Cherry baseball hangs on for 3-2 win over Rock Ridge

VIRGINIA—In a game with only six combined hits between both teams, whoever did the little things right between the Rock Ridge and Cherry baseball teams was going to get the win Monday at Frandsen Bank & Trust Field.

The Tigers were decisively that team as they picked up the 3-2 win over the Wolverines in a game where starter Noah Sundquist allowed just one hit and the Rock Ridge defense gave up four errors.

Cherry head coach Brian Kemp commended his team for getting the win and for the constant talking they did to make sure everyone was on the same page.

“Our dugout was loud,” Kemp said. “Our guys were communicating. That’s the one thing that we’ve been really poor at lately. We almost lost a game the other day on a routine ball in the infield that we didn’t communicate on so to have the guys constantly talking with the dugout staying up, we were able to play a complete game and get the win.”

The Wolverines were held scoreless through the first five innings and didn’t get a hit off of Sundquist until Caz Carlson blooped a single into shallow center field in the bottom of the sixth. With all the errors and mistakes already setting his team back, Rock Ridge skipper Jamie Lindseth said his team tried to mount a comeback, but couldn’t totally shift things in their favor.

“They scored on our errors nearly every time and to me, that was the difference,” Lindseth said. “We had opportunities and we got on the board late. You could feel the momentum maybe start to swing our way at the end, but we couldn’t get it. We got two hits all game and it’s tough to win a baseball game when you have numbers like that.”

Will Kemp got the start on the hill for the Wolverines and got two quick outs on Isaiah Asuma and Sundquist but back-to-back hits from Noah and Isaac Asuma put runners on the corners for Cherry and a passed ball allowed the lead runner to score, getting the Tigers on the board straight away.

Three Wolverines got on the bases in the first two innings off of a walk in the first and a hit batter and another walk in the second, but outside of that, Sundquist was sharp and got strikeouts often with the defense making the routine plays behind him,

In the top of the third, Cherry struck again. Again with two outs, Rock Ridge couldn’t get out of the inning before some damage was done. Sundquist reached on an infield error and stole his way to second. Noah Asuma then brought him home with a single up the middle that made it a 2-0 game.

The fourth inning was Kemp’s last. He’d exit the game after completing the frame giving up the two runs (both unearned) on three hits.

Isaac Lindhorst pitched the fifth and sixth innings for Rock Ridge and kept the Tigers from adding to their lead, giving up two walks and hitting one batter.

While Sundquist was still sharp all the way into the sixth, the Wolverines finally managed to get something going when the junior lapsed. With one out, Sam Ray reached on a walk and his pinch runner Jaxson Lamppa moved to second after Gunnar George was hit by a pitch.

Carlson broke up Sundquist’s no-hitter, knocking a single to shallow center that loaded up the bases with one out. Connor Saxhaug was able to drive in the lead runner on a fielder’s choice, putting Rock Ridge on the board, 2-1.

That was Sundquist’s final inning of the game as he went six complete, giving up the one run on one hit, four walks and two hit batters. He struck out nine.”

“That’s Sunny for you,” Kemp said of his pitcher. “When he locates and throws well, he’s one of the best pitchers anyone up here will see. Then he’ll walk a guy or two and gives up some free passes. We need to limit those and he knows that. He doesn’t give up a whole lot but when the game is close, things like that can make a difference.”

Saxhaug then took over on the mound for Rock Ridge in the seventh inning and things looked solid for the Wolverines at first. Saxhaug struck out Isaiah Asuma and then got Sundquist to ground out. But just like the last two times Cherry scored, the inning was extended thanks to an error.

Noah Asuma reached after an infield miscue. He stole his way to second and Isaac Asuma brought him home with a single to left field, 3-1.

That extra insurance run proved to be the difference for the Tigers. Mason Heitzman got the nod to pitch the seventh inning. Going for the save, he started the frame with a walk to Lindhorst.

Lindhorst was able to take second on a passed ball and scored when John Westby singled into right for the Wolverines’ second hit of the game.

Rock Ridge got another runner on when Ray took a two-out walk, but that’s as close as they’d get as Heitzman struck out George to end the contest.

After the game, Lindseth praised the Cherry Tigers for their clean play all game.

“That’s a good team and you have to tip your cap to them. Sundquist throws a nice ball. We tried to grind him down and I think we were getting there but then they were able to make the change. We felt like we were in a good place against a new pitcher in the seventh but we just didn’t have enough after all those errors we had.”

Kemp acknowledged that Sundquist was losing his form by the end of the sixth inning but was happy to give Heitzman the chance to close things out.

“He was at 95 pitches or so and we thought about bringing him back out for the seventh but we saw him struggle in the sixth. He wasn’t locating so it was a crapshoot. We put Mason in there and we wanted to see what he’d do in a big situation. That’s something that’ll help us prepare for a playoff run down the road.”

Picking up their second loss of the week, Lindseth says things won’t get any easier for his squad and it’ll come down to the players if they hope to buck the trend.

“We knew that we’d have some challenges with how many new starters we have. We have to get the kids reps and it’s not always going to be perfect. They’re kids. We worked 75% of our practice yesterday on defense and then we have the most errors we’ve had in a while the next day.

