CASSELTON — The latest chapter of the Devils Lake-Kindred rivalry was written on a cloudy Sunday afternoon at Valley Process Technologies Field.
As they were in the region championship, the Devils Lake Storm (30-10) were victorious. But Kindred Post 117 (29-11), originally the No. 7 seed in the East, put up a scrappy fight in Sunday’s elimination game.
Devils Lake, a day after letting a 3-0 lead get away in the seventh inning, overcame three errors and an early 2-0 deficit to take down the Vikings 7-5. All of the Storm’s runs came in the first two innings.
“We were very mad about last night,” Devils Lake catcher Trason Beck said. “The only good thing was we could come back tomorrow and win the next baseball game.”
An early deficit
On the mound, the Storm decided to bring Will Heilman back after he threw 46 pitches over three innings on Thursday. That left Hunter Remmick and Brody Rainsberry still unused and available. Remmick, who posted a 2.19 ERA over 37 innings during the regular season, played first base and batted sixth. Heilman had a 2.81 ERA over 32 innings this summer.
“[Heilman] can throw three pitches for a strike…changeup, fastball, curveball,” Devils Lake coach Brent Luehring said. “And we thought that this was a pretty aggressive team. If we can at least keep them off balance for as long as possible, that would give us a shot.”
While Heilman turned in a gutsy six-inning performance, his afternoon didn’t get off to the greatest start. Kindred tagged the Storm for two runs to put Devils Lake in a hole in the top of the first. Heilman struck out his first batter, but the Vikings put two on with an infield single and a walk. A wild pitch moved the runners into scoring position with still just one out.
Heilman induced a massive popup to himself for the second out. But Graham Hesse, who’s been hot this postseason, snuck an infield hit up the middle. Shortstop Mason Palmer made an overeager throw to first, and two runs scored on the play.
Just like that, it was 2-0 Kindred.
An offensive storm
Devils Lake wasted no time fighting back against right-hander Stanley Belaskie. The first two batters reached, and they pulled off a double steal to get on the board. Beck drove a double to straightaway center, scoring Mason Palmer to tie it.
Remmick, a potent hitter who’d been struggling in this tournament, worked a resilient at-bat after Kindred held a mound visit. He eventually lined one into left-center for a go-ahead RBI single.
Easton Kraft kept the line moving with a bloop hit to load the bases. That did it for Belaskie, who threw 26 pitches and only got one out.
Landon Sundeen greeted new pitcher Tyler Gronwold with a sacrifice fly to add to the lead. Kindred finally got out of it after 10 Storm batters came to the plate. But Devils Lake completely reversed course on what had been an inauspicious start to the game, taking a 4-2 lead after just one inning.
The Storm batters continued to make Gronwold work in the second. They loaded the bases with nobody out, and Rainsberry drew a nine-pitch walk to drive in a run. Devils Lake scratched out a couple more runs on a double play and a throwing error.
After the three-run second, the Storm led 7-2. They made Belaskie and Gronwold combine to throw 61 pitches over two innings.
“I thought those first two innings, we were having an approach, and we were getting barrels,” Luehring said. “And we just kept building on it.”
Kindred chips away
Heilman appeared to settle in nicely. He threw a perfect second on nine pitches, and he was an out away from getting through the third unscathed. But right fielder Ben Brodina, who’d made a nice catch a batter earlier, slipped on the grass on what could have been the third out.
Hesse got all the way to third for a triple. Two runs scored, both unearned because of an earlier error. Kindred finally got some energy back on its side, suddenly only trailing 7-4.
With a runner on third with two outs in the fourth, Heilman got a soft ground ball to third. But Kraft made a low throw, and Remmick almost made a nice scoop but couldn’t hang onto it.
It was, uncharacteristically, Devils Lake’s third error through the first four innings. And the lead sat at an uncomfortably narrow 7-5.
“That’s something we usually hang our hat on,” Luehring said of his team’s defense. “It ain’t like us. That could have been a 7-0 ballgame, and we’re a lot more comfortable.”
The Storm took initiative on the defensive end. In the fifth inning, they brought in Ben Larson to play second, with Max Palmer moving over to third and Kraft coming out of the game.
“We’re at this time of year where we’ve gotta have guys that are locked in and gonna do their job every single play,” Luehring said. “Earlier in the game, somebody didn’t do their job. And we moved it around because we know we’ve got 12, 13 guys that can play. And we just had to make that move. And Benny’s a senior… You’ve gotta give him an opportunity in a game like this.”
Larson collided with Brodina trying to catch a ball in foul territory. But they both got up and were okay as Heilman worked around a one-out single.
The Storm were unable to push any insurance across after the early offensive outburst. They hit into a double play in the third and fourth, then went down in order in the fifth. They stranded two runners in the sixth.
“Thank goodness seven [runs] was enough,” Luehring said.
Heilman grinded to make it through the sixth inning. Rainsberry helped him out in left field, throwing out a runner trying to turn a single into a double. Heilman struck out five over his final three innings of work, displaying a little emotion after he punched out Trom with his 98th pitch.
“Will threw a hell of a game,” said Beck, Heilman’s catcher. “The defense was a little shaky behind him, but he kept through it.”
Only two of the five runs against Heilman were considered earned. He struck out eight, walked two and allowed six hits.
“Will did exactly what we needed him to do,” Luehring said. “I’m so proud of him. He competed. It wasn’t his best…but he just toughed it out and got us through six.”
Shutting the door and moving on
Lefty Taydon Triepke handled the seventh inning. A little nubber got by him for an infield single, but Larson snared a liner and doubled off the runner at first to end the game.
The Storm ended this contest celebrating, fresh off the double play and finally able to relax after a tense game full of momentum swings.
Monday is guaranteed to be the last day of the Legion baseball season. The only question is where the Storm will stand. They need to win twice Monday to win the tournament. Remmick and Rainsberry will very likely come into play pitching-wise.
“It’s nice to know we have guys we can go to,” Luehring said. “We know that still we’ve got a lot of work cut out for us. But hey, the pressure’s off us now. We’re used to being the ones that are hunted. Now we’re the hunters. And that’s how we’ve gotta play tomorrow. We’ve gotta play with nothing to lose.”
Devils Lake will either have to beat Casselton Post 15 twice, or beat Fargo Post 2 and Casselton once each, depending on the result of Sunday night’s game.
“We beat both these teams before,” Beck said. “It’s nothing different. We can do it.”
