Photo by Sarah Elfman
The Lake Region State College baseball team went 1-3 in its second conference series this week after going 1-3 in its first conference series last week.
This time, the Royals traveled to the other side of North Dakota for four games against Williston State College. They still haven’t been able to play at home due to weather and field conditions.
The pattern of wins and losses was the same as their conference opener against Miles Community College: three defeats and then a victory. This time, against WSC, two of the three losses were by two-run margins.
Freshman Jamison Nelson, who was named Mon-Dak Player of the Week after homering three times in the first series, cooled off with a 1-for-12 showing. LRSC still scored 30 runs over the four games.
The Royals fell 12-10 in the first game on Wednesday. It was a back-and-forth slugfest where each team scored six runs in the third inning. LRSC put up two in the fifth to go ahead 10-9, but then allowed three in the bottom of the sixth and couldn’t scratch anything across in the seventh.
Starter Logan Enns got hit around for nine runs (five earned) in 2 2/3 innings. Parker Simon had another solid outing in relief, holding the Tetons to one run in 2 2/3 innings.
Dane Hagler and Michael Lindsay each had multiple hits in the loss. Devils Lake native Beau Brodina continued to get on base, recording a double and two walks out of the nine-hole.
Wednesday’s nightcap was the only non-competitive game of the series, an 8-1 loss. WSC’s Cameron Fenn threw a one-hit complete game against the Royals. The lone hit was an RBI double by Brodina in the fifth inning. Tyler Kleinjan and Lucas Lyons each drew a walk.
The teams went back at it on Thursday, which started with another slugfest that turned out to be a 13-11 loss for LRSC. It was a game with 25 total hits and two errors for each team. The Royals led 6-2 after three innings, but the Tetons tied it in the fifth and scored seven runs in the sixth. LRSC scored three in the sixth and two in the seventh, but it wasn’t quite enough to come back.
Devils Lake native Simon Beach threw 5 1/3 innings in the loss but allowed eight runs. Karsen Simon gave up five runs (four earned) over a third of an inning. In between, Lane Kinsella managed to get four outs without any runs charged against him.
Lyons had two hits out of the leadoff spot in that game. Hagler, batting cleanup, went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Nelson, who went 0-for-8 on Wednesday after a blisteringly hot series the week before, contributed with a double and three RBIs. Brodina also tallied another hit and an RBI.
After the sting of two losses the Royals had in their grasp, they managed to salvage the final game of the series with an 8-7 win.
They led 4-2 after the fourth inning, and neither team scored in the fifth or sixth. WSC came back with five in the top of the seventh to go up 7-4, but LRSC came through with four in the bottom half to win in walk-off, comeback fashion.
Lyons had the walk-off hit with two outs in the seventh. He also drew two walks in the game. The freshman from Winnipeg has had a very nice start to the season with a .313 average and .444 OBP.
Carson Beaudin started on the mound and was solid for six innings, allowing only two runs in that span. But his final line was tainted after giving up the lead in the seventh, with six runs (five earned) on six hits and one walk in 6 1/3 innings overall. Jacob Warnke allowed a run in relief but got the final two outs of the top of the seventh, setting up the Royals’ eventual comeback.
Hagler batted third and went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. He started this season slow with the bat, and he hasn’t been able to pitch over the last couple weeks with a shoulder issue. But he’s been hot lately with the stick while playing mostly shortstop. He had multiple hits in three of the four games this week and is now batting .321 with a .397 OBP on the season.
Brodina also got into the game and had a hit and two RBIs. He finished the series batting .273 with a .429 OBP on the season so far.
The Royals are now 5-18 overall and 2-6 in conference play. They sit in fifth place out of seven teams in the Mon-Dak. Their two conference series have been against the top two teams.
LRSC’s next doubleheader is scheduled for Wednesday, April 2 vs. Bismarck State College. The home opener is set for Sunday, April 6 against Dakota College at Bottineau.
