Devils Lake blown out by Hatton-Northwood, but bounces back in nightcap

Headline: Devils Lake blown out by Hatton-Northwood, but bounces back in nightcap

Byline: Mojo Hill

DEVILS LAKE — At the end of Monday’s action, the records showed that the Devils Lake B team (4-5) split a doubleheader with Hatton-Northwood Post 70 & 92 (3-5).

That doesn’t quite tell the whole story, however. The Storm were trounced in Game 1, falling 17-2. But even that isn’t entirely indicative of how that game went, given that most of the Honey Badgers’ runs were scored in two innings. In any case, Devils Lake bounced back in the nightcap with a 5-1 victory, securing a non-conference split.

“You gotta tip the cap to them,” Storm head coach Eric Nygaard said of the Honey Badgers. “They hit the ball well. They were disciplined at the plate… I was impressed with our kids today, other than the pitching. We’ve gotta be throwing strikes, and keep the defense busy.”

Game 1: Hatton-Northwood 17, Devils Lake 2

Easton Kraft nearly sent one out in his first at-bat.

With the wind blowing out, he sent it off the fence on the fly. It was an RBI double in the first inning, giving the Storm an early 1-0 lead.

“If I get something going, then I get more confidence,” Kraft said. “And that allows me to hit more balls.”

His next at-bat, he hit it to roughly the same spot. This time, though, he got all of it. The ball flew over the fence for his first summer ball home run. And he recognized it off the bat, giving it some admiration before rounding the bases.

“Off the bat, I watched it, and I knew it was gone,” Kraft said. “I saw the ball. I hit it pretty high. Before I hit first base, I started jogging around the bases.”

But Kraft’s strong day at the plate wasn’t enough for Devils Lake to overcome its woes in Game 1. The Storm were sunk by a six-run third and an eight-run seventh, and they never got much else going offensively. The Honey Badgers only outhit them 11-7, but the Devils Lake pitching staff issued 11 walks.

Devils Lake’s Jaxon Strong lived up to his last name for the first two innings. He recorded a nasty strikeout and didn’t allow a hit in a pair of scoreless frames. But after surrendering a leadoff infield hit in the third, he was pulled. Nygaard said the plan was to limit each pitcher to 30 pitches given that many of them haven’t thrown in a couple weeks.

Isaac Woodhull took over, and retired the first two batters he faced. But three consecutive walks forced in the tying run, and then a triple cleared the bases and shot H-N ahead 4-1.

After Woodhull issued another walk, Ben Brodina took over for him. Brodina walked his first hitter — the fifth in the last six batters from Storm pitching — and then a single put two more on the board for the Honey Badgers.

“Like we tell our pitchers, if you keep walking the bases loaded, the defense gets bored because that’s all they expect,” Nygaard said. “Then they get surprised when the ball is in play.”

Brodina ended the frame with a strikeout. But the damage was done, with H-N leading 6-1.

Kraft’s homer came in the bottom of the third, trimming the deficit to 6-2. But as the night wore on, the Storm couldn’t capitalize on baserunners. Talan Gregory and Cayden McCarthy both reached with two outs in the third and fifth, but they were left on base each time. McCarthy reached base all three times, with two hits and a walk. But the Storm couldn’t rally.

Despite this, Nygaard was encouraged by some of the things he saw from his hitters.

“They’re watching the ball. They’re tracking the ball,” he said. “And then swinging at good pitches. We didn’t swing and miss a lot today. It’s a sign that we’re doing good things.”

The Honey Badgers scored on a double and a sacrifice fly against Brodina in the fourth. Alex Hammond pitched 2 1/3 solid innings of relief, but an error in the sixth led to two more H-N runs. It was 9-2 entering the final inning.

Kraft started the seventh. But his offensive dominance didn’t carry over to the mound. The Honey Badgers loaded the bases with nobody out, and Kraft’s outing ended after a wild pitch and a double that made it 12-2.

Four straight batters reached against Henley Driessen, including an error. He permitted a bases-loaded walk that let H-N’s 17th run cross the plate. He finally put the inning to rest with his second strikeout.

It was really only two innings that got away from Devils Lake — the third and the seventh — but the wheels fell off, both with pitching control and fundamentally in the field.

Game 2: Devils Lake 5, Hatton-Northwood 1

As the five-inning nightcap got underway, it was the Honey Badgers who played sloppy.

Brodina, playing catcher after starting at third base in the opener, got the Storm started with a double. An error and a balk brought in two runs, and another scored on an errant throw from the catcher. Devils Lake had a 3-0 lead.

Driessen, after recording the final two outs of the first game, stayed on the mound to throw the first two innings of Game 2. A leadoff triple in the second inning led to a run, but he otherwise gave the Storm a solid pair of frames.

Devils Lake added two runs to its lead without a hit in the bottom of the second. Jaxon Strong and Tayven Wiberg drew walks, and they both scored on a wild pickoff attempt from the pitcher. The Storm led 5-1 despite Brodina owning the team’s only base hit.

On the mound, Riley Brenno-Quale went the rest of the way. He struck out three, didn’t walk anybody and only allowed two hits.

Kraft added his fourth hit of the night — a double — in the fourth, but a couple baserunning blunders prevented Devils Lake from adding any insurance runs.

It wasn’t a problem for Brenno-Quale, who ended the evening with a punchout.

“Everything we’re doing right now is to prep for the tournament,” Nygaard said. “We need to know who can throw strikes, and who can manage the mental part of the game, and fight some tough hitters. But I think what we’re doing, we’re doing some good things here.”

Kraft finished the evening — both games combined — going 4-for-7 with a homer and two doubles. Slotted in as the three-hitter on the B team, he’s also been traveling with the A team and filling in when possible.

“When I get on the field, it’s just trying my best for both squads,” Kraft said. “Contribute as much as I can for both teams.”

McCarthy, another young player who’s helped with the varsity and A teams this year, reached base all five times he came to the plate Monday night. He had two singles, two walks and a hit by pitch.