Baseball picks up pair of GRC wins

The Rush City Tigers baseball team suffered a hard-fought 6-5 loss to Braham at home last Tuesday, but rebounded with a pair of large margin victories over Great River Conference foes Ogilvie and East Central on Wednesday and Thursday.
Catcher Brent Freeman pulled in a crucial 2 run single placing his team in the lead 5-4 at the top of the sixth inning.
Braham retaliated with 2 runs of their own to take the game 6-5. Sr. Pitcher Josh Munchow gave a strong performance with 4 strikeouts, 3 walks and allowed 9 hits in 6 innings.
Head Coach Bob Schlagel said it was a fun game to watch. He also highlighted the fact that both teams came from behind to take the lead. Thatís the indication of a good team, the ability to come from behind, Schlagel said.
The Tigers returned to the diamond strong on Wednesday, delivering a scorching shutout to Section 5A second seed Ogilvie 10-0 in 5 innings.
The short game was marked by two big innings. RC scored 3 in the third and a staggering 7 in the fourth.
In the latter, RC sent 12 batters to the plate for 4 hits, including back to back doubles by Junior Brent Freeman and Senior Jeff Ardlichke. Freeman had 3 hits on the game along with 2 RBIs.
Oglivie earned only 2 hits from Rush Cityís Derek Benron who struck out 3 and walked 3 in 5 innings.
Schlagel thought it was their best game of the year, commenting that the team combined good pitching, solid hitting and strong defense for a well rounded game. If you can put these 3 areas together you have a good chance of winning, Schlagel said.
Rush City rounded out its three day series with another strong showing, winning 11-4 over East Central. Sophomore Pitcher John Bosman made his varsity debut with 5 walks, 5 strikeouts and allowing 5 hits in 7 innings.
Senior Dylen Hindman batted in 5 runs, scoring 1 on a bases-loaded walk, and 2 runs a piece on a pair of bases-loaded hits. RC had a total of 9 hits on the day, with Junior Brent Freeman and Senior Dustin Willert both adding 2.
The game was marred, however, by 9 strikeouts and 4 errors which led to each of East Central's 4 runs. ìWe need to tighten up defensively if we expect to win on a consistent basis,î Schlagel said.
The Tigers finish the regular season 7-4 in the Great River Conference and 9-6 overall.
They receive a first round bye in the Section 5A North tournament, and will play May 27 at Isle.

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