Norse Baseball Takes Two From Minnesota Squad
Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos taken by Brad Landis, and listen to post-game interviews with Drake Forrest and Austin Burnside.
ESCANABA---The Bay College baseball team bounced back from Friday night's disappointing loss to sweep both ends of a doubleheader from the Minnesota Post Grad club team, 10-5 and 7-6, Saturday afternoon. The Norse took three of four in the series and improved their season record to 6-26, heading into next weekend's playoff games against Dakota County Tech.
Austin Burnside, a Crivitz High School graduate who also plays for the Marinette Legion team in the summer, was in control on the mound in the opener. He went six innings, striking out ten batters, and limiting MPG to just three base hits.
Another Wisconsin boy, Riley McElfresh, pitched for the first time ever at home in the final inning, and he survived a tough inning with two walks and and error behind him.
In the second game, Sault Ste. Marie native Dalton Graham pitched the first three innings and gave up two home runs, leaving with the game tied at 4-4.
Gladstone native Drake Forrest came on to throw the final four innings, and earned the win, allowing two runs on three hits. including a home run.
Forrest was otherwise in command, striking out nine batters and walking zero. Graham struck out six batters in his three innings, making for a total of 15 punchouts for the Norse pitchers in that second game.
In the first game, McElfresh added one strikeout to go along with Burnside's ten. Altogether, Bay pitchers fanned 26 of the 42 outs that were recorded in the doubleheader.
But with those strikeouts came three MPG home runs in the second game by Drew Peterson with a man on in the second inning, a leadoff solo homer by Wyatt Wagner in the third inning, and a two-out solo shot by Christian Petry in the fourth inning.
Bay College did not have a home run in the second game. Australian Grant Craft hit a two-run homer in the third inning of the opener, his second home run in the weekend series.
Craft was a late scratch for Saturday's second game, replaced by Dante Sartorelli.
In the opener, Bay scored three runs in the second inning, with two of them on Craft's home run and another on a sacrafice fly by Ian Schwalbach.
The Norse added four more runs in the third inning, with Forest coming through with a two-run single and his Gladstone teammate, Schwalbach, lifted his second straight sacrafice fly to make it a 7-0 game.
MPG got back in the game in the fourth inning when Ahmad Young singled, Tanner Rowe walked, and Devin Peterson doubled in the first run. A second run came in on a groundout, and then Peterson straight up stole home plate to bring MPG to within 7-3.
Bay got two runs back in the bottom of the fourth inning when Sam Kiiskila lofted one over the center fielder's head, bringing home Dalton Graham and Carlos Velarde. And in the bottom of the fifth, Xavier Whittle doubled home Graham with the tenth Norse run.
Riley McElfresh got his first-ever chance to pitch at home, and he walked two batters and gave up a hit to Brenden Haverlock.
The second game was much closer, and went down the wire.
The Norse got the early jump again in the second game, by scoring twice in the first inning. Sam Williams hit one over the third base bag for a double, and Rituski Nonomura scored all the way from first base. Whittle brought Williams home with an RBI groundout.
MPG tied the game in the second inning on a Peterson two-run homer. And then Wyatt Wagner smacked a solo home run in the third inning to give MPG the lead.
The Norse tied the game in the third inning on an RBI double by Whittle and a fielder's choice groundout off the bat of Jared Crow.
Graham left the mound after three innings, giving way to Forrest. Forrest sped up the tempo, throwing his pitches as soon as the umpire would let him.
MPG took a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning on a solo home run by Christian Petry. But Bay got an unearned run in the bottom of the inning, and then after Forrest struck out the side in the top of the sixth inning, the Norse went to work in the bottom of the sixth.
In the top of the seventh, though, Forrest got unlucky when he nicked Petry with an inside 2-2 pitch. Then as Petry stole second, the throw from Dylan Kregelka sailed into the outfield, sending Petry to third base. He scored on a Tanner Rowe grounder, making it 6-6.
In the bottom of the seventh, Whittle led off with a base hit. He went to second on a wild pitch, and after Sartorelli couldn't get the bunt down and settled for a walk, Whittle went to third on another wild pitch. And then he scored on a passed ball, and the Norse had a walk-off.
Bay College will play four games next weekend against Dakota County Technical College, with the Norse needing to win all four to keep its season alive. Game times are 1:00 and 3:30 on Friday, and 12:00 noon and 2:30 on Saturday.
