North Branch wins twice in busy week of Town Ball action

The North Branch Nighthawks beat the numbers game twice last week.

In this instance, the “numbers game” was making sure the team had enough players available to cover a nine-inning Town Ball contest.

“Vacations, families, whatever – we had older players stepping in to fill holes in the lineup,” manager Jim Skroch said. “But our guys stepped up and did great.”

The busy Nighthawks claimed a pair of wins despite starting with a forfeit loss to St. Francis on Tuesday, July 9. North Branch bounced back to beat East Bethel two days later.

Chisago Lakes then swept a doubleheader from the Nighthawks on Saturday, July 13, but the next afternoon North Branch earned a run-rule win over visiting Elk River.

“This team is really resilient,” Skroch said. “Even when we’re down two or three runs, we just go about our business and work to come back.”

The 11-3 victory over East Bethel was a shining example of that resiliency, as North Branch trailed 3-0 entering the fourth. The road team scored a run in the fourth, tied the contest with two in the fifth, then broke the game open with a seven-run sixth before adding an insurance run in the seventh.

Jimmy Skroch, the coach’s son, led the offense with three hits and two runs scored, while four other Nighthawks – Andrew Orf, Noah Wolfe, Lucas Goggin and Casey Schwalbe – added two hits apiece.

The offense made a winner out of Nick Pilz, who threw a complete game and struck out nine.

On Saturday the Nighthawks lost by scores of 3-1 and 14-8 to Chisago Lakes, which claimed possession of The Mug.

“I think for five years now we’ve had ‘The Mug’ as a trophy for the winner of our game against Chisago Lakes,” Jim Skroch said. “Chisago won for the first time, so they’ve got the trophy – I guess it’s officially a traveling trophy now.”

In the first game North Branch managed just one hit and committed four errors; in the nightcap Chisago Lakes scored six times in the first inning, then added three in the fourth and four more in the fifth to lead 14-2.

The Nighthawks managed four runs in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the sixth to try and slug their way back into the contest, but could come no closer the rest of the way.

On Sunday, July 14, North Branch bounced back to bludgeon visiting Elk River 10-0 in just seven innings.

Tanner Helin was the hero for the Nighthawks, bailing out a beleaguered pitching staff by shutting out the Lumberjacks over seven innings.

Offensively Brendan Mckelvey’s double in the opening inning gave his team two runs, and the Nighthawks batted around to score five times in the third. Austin Darwin and Helin both had RBI singles in that rally.

Jimmy Skroch’s single was the key blow in a two-run fifth, and North Branch scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh.

“Tanner did a great job on the mound,” Jim Skroch said. “And we had our hitters back, and both of those were key.”

The Rum River Bandits also were busy last week but were not as successful as they won only once in six games.

Their week began with a 10-2 loss at Princeton on Monday, July 8, in which the Bandits managed just four singles on offense while surrendering 11 hits, 10 walks and one hit batsman along with three errors.

Two days later Rum River claimed an 11-8 win in a home slugfest over Ogilvie. Owen Forschen had three hits, two RBIs and one run scored to lead the offense, which scored four times in the third, three runs in the fifth and four more in the seventh.

Peyton Browen and Duke Waxberg each had two hits for the Bandits, which needed that offense when the Orioles scored two runs in the eighth and four in the ninth to make things interesting.

Brayden Olson struck out 14 batters to earn the win, with Jaxson Skoglund coming on to get the final out and preserve the victory.

On Saturday, July 13, Rum River hosted Twin Ports, an independent Class B team, in a pair of exhibition games at Larson Field. The biggest news from those contests was the return to the mound by veteran Mike Koplitz, who threw seven innings for a complete-game start in the opener, then added three more innings in the nightcap.

The Bandits then returned to Eastern Minny League action the next day and dropped a 12-2 decision at Mora. Rum River finished with just five hits, including a triple by Colton Skoglund, while a pair of errors hung four unearned runs on starting pitcher Seth Plohasz, who fanned five in five innings.

The Isanti Redbirds were forced on the road by the Isanti Firefighters Rodeo but were no worse for wear, winning three times.

The Redbirds began the week with a 4-3 victory at Princeton on Wednesday, July 10. Lefty Phil Bray struck out 13 to earn a complete-game victory, while Luke Selken had three hits and Connor Braaten added two to lead the offense.

Two days later Isanti claimed a 5-3 win in a non-conference contest at Chisago Lakes. Eli Nelson pitched around 10 hits by striking out eight in six innings of work for the win, while Brent Tholen claimed the save by keeping the Bulldogs in check over the final two frames.

Marcus Hubbard had three of the Redbirds’ seven hits in the victory.

Isanti closed out the week with a 13-2 win at Ogilvie on Sunday, July 14. Troy Jones had three hits, including a pair of home runs, and finished with five RBIs, while Braaten added two hits, including a double.

James Green started and earned the victory by allowing just three hits while collecting 11 whiffs in six scoreless innings of work.

The Braham Snappers were doubled up by the Ogilvie Orioles 12-6 on Saturday, July 13. Hunter Giffrow had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 plus a walk while adding a stolen base and driving in four of his team’s runs.

Jesse Johnson also had two hits in the setback.

The following day the Snappers stayed close but could not solve Chisago Lakes in a 4-0 loss. Ty Stepp was the standout for Braham, collecting three of the team’s five hits, including a double; on the mound he threw a complete game in which he allowed just one earned run while striking out seven in eight innings.

All four teams will be busy this week as the Eastern Minny League prepares for the Class C Region 1 tournament, which will be hosted by Princeton and Hinckley at the end of this month.

Braham will plays its final home regular-season game against Ham Lake at Rush City on Friday, July 19, then will hit the road to take on East Bethel the next afternoon before closing at Rum River on Sunday, July 21, starting at 2 p.m.

That contest will be the final regular-season contest for the Bandits, who are scheduled to play at Hinckley on Tuesday, July 16, before traveling to St. Francis the following evening.

Isanti has packed its final three regular-season games into next weekend, starting with a Saturday, July 20, contest at Hinckley. The next day the Redbirds will host Elk River at 1 p.m., then host East Bethel at 4 p.m.

North Branch will play its final three regular-season games on the road, starting with a contest at Princeton on Thursday, July 18. Two days later the Nighthawks will be at Nowthen for a noon start, then will close the regular season with game at Hinckley on Sunday, July 21.