Sports

Braves look to dig out of recent slump

By Matthew Semisch

04/21/2015

The bad news for Bottineau High’s baseball team last week was that it saw an early-season losing streak rise to seven games.

What’s good out of last week for the Braves is that they appear to have diagnosed problems that have plagued them.

BHS experienced a rough four-game set last week, and it started with a 6-5 eight-inning loss at Harvey-Wells County on Tuesday. The Braves followed that up with a 7-6 loss at home to Northern Lights (Rolla-Rolette-St. John-Wolford) on Thursday.

That loss on Thursday to the Comets, which dropped BHS to 0-3 in Region V play, was a particularly tough pill to swallow. Despite giving up three runs in the top of the third inning to let Northern Lights take a 5-3 lead, Bottineau fought back and tied the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the seventh inning on a Jesse Heil run.

After the Comets scored a seventh run in the top of the next frame, however, the Braves weren’t able to respond in kind.
Speaking after the game, BHS head coach Zach Keller suggested that his team had pinpointed problems that have held the Braves back.

“We’re definitely playing better, but one bad inning of defense today killed us and that’s the way it is,” he said. “Our bats played a lot better today, and that’s nice to see, and we just need to shore up our defense and we’ll be fine. 

“Better defense, better pitching, and the guys know that and understand that, and now we just have to go out and do it.”

Bottineau bounced back well on Saturday in a doubleheader against Turtle Mountain Community in Belcourt. BHS dropped a 9-6 decision in Game 1, but pitcher Wolf Don Thorson led the visitors to a 23-1 victory in the rematch.

BHS (2-7) will host North Star (Cando-Bisbsee-Egeland) at 4 p.m. on Thursday before taking part in the Carrington Invitational this weekend.