SNAKEBITTEN: Norse Lose Another Tight Game
The Bay College Norse baseball team lost a second straight down-to-the-wire regional play-in series game on Saturday to Dakota County Technical College, 2-1, in Minnesota.
And then the Norse fell into a 3-0 hole for the series by losing later Saturday, 12-4.
The Norse also lost a tight onw on Friday, 2-0.
The following story was written by Bay College Sports Information
ROSEMOUNT, MN – The Norse (3-25) fell into a deep hole in the regional play-in series, dropping games two and three to the Dakota County Technical College Blue Knights (7-10). In the first game of the day DCTC earned a walk-off 2-1 win before running away with a 12-4 victory in the nightcap.
In game one Dakota County looked to take the lead in the fourth. They put pressure on the Norse with a leadoff walk and single, but Bay found a potential way out. After they threw a runner out trying to steal third, Austin Burnside (FR, Crivitz, WI) stuck out the next batter for the second out. Diego Waisanen (SO, Chaska, MN) singled to right however, picking up the first RBI of the day.
The Norse finally formulated an answer in the sixth. Grant Craft (SO, Canberra, Australia) dropped a ball just inside the right field line for a double. Sam Kiiskila (FR, Calumet, MI) followed that up with a hard-hit ball up the middle. In what looked to be a close call at first, an errant throw allowed Craft to come around and score to tie the game. Bay stranded Kiiskila at second in the inning.
Bay found themselves in trouble in the sixth. A leadoff double and intentional walk put runners on first and second with no one out. The Blue Knights decided to use a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners, and the Norse made the corresponding move to issue a second consecutive walk to load the bases and create a force at any base.
Dakota County continued on their same path, and attempted a sacrifice bunt to push the run across. Burnside made a nice play and was able to get the force out at the plate for the second out. Undeterred, DCTC attempted a third bunt of the inning, which Burnside collected once again and flipped to first to end the threat.
Bay could not take advantage of two Blue Knight errors in the seventh, setting the scene for the finish. Seth Goplen (SO, North St. Paul, MN) led off the inning with a hard hit ball to center that carried to the deepest part of the park, allowing him to stand safely at third with a triple. Gunnar Benson (FR, Northfield, MN) promptly ended the game, taking a 2-0 pitch and lining it to right to score the run.
For the second straight game the Norse got a strong pitching performance but handed their starter a loss because of no run support. Burnside pitched six innings, walked four, gave up eight hits, and two earned runs while striking out seven.
Brandon Gerster (FR, Hampton, MN), who earned a save in the game the day before, went seven innings and gave up four hits, one run, walked two, and struck out nine.
Dalton Graham (SO, Sault Ste. Marie, MI) was two for three.
Bay took an early lead in the second game of the day. Grant Craft singled to left to plate the first run, but the Norse left the bases loaded in the inning, missing a chance to build a lead.
In the bottom of the second things got out of hand for the Norse. DCTC got a runner on by a hit by pitch, and sacrifice bunted him to second.
After a walk, the home team elected to attempt another sacrifice bunt. The ball was bunted on a line towards the first baseman, but fell just in front of him and ricocheted away. By the time he was able to collect the ball, the runner at third had rounded hard. A throw would have had an out, but it sailed down the left field line, allowing all three runners to score.
At that point the wind started playing tricks with the Bay defenders.
Miss plays and wind driven balls allowed DCTC to cash in on some runs with two outs. A two-RBI triple, followed by a double, a walk, and another double allowed Dakota County to put up a seven run inning to take the lead.
The Norse responded in the top of the third. With two outs they loaded the bases and Johnnie Robinette (FR, Escanaba, MI) walked to plate a run. Drake Forrest (SO, Gladstone, MI) lined a ball to center to bring two more runs around. After a walk loaded the bases, Hector Araguayan drove a ball through the hole to left field. In a controversial call, the ball was ruled to have hit the runner advancing from second to third, marking the third out of the inning, and preventing multiple runs from crossing the plate on the play.
An error got things going in the bottom half of the inning, and with one out, Dakota County went to work. Three consecutive doubles stretched the lead to 10-4, putting Bay in a big hole. They added to their lead in the fifth when Dalton Burns (SO, Savage, MN) led off the inning with a homerun, and they later scored another run after a Antonio Manos (FR, Coon Rapids, MN) triple.
Starting pitcher Dalton Graham took the loss. He worked just one and two thirds innings, giving up six hits and two walks while striking out two. Only two of the seven runs he gave up were earned. Matt Bush (SO, Pickford, MI) went three and one third. He gave up five hits, five runs, four earned, and struck out one. Riley McElfresh (SO, Cable, WI) worked one scoreless, striking out one.
Dante Sartorelli (SO, Menominee, MI) was two for three in the game.
The losses give Dakota County a big upper hand as the season winds down. They visit Escanaba on May 6 and 7 and will only have to win one of the four scheduled games to advance to the Region 13 Tournament.
Bay College is scheduled to have their season home opener on Saturday of next weekend. Minnesota Post Grad will be in town for a four game series starting at 1 pm on Saturday and noon on Sunday.
