Sports

Braves streak snapped

By Bottineau Courant Staff

05/15/2012

The Bottineau Braves winning streak ended at 13 this past week as the Braves lost twice over the weekend to non-region opponents Velva and Washburn-Wilton-Center-Stanton (WWCS).

However, the Braves did keep intact their perfect Region 5 record with wins over Surrey on Tuesday, a forfeit win over Dunseith on Thursday and Rugby on Friday. Bottineau also beat Hazen in eight innings on Saturday in Washburn.

The week began with a 9-1 win over Surrey on the road, the Braves 10th straight victory of the season. In the win Bottineau scored runs in the second through the sixth innings with the kicker coming in a five-run sixth.

Senior Mark LaCroix belted a home run and went 3-for-4, while fellow senior Justin McCloud allowed only one run and scattered four hits on the mound.

A forfeit by Dunseith on Thursday pushed Bottineau to a record of 11-0.

The Braves earned their 13th consecutive victory on Friday with a 6-2 win over rival Rugby. The Braves were in charge for the entirety of the make up game, never relinquishing an early lead.

LaCroix went 2-for-3 at the dish and earned the win on the mound. McCloud went 2-for-3 as well with a run batted in (RBI).

Panthers ace Josh Michels was tagged with the loss. He and Brady Olsen each went 1-for-3.

Later in the day though, the Braves would taste defeat for the first time of the season as they fell victim to the always tough Velva Aggies 3-0.

Derek Fahy allowed only three hits in the five-inning game, while Cody Brooks took the loss on the mound for the Braves by allowing runs in the first, second and fourth innings.

Fahy was also 2-for-2 with an RBI at the plate for Velva.
Bottineau closed out their weekend with a pair of games against south central teams Hazen and WWCS.

In the first game against Hazen the Braves were deadlocked with Bison 2-2 following seven innings, which led to extras.
In the bottom of the eighth LaCroix helped his own cause on the mound by driving in a run to win Bottineau its 13th game of the season.

McCloud was 3-for-4 in the game, while LaCroix drove in two of the Braves’ three runs on the day while going 2-for-4. LaCroix also got the win on the mound.

Brock Hiltner and Andrew Hill both also had good days at the dish as well going 3-for-4 and 2-for-4 respectively.
The final game of the week for the Braves came as another loss, but this time to WWCS on Saturday.

The Braves fell behind early to the Cardinals, who scored all eight of their runs in the first four innings, including three in the first frame.

Bottineau tried to claw back scoring in each of the final three innings, but were unable to scratch out a win.

Kirk Sailer had a big day for the Cardinals getting the win on they mound as well as hitting 3-for-4 with a home run at the plate.

Andrew Hill was tagged for the loss for Bottineau. He also had a double. Both McCloud and Hiltner were 2-for-4 on the day.

Bottineau sits at 13-2 on the season thus far, and a perfect 13-0 in Region 5 play. The Braves tested their flawless region record last night at home against Bishop Ryan. Scores and stats were unavailable by press time.

The Braves will have the region’s top seed entering the region tournament which begins on Monday May 21 in Surrey.

The winner of the championship game on May 23 in Surrey will advance to the Class B State Baseball Tournament in Jamestown May 31-June 2.