“These guys are looking to compete. At the end of the day, you need somebody to lead. I think we’ve had a large number of leaders pass through here these last couple of seasons that the guys coming up aren’t sure how to lead yet. That’s something you have to learn and it’s going to take time and it’s up to them to figure it out and find that.”

For the Tigers, the win continues their successful season where they’ve lost just one game thus far. Kemp says the baseball team, much like the football and basketball teams, aren’t going to go down without a fight.

“These kids like to compete. They don’t like to lose and you can see that in all the sports they play. We have a couple really good baseball players on this team who can make reads on balls in the dirt and run the bases aggressively. We only got four hits this game but we took the free bases they gave us and did the small things right today in order to find a way to win.”

Ely 4,

Mountain Iron-Buhl 1

ELY—Drew Marolt struck out 10 and walked three, tossing a four-hitter on Wednesday as the Ely baseball team took down Mountain Iron-Buhl 4-1.

At the plate, Drew Johnson paced the Wolves with two hits including a double and a run scored. Caid Chittum and Marolt added a double each as well as runs scored.

The Timberwolves plated two runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth to go up on the Rangers. Chittum tossed the final inning, striking out two batters in a 1-2-3 inning.

Brant Tiedeman took the loss on the hill, giving up the four runs on nine hits while striking out four and walking four. At the plate, Tyler Johnson was 2-3 with an RBI in the first inning.

“After being rained out the past four games, it was just good to get out and play a game,” Ely coach Frank Ivancich said.

SOFTBALL

Rock Ridge 3,

Esko 0

VIRGINIA—In the first of two games for the Rock Ridge softball team on Thursday, the Wolverines downed visiting Esko 3-0.

Zoey Thyen finished the game 3-3 with a run scored in the win. Chance Colbert was 1-1 with three walks and a triple. Emma Lamppa, Brooklyn Smith and Taylor Morley all collected hits as well.

Morley got the win in the pitcher’s circle for Rock Ridge, going the distance and giving up just four hits and a walk. She struck out seven along the way.

Rock Ridge 4,

Hermantown 1

VIRGINIA—In their second game of the day, the Rock Ridge softball team put up two runs in the first and added two more in the sixth to secure the 4-1 win over visiting Hermantown.

Mattelyn Seppi went 2-4 at the plate with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. Alex Flannigan, Chance Colbert and Kylie Marolt all picked up doubles as well.

Morley pitched another complete game and secured her second win of the day, giving up one earned run on four hits. She struck out seven.

Putting up just seven runs on the day but still securing two wins, Rock Ridge head coach Paula Dundas said it came down to strong pitching and solid defense from her squad in order to stay on top.

“We didn’t put up a lot of runs and we didn’t have a lot of hits but we were able to get some great pitching from Taylor today. She threw two great games,” Dundas said. “Taylor and [catcher] Brooklyn [Smith] worked really well together and the defense played well behind them. We took a couple extra bases and stayed aggressive on the bags in order to get enough runs to get things done.”

Despite the low amount of runs overall, Dundas says there was nothing that stood out to her as a major problem for her experienced team.

“We were having good at bats but we just couldn’t squeak out another hit or two that would score some more runs. You can’t put up 10 runs every game but that’s fine when you play good defense behind your pitcher.”

Next Wednesday, the Wolverines will face off with Chisago Lakes in a game that will likely determine who is the top seed in Section 7AAA come playoff time. Dundas says the game has some extra importance for that reason, but she doesn’t want her team to stress over it at this point.

“You always want to go in and play your best and have a good game, but it’s still the regular season. You gotta beat them when it counts and hopefully that’s a game where we can get some confidence. We’re new to them and they’re new to us. A win would be great but the wins or losses don’t matter yet because we’ll always have another game ahead of us until the playoffs.”

BOYS’ TENNIS

Rock Ridge 6,

Aitkin 1

AITKIN—The Rock Ridge boys’ tennis team earned another win this week with a 6-1 victory over Aitkin Thursday.

In singles, the Wolverines got wins from Kasey Lamppa, Will Peterson and Gage Benz. In doubles, the duos of Peyton Bialke and Rory Cope-Robinson, Dawson Ruedebusch and Aidan Sandnas and Tyler Callister and Wyatt Fredrick helped secure the doubles sweep for the Wolverines.

The Gobblers got their lone win at first singles with Zander Peterson defeating Payton Marks 6-0, 6-2.

Rock Ridge travels to Mora on Friday.

Rock Ridge 6, Aitkin 1

Singles: No. 1 Zander Peterson, A, def. Payton Marks 6-0, 6-2; No. 2 Kasey Lamppa, RR, def. Josh Stanley 6-2, 6-1; No. 3 Will Peterson, RR, def. Noland Nordberg 6-1, 6-0; No. 4 Gage Benz, RR, def. Micah Morris 6-1, 6-1.

Doubles: No. 1 Peyton Bialke/Rory Cope-Robinson, RR, def. Wyatt Crowther/Isaac Asmus 6-1 6-0; No. 2 Dawson Ruedebusch/Aidan Sandnas, RR, def. Andrew Hudrlik/Wyatt Winter 6-3, 6-3; No. 3 Tyler Callister/Wyatt Fredrick, RR, def. Reese Wendlandt/Luke Burchett 6-1, 6-0.