
McCarthy and Taydon Triepke each drew their second walk of the game. They both scored on one play to tie it up in an instant, as Jorde made an errant throw into right field on a sacrifice bunt.
After his sixth walk, Jorde left the game. He threw 3 1/3 innings, and like McCarthy, only allowed one hit. He struck out four.
Future Jamestown pitcher Hagler entered in relief. He dominated this Devils Lake lineup in his last outing, which was a start. Vote has used him out of the bullpen in the team’s last two games.
“We’ve got a couple guys that can start games, and if we have to bring Dane in later on, we can,” Vote said. “That’s not out of the question. And I guess we’re fortunate to be in that situation.”
With Tayven Wiberg batting, Hagler made a throwing error on what would have been the final out. He was slightly off balance, throwing from directly behind the mound. It allowed Devils Lake to jump ahead, 3-2. All three runs were charged to Jorde, though they were all unearned.
But the lead didn’t last long. With Alex Hammond pitching for the Storm, Hunter Hagler legged out an infield single, then advanced two bases on an errant pickoff attempt. Karsen Simon tied it at three apiece with an RBI single.
The Bearcats tacked on another in the sixth, reclaiming a one-run lead. It was another manufactured run. Chas Bisbee worked a leadoff walk, moved to second on a bunt, to third on a throwing error by Hammond, then eventually scored on Brody Svir’s sacrifice fly.
The narrow 4-3 advantage was enough to get the job done. D. Hagler calmed the Storm the rest of the way, allowing just two singles over 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out five and, unlike the other three pitchers in this game, didn’t issue a walk.
So despite his early hiccup with the throwing error, he showed once again why he’s such a hot commodity in the world of North Dakota athletics.
“He obviously would like that back,” Vote said of Hagler’s errant throw. “But we found a way to keep them at bay and punch a couple runs across and hold the lead.”
Game 2: Devils Lake 3, Cando Post 79 1
The five-inning nightcap began with more wildness.
Cando sent its typical catcher, Garrett Westlind, to the hill. He issued a trio of free passes to the first three hitters, including two hit batsmen. A bunt single from Henley Driessen gave Devils Lake a 1-0 lead.
Ian Grey Bear hit a pop fly to second, which Mack Elsperger smartly tagged up and scored on. The fourth free pass of the inning loaded the bases, but a failed steal attempt of home helped Cando limit the damage to two runs in the first frame.
Though the Storm perhaps could have gotten more out of that, their pitching shined to give them a victory.
Tayven Wiberg started things off, and didn’t allow a hit over two scoreless innings. He worked around an error in each frame. Brodina pitched the next two. He threw a 1-2-3 third, but a walk and a single in the fourth led to the lone Cando run.
“I don’t know that our at-bats were very good,” Vote said. “We had a lot of lazy swings, I thought, at times.”
Westlind, despite lacking sharp control, kept things relatively close for the Bearcats. He allowed a single and two more free passes in the second inning — including the third hit batsman — but struck out a strong hitter in Isaac Woodhull to end it.
“He doesn’t get to see the mound a whole lot,” Vote said. “So I just gave him an opportunity to get some work in and see what happens. Let him have a little bit of fun there.”
Westlind threw a perfect third inning, before faltering a bit in the fourth. A single and two more walks ended his evening on the mound. With Bisbee in to replace him, an insurance run scored on a wild pitch, giving Devils Lake slightly more breathing room. It was 3-1, the score that would hold after three more batters.
“I’ve been happy with our approach offensively,” Nygaard said. “I don’t think we’re watching a lot of baseballs. We’re getting some cuts in. So that’s nice to see. And like I told the kids, this thing will click. We’ve just gotta keep believing in what we’re doing.”
The stress-free finale came to the credit of Easton Kraft. His dad, Justin, was controlling the PA during the game and jokingly played the song “Wild Thing” while Easton threw his warmup pitches. Ironically, Kraft ended the game with three consecutive strikeouts — all of the looking variety.
“I thought they did awesome,” Nygaard said of the pitchers in Game 2. “We’ve got a pitching staff. Now we just have to find ways to get them on the hill… What we’re doing right now is just getting us ready for the tournament, and be competitive.”
Devils Lake gets back to work next Monday with a doubleheader against Hatton-Northwood.
