Tayven Wiberg (Photo by Noah Clooten)
In Class B Legion baseball on Monday, Devils Lake and Cando Post 79 each took home a pair of victories.
Devils Lake beat New Rockford Post 30 twice in a doubleheader, 12-7 and 7-3, in New Rockford. It brought the Storm’s winning streak to four games. They’re now 18-5 on the summer.
Ben Brodina started the first game on the mound. He pitched five innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits. He struck out seven and walked four.
The Storm got going right away with a five-spot in the first inning. New Rockford committed two errors in the frame, and Devils Lake tallied three hits, two walks and a hit by pitch. The Storm gave a run back in the bottom of the frame on an error of their own, following a leadoff double by Thomas Allmaras.
Jaxon Strong manufactured a run in the third, reaching on an infield hit and eventually stealing home. Devils Lake had a 6-1 lead. But Brodina walked the first two in the bottom of the third, and RBIs from Easton Simon and Kason Nass made it a 6-3 game.
RBI singles by Riley Brenno-Quale and Tayven Wiberg gave Devils Lake a little more breathing room in the fifth inning. New Rockford got one back on a passed ball, but the Storm put up a four-spot in the sixth, ignited by a Talan Gregory double.
Lakin Ronningen pitched the final two innings for Devils Lake. He allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks. Nass and Jackson Schumacher led off the bottom of the seventh with hits for the Black Sox, and they each came around to score, but Devils Lake held on for the five-run win.
In the nightcap, the Storm got off to another fast start with a four-run first inning. Ronningen had a two-run single amidst the rally, and Jasper Leiphon drew an RBI walk.
Isaac Woodhull went the first three innings of what was a five-inning game. He allowed three runs (one earned). He struck out two and didn’t issue any walks. Woodhull also went 3-for-3 at the plate.
Mack Elsperger finished things out for the Storm, pitching two scoreless innings on one hit.
Devils Lake jumps right back into action in Cando against Cando Post 79 on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Speaking of the Bearcats, they also won a pair of games on Monday in Cando. They beat Rugby 12-10 in a slugfest, then won 6-4 in the three-inning game that followed.
That extends Cando’s win streak to four, with an 11-7 record on the summer.
The first game saw four lead changes. RBI singles from Brody Svir and Gauge Driessen gave the Bearcats an early 2-0 lead, and Rugby tied it right back up on a two-run error in the second. Cando went back ahead with four in the bottom of the second. Rylen Anderson had a big blow with a three-run triple to right field, making it 6-2 Cando after two innings.
Bearcats starter Levi Borstad came out of the game after 3 1/3 innings. He allowed six runs (two earned). He exited in a 7-5 game, having just surrendered a two-run triple to make it close. With JD DuPreez on the mound, Rugby went ahead 8-7 after a walk and a three-run homer.
In the bottom of the fourth, Cando scored two on a fielder’s choice to leapfrog back in front, 9-8. Driessen and Karsen Simon had each drawn a one-out walk earlier in the frame.
Hunter Hagler took over for DuPreez after a one-out walk in the sixth. Rugby scored a pair of runs on two hits and a walk to go up 10-9.
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Hagler played hero. He’d already recorded two hits in the game, including an RBI single. With two runners on and Cando trailing by one, Simon stole home to tie the game. But his steal was a moot point as Hagler homered to center field, giving Cando a 12-10 lead it would never relinquish.
Hagler went 3-for-4 with a hit by pitch, three RBIs and three runs scored out of the leadoff spot.
Simon closed the game out on the mound with a 1-2-3 seventh. He also reached base three times at the plate.
Parker Simon, who’s been Cando’s best hitter this summer, had a rare off-game, going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. He was the only Bearcats starter who didn’t reach base.
In the abbreviated game that followed, Sutton Larson struck out four over two scoreless, hitless innings. He struck out the side in the first, then worked around three consecutive walks to start the second.
The Cando offense only got two chances to bat, but it put up a three-spot each time. P. Simon had a much better second game, recording a double and a walk in his two trips to the plate. Hagler also recorded another hit, his fourth of the night. The Bearcats totaled five hits and two walks in the short contest.
The next action for Cando Post 79 is to be announced.
