Lucas Lyons (Photo by Noah Clooten)
Lake Region State College baseball won its final two conference games of the season Tuesday.
The Royals traveled up to Bottineau and destroyed the Dakota College at Bottineau Lumberjacks, 16-0 and 10-0. LRSC — which had already surpassed its program-record eight conference wins — won two more, finishing with a Mon-Dak record of 11-13 ahead of the playoffs.
LRSC (14-30) swept Bottineau (16-28, 4-20) in Devils Lake back on April 21, with modest wins of 5-2 and 5-0. It was the latter victory that gave the team its best program-best ninth conference win. The Royals were happy with their accomplishment, though head coach Steve Anderson said at the time that he felt like they could have scored more runs.
Well, they scored more runs on Tuesday.
The Royals put up an eight-spot in the sixth inning of Game 1 to win by run-rule. Lucas Lyons led off the game with a solo homer — his fourth bomb of the season. Dane Hagler and Brayden Ehnert drew walks, and Hagler scored after two errors to make it 2-0 right away.
LRSC added four in the third inning on a two-run single by Hugh Montgomery, an RBI single by Ehnert and a wild pitch. The Royals tacked on two more in the fourth, taking advantage of a Beau Brodina leadoff walk. Tyler Kleinjan reached on an error, and Montgomery hit a two-out RBI single to make it 8-0.
They really poured it on in the sixth. Brodina led off with a double this time — the third time reaching base for the freshman from Devils Lake, who hasn’t always been in the starting lineup but has produced when he’s gotten the chance. Kleinjan hit an RBI single, and after Hagler and Montgomery drew walks, Ehnert cleared the bases with a double.
Jamison Nelson hit an RBI double, and Brodina collected his second hit of the inning. Lyons joined in on the fun with an RBI single, and Kleinjan added his second hit of the inning and third of the game. The Royals scored 16 runs on 13 hits and nine walks.
On the mound, Parker Simon had another strong outing with 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He walked four and didn’t strike anybody out, and he only threw 34 of his 68 pitches for strikes, but he permitted just two hits. It was his second straight start not allowing a run, with a one-hit shutout last time he faced the Jacks. His season ERA sits at 3.51.
Lefty Michael Lindsay took over for Simon and pitched the remaining 1 1/3 innings. He struck out one while allowing a hit and a walk.
After the 16-0 beatdown, LRSC won 10-0 — once again in six innings — to close out the day.
The Royals scored one run in each of the first three innings. The first scored on a double play with the bases loaded and nobody out, while the second scored on a bases-loaded walk by Kleinjan. After two more walks in the third, the third run came home on a sacrifice bunt by Logan Dearborn.
Hagler pitched the first four innings for LRSC. With a limited pitch count, he dominated for the time he was in there, holding the Jacks hitless while striking out five and walking one. He threw 48 pitches (34 strikes).
It was a nice bounceback for Hagler after just an okay outing against North Dakota State College of Science his last time out. Overall, he’s settled in nicely to the college level while the Royals treat his arm carefully. He’s allowed only seven earned runs in his last 25 innings, good for a 2.52 ERA in that span.
Simon and Hagler, the two pitching standouts of the day, are both North Star alumni. Simon’s twin brother, Karsen Simon, who’s also on the team, shared a picture afterwards with North Star baseball and basketball coach Jesse Vote, who took in one of their games for the first time.
LRSC broke it open with a six-spot in the fifth. Ehnert led off with a solo shot. After the Royals loaded the bases with nobody out, Brodina recorded a sacrifice fly. With two outs, Hagler added an RBI single while Montgomery tacked on a two-run single to make it 9-0.
Nelson led off the sixth with a double. An error led to Dearborn scoring on a wild pitch to put the run rule in effect.
Carson Beaudin pitched the final two innings for the Royals. He allowed two hits, didn’t walk anybody and struck out one as LRSC finished off its second six-inning win of the day.
The Royals’ 11-13 conference record is tied for fourth in the Mon-Dak with Bismarck State College. The Mystics, though, have a much better overall record (25-22) and won three out of four over LRSC in the head-to-head matchup. So the Royals narrowly sit in fifth place.
LRSC concludes its regular season with Sophomore Night at 6 p.m. Wednesday against the University of North Dakota club team.
