Sports
Bottineau Legion team tested in rough week
Tyler Ohmann
07/16/2013
It was a trying week for the Bottineau Post 42 Legion baseball team as they dropped doubleheaders to New Rockford-Sheyenne (NRS) and Harvey and also fell to Velva on the week.
They are now 7-13 overall on the season.
Bottineau’s first doubleheader was against New Rockford-Sheyenne (NRS) on Tuesday in Bottineau.
In game one Bottineau fell behind 2-1 early, but made a comeback with a three-run fifth inning to take a 4-2 lead. However, NRS found success off of Bottineau pitcher Devin Bercier in the final inning to earn a 7-4 win.
Bercier went all seven innings and allowed only two earned runs, but Bottineau committed five errors in the contest that ultimately spelled their demise.
“Devin pitched well the middle innings. They put good swings on him in that last inning, and that is going to happen the fourth time through the lineup,” stated Bottineau coach Derek Aus. “We didn’t help at all defensively. Our errors just gave them that many more opportunities.”
Cody Brooks had a two-run triple and Trent LaFountain and Bercier each had two hits in the offensive effort for Bottineau in the loss.
Game two also went the way of NRS as they opened up a big lead with 10-runs in the second inning. They wound up with a 16-9 win.
Bercier had two runs batted in (RBI) and Andrew Hill was 2-for-4 with a triple in the loss. Brooks again had a pair of RBI.
Brody Moum took the loss in his first appearance on the mound this season.
“We are fighting some injuries and don’t have as much depth, so we had some young arms on the mound,” Aus stated. “We just allowed too many extra base runners. It will be nice to get some rest and get healthy.”
On Thursday Bottineau hosted Velva for a contest between two section rivals.
Velva scored six runs in the second inning, which made the difference in the 11-1, five-inning victory.
Again Bottineau’s defense held them back as they committed six errors in the contest.
“It is tough to watch us defensively right now. We don’t have a lot of confidence in anything we do,” Aus stated. “We just need to get back to making routine plays, instead of forcing things. My crew on the field was pretty lifeless.”
Lee Schneider pitched all five innings for Bottineau and struck out three while allowing three earned runs.
Brooks led Bottineau at the dish with a 3-for-3 evening. Connor LaFountain went 1-for-2 with a double and Austin Kittleson had the lone RBI for Bottineau.
Bottineau appeared much improved on Friday in Harvey. However, Harvey scored runs at the tail end of both games to down Bottineau 8-7 and 7-6.
In game one Bottineau took the early advantage as the bats and defense were rolling. Bottineau led 7-1 after the top of the fifth inning, and looked poised to take a victory.
However, Harvey found a way to get to Christian McCloud, who started on the mound for Bottineau, and scored four runs in the fifth, another in the sixth and two more in the bottom of the seventh to squeak out a come-from-behind win.
“Tough to lose a game at the end like that, but our effort was the best its been all week. Hopefully it will lead to some consistent play for us,” Aus stated. “Christian did an outstanding job on the mound. He was effective because he pitched smart and didn’t try to overpower everyone. Easily his best start for us.”
Hill went 3-for-4 in the loss and McCloud too contributed at the plate with a three-hit and three-RBI performance. Brooks again had a pair of RBI and Zach Johnson also added a hit in the loss.
Game two was similar to the first in the five-inning second half of the doubleheader. Bottineau took a lead with a four-run second inning, and led 6-3 after three.
But again Harvey stayed strong and scored five runs in the final three innings to earn a 7-6 victory.
Bottineau’s defense was again strong as they committed only one error, and the bats were again there, but they couldn’t quite hold on.
Aus believes that Bottineau can refocus and get everything turned around before sectionals, despite the tumultuous week.
“I think we can get back on track with some practices. There are good baseball players on this team, but we struggled this week, and haven’t improved as much over the last three weeks as I would like to see,” Aus stated. “ Next week we will take advantage of some days to rest and practice, so we go into the sectional tourney playing our best baseball.”
Bottineau’s next game will be at 5 p.m. on Friday in Surrey. Sectionals begins on Wednesday, June 24 in Cando.