Hunter Remmick/Photos by Noah Clooten
DEVILS LAKE — The Devils Lake A team returned home and got back to its winning ways on Tuesday.
“We were a little frustrated after that loss in Fargo,” Storm catcher Trason Beck said, referring to last Tuesday’s nightcap against the Fargo Post 2 Bombers. “The guy was sitting around 70, and none of us could find a barrel. So that was frustrating. It was good to get two wins.”
Devils Lake (16-7, 13-3) beat Kindred Post 117 (9-11, 7-8) in both games of a doubleheader at DLYA Field, 10-0 and 5-2. It boosted the Storm ahead of Wahpeton Post 20 for first place in the East standings.
“We’re playing in a big spot right now, trying to get the one seed,” designated hitter and pitcher Hunter Remmick said. “Our goal is ultimately to win the state championship, and this is one step closer.”
Game 1
The Storm blew out Kindred 10-0 in a five-inning walk-off win. Simon Beach technically threw his fourth complete game of the summer, though it was shortened due to the run rule. However, with only 44 pitches in five innings, he was well on his way to a seven-inning complete game anyway.
“I think pitching in college, and knowing that he’s never gonna overpower anybody at that level, he’s kind of brought that back,” Devils Lake coach Brent Luehring said. “Since last year when we had him as a high school kid, he’s added a little better curveball that he can control.”
Beach has been an absolute machine of efficiency this summer. He’s now thrown just 372 pitches in a team-high 34 1/3 innings, which is good for an average of 10.8 per inning. His ERA is 2.88, and his BB/9 is a minuscule 1.31.
“He’s pretty good with hitting his spots,” Luehring said. “He just fills it up and forces these teams to hit him. And he trusts his defense behind him.”
Remmick also stayed magma-hot with a grand slam that put the game well out of reach for Kindred. It was his third home run of the summer, tying him with Beau Brodina for the most on the team.
“I think the raw power has always been there. The kid’s put a lot of time in the weight room,” Luehring said. “For him, it’s just getting the reps, earning a spot. He’s got that spot now; hopefully the sky’s the limit and he can keep continuing it. The big thing for him is not trying to do too much.”
Remmick’s blast was part of a six-run fifth inning that brought the game to its premature end. Devils Lake was also hit by a pitch five times in the victory.
“We’ve been really confident lately,” Remmick said. “We’ve been believing in each other. [Beck]’s been hitting really good in tough spots. We’ve been hitting really good altogether, ultimately.”
The hulking, right-handed Beach induced a first-pitch groundout in each of the first two innings. He ended both frames with a strikeout.
It took him eight pitches to get through the first, and only five more to get through the second. He got the first two outs of the second inning on just two total pitches, then ended the inning with a three-pitch strikeout.
The offense got off to a quick start thanks to some two-out hits. Beck singled with two outs in the first, driving in both Palmers. Then B. Brodina came up clutch with an RBI single in the second inning. It was a liner into left field, continuing Brodina’s penchant for going the other way.
The Storm got another two-out run in the third. This time, Mason Palmer tallied his second hit of the game and scored on a throwing error. Devils Lake built a 4-0 lead through the first three innings.
“I think this last week, we kind of focused a lot on refreshing from the break, when we came back yesterday,” Luehring said. “We gotta recognize earlier; we gotta make sure we’re ready… Simplifying our approach with two strikes and two outs, and they did the job.”
Beach, meanwhile, took a whopping 10 pitches to finish the third inning. He maintained almost perfect command, striking out two more in the inning. He retired the first nine batters he faced on just 23 pitches, with an absurd 20 of them landing for strikes.
Alas, with one out in the fourth inning, Kindred finally recorded its first baserunner with a single up the middle. Beach struck out the next batter, and almost walked off the field thinking he’d already recorded three outs. That’s how accustomed Beach has become to throwing quick innings.
