It was two distinct outomes for the Dakota College at Bottineau Lumberjacks Baseball team on Saturday. With the temperature on the chilly sidctce at the start of Game 1, the Lumberjacks came out with a equally cold start as their bats did not unthaw until the 5th inning where they put up some runs late but fell to Minnesota West CTC 10-2 . Game 2 was a completely different story as the Lumberjacks were hot early and never looked back in a 5-0 win over Rainy River CC.
In Game 1 the Jacks squared off with a hot Minnesota West team that had won 3 out of their past 5 games. It showed early as in the top of the first as the Blue Jays jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back. Tyler Comben battled through the first inning holding Minnesota West down, but over the next 3 innings Comben would pitch well competitive but did not have much help behind him. The Lumberjacks would make two errors along with a few mental errors that hurt them early. In the 5th Comben would be pulled and give way to Jordan Peterson as DCB fell behind 8-0. The Lumberjacks would put up 2 in the fifth inning but it was not enough as they fell 10-2.
The Jacks, determined to turn things around in Game 2, came out hot against RRCC. Darrin Wersal, pitching in Game 2, made the most of the opportunity at hand. Squared up against a high powered Voyaguer team, Wersal only let one runner the whole game get to as far as 3rd base against him. Overall Wersal pitched a complete game for the Lumberjacks and gave up no runs and only 3 hits. Offensively the Lumberjacks were led by Nate Huarte and Casey Mack. Huarte came up with a big base hit in the first inning to give the Lumberjacks a 2-0 lead. Later on in the 3rd Mack would hit a single that would also score two runs. Tim Dallarie found his way around the bases to bring in the final run in the game.
DCB will be back in action Sunday against both Minnesota West and Rainy River. The scheduled starters for the Jacks are Carlos Joaquin in game 1 and Dillon Marco in the 2nd. Coach LaCroix was pleased with how his time turned the day around and competed in the end. "With such a young team it is important we learn to compete on every pitch, you never know when your big break will come in a baseball game."
After Sunday's games, DCB will get ready for conference action next weekend as the Jacks will face Williston State depending on availability of the playing fields in both Williston and Bottineau.