MACA boys come up shy in twin bill opener

BOLD 11, Tigers 7

The curtain opened for Tiger baseball action on Thursday, April 12, and it proved to be a humbling affair for MACA. Victory eluded the orange and black squad in both ends of this home twin bill.

The Tigers had a fairly robust offense in game #1, plating seven runs. They led 7-6 after five innings.
But the BOLD Warriors found the groove to rally for five runs in the sixth en route to an 11-7 win over MACA.

It was Logan Sandgren delivering the key blow that sent MACA to the canvas. Sandgren zeroed in on a pitch to his liking and delivered a bases-clearing triple. This Warrior would finish three-for-four in the boxscore. His RBI total: four.

The first two innings were scoreless. Then in the third, Mac Beyer's bat produced an RBI single and Tyler Henrichs pounded a two-run double.

The 3-0 lead looked promising, but BOLD got untracked for a four-run bottom of the third.

The Tigers came through with two runs each in the fourth and fifth. The rally in the fifth, good for giving MACA a 7-5 lead, featured RBI singles off the bats of Jake Torgerson and Tom Holland.

The Morris Area Chokio Alberta line score was seven runs, nine hits and two errors.

Holland had a sharp eye at bat, connecting for three hits in five at-bats and scoring two runs. Tanner Picht had a fine season debut at bat, going two-for-three with an RBI.

Henrichs had a pair of doubles in his three at-bats and drove in two runs. Beyer went one-for-three with an RBI, and Torgerson finished one-for-four.

Sam Mattson and Torgerson split the pitching duties. Mattson hurled for five innings, fanning six batters but allowing six runs (five earned).

Torgerson was tagged with the loss in his one-inning stint, in which he got roughed up. It's early in the season.

Riley Kramer was the winning pitcher.

BOLD 5, Tigers 1

Game #2 on season-opening day had Riley Kramer delivering a key hit for BOLD. He singled with the bases full in the first.

Kyle Athmann, a name very familiar to Tiger fans from throughout the athletic calendar, made a big statement with the stick in the second. Athmann tripled to drive in a run.

So BOLD led 2-0 and went on to hand our Tigers a 5-1 loss.

Logan Sandgren was in good pitching form for the Warriors, going the whole way and setting down seven Tiger batters on strikes. He walked just one.

Meanwhile, Mac Beyer and Chandler Erickson did the Tigers' pitching with Beyer coming away as the pitcher of record. He pitched five innings, striking out five batters, while Erickson worked two frames and he struck out four.

The Tigers scored their lone run in the sixth. Their line score was one run, four hits and two errors.

Beyer had the only multiple-hit game for MACA: two-for-three with both of his hits doubles, plus an RBI. Tom Holland and Tanner Picht had the other Tiger safeties.

Beyer doubled in Picht for the Tigers' lone run.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com