TRF eliminated from Section 8AA baseball playoffs

by Sports Editor Scott DCamp East Grand Forks overcame a 5-1 deficit to defeat Thief River Falls 13-7 in a Section 8AA elimination game Wednesday afternoon at Tuffy's Stadium/Al Krueger Field in Perham. "We got ahead and had a lot of momentum going," said Thief River Falls Head Coach Xavier Gonzales. "You want to have an easy inning that next inning on defense and we just weren't able to have that easy inning." The Prowlers got on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second. Bridger Wilcox singled to lead off the inning. Wilcox advanced to third on a single by Alec Dalager. Dalager stole second, with Wilcox holding at third. Wilcox would score on a wild pitch by East Grand Forks starter Carson McDonald, and Dalager would score on a groundout to second by Gannon Zutz. The Green Wave turned a leadoff double by Drew Carpenter into a run in the top of the third. The Prowlers answered with four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-1 lead. With one out in the inning, Noah Gonzales was hit by a pitch. His courtesy runner, Joe Kelly, would come around to score on a two-run home run to left field by Bridger Wilcox. The next two batters would also hit the ball deep to left as well, with Jameson Hurst reaching on a double and scoring on a double by Dalager. The Green Wave scored four runs on five hits to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the fourth. The Prowlers went down in order in the bottom of the fourth and the Green Wave added two more runs on a hit and two errors in the top of the fifth. The score was still 7-5 through six innings. The Green Wave broke the game open with six more runs in the top of the seventh to take a 13-5 lead. The Prowlers got a pair of runs back in the bottom of the seventh to cut the final deficit to six runs. "They were able to keep their poise and stay calm with their approach and hitting," Gonzales said of the Green Wave rally. "We just didn't make the plays when we needed to. Prowler ace Bodhi Mossestad took the loss, allowing seven runs (five earned) on 11 hits in five innings of work. He struck out 10 batters and walked one. McDonald regrouped after the tough start for the Green Wave and went six and two-thirds innings. He allowed seven runs on 10 hits, striking out five and walking one.