He retired the next batter anyway, finishing his fourth scoreless inning with 36 pitches and five strikeouts to his name. It took him only eight more pitches to throw a perfect fifth, in what was, unbeknownst to him at the time, his last inning of the day. He finished with six strikeouts and only one baserunner allowed.
The Storm loaded the bases on two free passes and a Parker Brodina bunt hit. With still nobody out, that brought up Remmick, who lined one a long way to left-center field. It sailed over the fence, prompting cheers from his teammates as he rounded the bases with a grand slam. It became 8-0 in a hurry.
“It felt awesome,” Remmick said. “The guy came off walking two people in a row; I knew he was gonna give me one… I watched it, bat-flipped and jogged down the bases.”
Two more free passes — including the third walk and fifth hit by pitch for Devils Lake — kept the inning alive. Then Max Palmer hit a soft ground ball that the third baseman threw away, allowing two runs to score and ending the game automatically.
With Remmick’s four-bagger helping Devils Lake put the game to bed, he’s made it essentially impossible for Luehring to take him out of the starting lineup.
“I love playing,” Remmick said. “Me being in the lineup every day, it’s giving me more confidence, too. I’m hitting really good, helping the team win games; it’s been great.”
Notable performances
Simon Beach: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 44 pitches (33 strikes)
Hunter Remmick: 1-for-1, HR, 4 RBI, BB, HBP, R
Mason Palmer: 2-for-3, 2 R
Trason Beck: 1-for-2, 2 RBI, HBP
Game 2
The nightcap was closer, but Mason Palmer delivered a strong outing and Beck came up with another clutch hit to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Palmer worked around two walks in the first inning. He struck out three in the second, collecting four through a pair of scoreless frames.
After issuing another walk, Palmer surrendered a two-out double in the third. But Devils Lake executed a perfect 9-3-2 relay to nab the runner at the plate, keeping Kindred off the board.
The Storm broke the scoreless tie on another clutch hit from Beck. Just like in the first game, he got Devils Lake on the board with a two-run single. Beck continues to produce in the heart of the order.
“You just keep saying to yourself, ‘I want to be the guy,’” Beck said. “You want to be the guy to get everybody going.”
Palmer held Kindred scoreless through the first four innings, though he wasn’t at his sharpest. There were seven baserunners in those innings. Then in the fifth, shortstop Will Heilman committed an error, and a single got Kindred a run.
With the Vikings still threatening, Palmer recorded back-to-back strikeouts to keep the Storm ahead 2-1. That brought him to eight strikeouts on 88 pitches.
Devils Lake got the run back in the bottom half on a two-out RBI single from Jackson Baeth. They added some breathing room with two more runs in the sixth, coming on sacrifice bunts from Heilman and Taydon Triepke with the bases loaded.
Palmer settled in for arguably his best inning yet in the sixth, when he set the Vikings down 1-2-3 and struck out two. So, despite some uneven spots, he gave Devils Lake a very strong performance with 10 punchouts and just an unearned run over six innings. He threw 101 pitches.
“Mason’s got good stuff, man,” Luehring said. “Mason’s curveball’s got a lot more downward movement than Simon’s, so we just kind of kept that same approach. I thought his fastball, he kind of lost a little control… But he’s a competitor. He’s the quarterback of our high school team. He’s never gonna shy away.”
Baeth pitched the final inning. Three straight hits led to a run, but a double play helped Baeth escape and secure the 5-2 win.
The Storm will now try to keep this first-place momentum moving forward.
“This group, the sky’s the limit for them if we keep on playing like we can play, and pitching like we can pitch it,” Luehring said. “So hopefully we can just keep hitting.”
Notable performances
Mason Palmer: 6.0 IP, 5 H, R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 10 K, 101 pitches (68 strikes)
Jackson Baeth: 2-for-3, RBI
Trason Beck: 1-for-2, 2 RBI
Beau Brodina: 1-for-3, BB
