Little Falls baseball team upsets Alexandria in last home game

The Little Falls Flyers baseball team won its last regular season home game, Friday, May 17, beating Alexandra 4-3.

The Flyers scored the first run at the bottom of the first inning, Jacob Dahlberg hit a RBI single, scoring Carter Gwost from third base. Alexandria answered in the next inning, earning one run batted in to tie up the game. The Flyers regained a 2-1 lead after a run by Garrett Lindberg, in the bottom of the third, making the score 2-1.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Flyers doubled their runs 4-2, with a double-base hit from Gwost, sending Charlie Smieja and Bobby Toure home. Alexandria scored two more runs in the top of the fifth inning, but it wasn’t enough, as the Flyers stayed ahead for the remainder of the game. Head Coach Chad Kaddatz said the team had a couple of crucial hits as well as vital pitching from Gwost and Knopik.

“...we did a lot of the little things and there’s a lot of little things we need to fix up, but it was a great feeling,” said Kaddatz. “It felt like playoff baseball today.”

Gwost led the team at bat with two hits, two runs and had two runs batted in. Other players who had one run batted in were Dahlberg and Alex Thoma. Gwost pitched for innings, throwing two strikeouts. Peter Knopik stepped in for five innings and threw three strikeouts.

It was also senior night at the game, were The Flyers senior players and manager were recognized during the lineup before the game. Those who are graduating are Carter Oothoudt, Garrett Lindberg, Sam Dehn, Amby Ploof, Charlie Smieja and manager Annika Kaddatz. Afterwards, the seniors also had their ceremonial last lap around the bases. Kaddatz recognizes their contributions to the varsity team in the last four years and how it won’t be the same after 2024 season ends.

“It’s tough this time of year, because you want to keep focused on the playoffs and finish strong here at the end of the season, but also you have seniors who will be graduating next week,” Kaddatz said. “Seniors who will be playing their last couple of games, so it’s kind of sad, knowing that they’re going to be gone next year too, so it was a great way to honor them tonight and go off on a win is even better.”

The Flyers also traveled to play Rocori Monday, May 20,winning 6-2. Carter Oothoudt had two hits and two runs in the game. Dahlberg and Braxton Santala each had two runs batted in. Izaak Kalis pitched six innings in the game while Gwost pitched one inning. Both threw one strikeout. The Flyers had seven hits and two errors while Rocori had six hits and three errors.

The Flyers played their last two regular season games on the road Thursday, May 23. They played against Willmar and then traveling to Hutchinson. They will play in the Section 8AA Tournament starting Tuesday, May 28.