Wolves sweep Des Lacs-Burlington
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
Consistency is still causing Watford City fits on the baseball field as the Wolves played two good games to sweep Des Lacs-Burlington last Tuesday. But it was a different story for Watford City on Thursday as the Wolves dropped a pair of games to Lewis & Clark.
“We played well Tuesday, but Thursday was a different story,” stated Justin Johnsrud, Wolves’ head coach.
This week, the Wolves will be at home when Watford City hosts Trinity Christian on Thursday and New Town on Friday.
“We will have a good test before the region tournament when we play the top three teams the week of May 7 through 11,” states Johnsrud. “Those games should give us a good idea of where we are.”
Watford City 9, DLB 7
Watford City 12, DLB 2
Watford City got its bats going early and then kept the offensive pressure on Des Lacs-Burlington last Tuesday as the Wolves swept the Lakers, 9-7 and 12-2.
In the first game, the Wolves scored three runs in the first inning and then tacked on four more to lead the Lakers, 7-1, after two innings of play.
Nate Egeberg had a big game for the Wolves as he went two for four at the plate driving in three runs on a double and a home run.
Andrew Sampsel picked up the win on the mound for the Wolves with Brice Brenno coming in to get the save.
“We played very well defensively for the first five innings,” stated Johnsrud. “In the top of the sixth, we walked the first batter and hit the second batter. DLB added a couple of hits and we had two fielding errors in the inning that allowed them to get back in the game.”
“Brice Brenno did a nice job coming in, in relief, with the bases loaded and nobody out,” stated Johnsrud. “After an inning like the sixth, I was happy with how we bounced back in the seventh and did not allow a base runner.”
In the second game, the Wolves scored 12 runs on nine hits to take the game.
“Consistency is the key for us right now,” stated Johnsrud. “At times, we look good and other times not so good.”
Brice Brenno and Brandon Taylor provided Watford City’s scoring power as Brenno went one for one with a three-run homer, while Taylor was two for two at the place with a double and drove in three runs.
Game 1 R H E
Watford City 3 4 0 1 1 0 x 9 8 2
DLB 1 0 1 0 0 5 0 7 9 1
Game 2 R H E
Watford City 2 6 4 12 9 1
DLB 0 0 2 2 3 0
Lewis & Clark 6, Watford City 4
Lewis & Clark 7, Watford City 4
Watford City’s defense struggled against Lewis & Clark on Thursday as the Wolves dropped a pair of games to the Wildcats.
“It was consistency again,” stated Johnsrud. “ Lucas Nicholson pitched an excellent five innings but our defense did not help him out much as we gave up six runs on two hits and had nine fielding errors in the first game.”
Watford City got off to a good start in the first game as the Wolves jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings of play. But Lewis & Clark rallied for two runs in the top of the third inning and then shut down the Wolves as the Wildcats took a 6-4 win.
In the second game of the day, the Wolves fell to the Wildcats, 7-4, as Lewis & Clark scored seven runs on four hits.
The second game was a pretty frustrating game,” stated Johnsrud. “Hopefully, it was a learning experience for our young team. We have to be solid defensively if we are going to make a run at the Region title. We have been good defensively at times, we but need to put a complete game together.”
Game 1 R H E
Lewis & Clark 0 0 2 0 3 0 1 6 2 3
Watford City 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 4 8 9
Game 2 R H E
Lewis & Clark 1 0 4 1 1 7 4 0
Watford City 0 2 2 0 0 4 7 2