Brody Svir, Parker Simon (Photo via Susan Warcken, ND Class B Legion State Baseball Tournament Facebook)
In a rematch of June 6’s action, Cando Post 79 took down the Devils Lake Legion B team in Cando on Tuesday.
The first time these teams met, Cando won a 3-2 nailbiter in the seven-inning game before dropping the five-inning contest 18-8. This time around, Cando (13-7) won both legs of the doubleheader over Devils Lake (21-7). It ended a four-game winning streak for the Storm and extended Cando’s winning streak to six.
The Bearcats took the first game — a seven-inning affair — by a score of 7-3.
Cando took a 3-0 lead and knocked Cayden McCarthy out in the first inning. McCarthy started his evening by getting Hunter Hagler to fly out, but he walked four of the next five batters. Parker Simon also hit an RBI single in that span.
The final walk came to Gauge Driessen, McCarthy’s former Devils Lake teammate. Driessen, who’s heated up lately, went 1-for-2 with a walk in the contest.
Talan Gregory took over for McCarthy and kept the Storm in the game. He went 5 1/3 innings in relief, striking out six and walking zero. Henley Driessen, Gauge’s brother, hit a two-run double for Devils Lake to make it a one-run game in the third inning.
The teams traded RBI singles in the bottom of the fourth and top of the fifth, with Brody Svir for Cando and Finley Wirth for Devils Lake. The Bearcats were still clinging to a 4-3 lead.
They finally got to Gregory in the sixth, ignited by an error in left field. Hagler added an RBI double, and with two outs, Simon recorded his second RBI single of the game. Gregory was charged with four total runs, but only one earned. Jaxon Strong got the final out, with Cando having extended its lead to 7-3.
Karsen Simon pitched the first 4 1/3 innings for Cando. He allowed three runs, getting knocked out in the fifth. He struck out five and walked five. Hagler supported him in relief, going the final 2 2/3 scoreless with three strikeouts and two walks.
In the five-inning game that followed, Cando won 3-1. Kole Thomson permitted just one hit in five innings of work, striking out six and walking four. He allowed one run, which scored on a wild pitch in the final frame.
JD DuPreez hit an RBI single in the second and fourth innings. The Bearcats added another on an error in the fourth, and it was enough offense to get the job done.
Riley Brenno-Quale, typically Devils Lake’s catcher, was charged with three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out two in four innings.
The Storm host Park River Post 147 on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
