sports

CROOKSTON BASEBALL BATS COME ALIVE TO EARN A SPLIT WITH ROSEAU

April 23, 2024

The Crookston Pirate Baseball team lost the first game 5-1, before bouncing back to beat the Roseau Rams 11-5 in a pair of Section 8AA games played in Roseau.

Game 1

FIRST INNING-
Crookston was retired in 1-2-3 fashion, including two strikeouts looking. Roseau got things going in the bottom of the inning as Austin Baumgartner reached on a one-out walk. He stole second base before Eli Wensloff drew a two-out walk. The runners advanced to second and third on a passed ball, and Baumgartner scored on another passed ball for a 1-0 lead.

SECOND INNING
Crookston’s Blake Melsa reached on an error with one out and stole second base. The next two batters were retired and Crookston was retired.
Roseau added more runs in the bottom of the inning when Trey Mertens led off with a single before he was caught stealing second base. Alex Ballard walked, and after a strikeout, Tucker Kvien walked. A.J. Klint doubled to score two runs for a 3-0 lead. Austin Baumgartner walked before Cody Otto hit a fly ball in the infield by first base, and Crookston lost the ball in the air, and it hit the ground for a base hit. Klint scored on the play and Roseau led 4-0.

THIRD INNING
Parker Kelly led the inning off with a walk and stole second base. The next two batters were caught looking before a fly out and Crookston was retired.
The first Ram batter flew out to left field before Mertens walked. A few pitchers later, Mertens was caught stealing on a perfect throw from Pirate catcher Greyson Ecker to catch Mertens stealing for the second time in the game. Ballard walked and Jack Jerome was hit by a pitch before the next batter struck out and Roseau took a 4-0 lead into the fourth inning.

FOURTH INNING
The first two Crookston batters were retired before Melsa walked. The next batter struck out, and Crookston was retired. In the bottom of the inning, Contreras and the Pirate defense retired Roseau in 1-2-3 fashion.

FIFTH INNING
Crookston’s Isaiah Donarski reached on an error and tried to advance to second base on a throw that sailed over the first baseman’s head. The Ram catcher, Chase Bachleitner, hustled down the first base line to back up the play and threw the ball to second base to get the out. Parker Kelly and Jay Reese singled before a flyout for the second out of the inning. Reese was caught stealing second base for the third out of the inning and Crookston was retired.
Roseau’s Wensloff started the bottom of the inning with a single and he advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bachleitner. Crookston made a pitching change after the Wensloff hit and brought in Melsa. The Rams’ Mertens walked and Wensloff scored on a wild pitch for a 5-0 lead. The next two batters were retired, and Roseau led 5-0.

SiXTH INNING
Crookston was retired in 1-2-3 fashion in the top of the inning. Roseau was also retired in 1-2-3 fashion.

SEVENTH INNING
Melsa started the top of the inning with a double for Crookston’s third hit of the game. Gavyn Hlucny was hit by a pitch, and the runners advanced to second and third base on a wild pitch. The next batter struck out before Kelly hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Melsa and the Pirates trailed 5-1. The next batter lined out, and Roseau won the game 5-1.

Game 1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
CROOKSTON	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	3	2
Roseau	1	3	0	0	1	0	–	5	3	1

Pitching	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Matthew Contreras-Crox (L)	4.0	4	5	5	8	5
Blake Melsa – Crox	2.0	0	0	0	1	2
Trey Mertens- Ros (W)	6.1	3	1	1	3	8
Cody Otto – Ros	0.2	0	0	0	0	0

For Crookston
Parker Kelly – 1 for 1, rbi, walk
Blake Melsa – 1 for 2, double, run, walk
Jay Reese – 1 for 4

For Roseau
Eli Wensloff – 1 for 2, run, walk
Cody Otto – 1 for 3, rbi
A.J. Klint – 1 for 4, 2 rbi, double

Game 2

FIRST INNING –
The first two Crookston batters were retired before Contreras walked. The next batter struck out. In the bottom of the inning, Roseau was retired in 1-2-3 fashion and the game was scoreless after the first inning.

SECOND INNING
The first two Crookston batters were retired before Parker Kelly reached on a bloop single. The next batter was retired. Roseau was retired in 1-2-3 fashion, and the game was scoreless after two innings.

THIRD INNING
Crookston’s Lucas Miller singled with one out. After a pop-out, Contreras singled, and Ecker doubled to knock in a run for a 1-0 lead. Melsa followed with a double to score two more runs, and the Pirates took a 3-0 lead.
Roseau was retired in 1-2-3 fashion for the third straight inning.

FOURTH INNING –
Crookston’s Donarski walked with one out before a flyout for the second out of the inning. Miller crushed a line drive to the fence for a double to score a run, and the Pirates led 4-0.
Roseau’s Klint was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the inning. After a strikeout, Wensloff singled to score a run to get within a 4-1 deficit.

FIFTH INNING
Both teams added runs in the inning, with Crookston starting things off. Ecker and Melsa walked before Hlucny doubled to score a run. Kelly grounded out to score a run, and Donarski reached on an error, and another run scored to give the Pirates a 7-1 lead.
Roseau batted nine in the bottom of the inning. Otto led off with a walk, Buschwitz singled, and the runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt. Another run scored on a sacrifice to get within a 7-2 deficit. Tucker Kvien walked, and Klint singled. A run scored on a wild pitch. Austin Baumgartner pinch-hit and walked before two runs scored on an error to get within a 7-5 deficit.

SIXTH INNING-
Crookston responded in a big way in the top of the inning with an Ecker single and a Melsa double to score a run. Hlucny singled, and Kelly walked to load the bases. Melsa scored on a wild pitch before the next two batters struck out. Miller singled in another run to give Crookston a 10-5 lead.
Roseau’s Otto reached as he was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a balk before Pirate pitcher Melsa struck out the next three batters to get out of the inning.

SEVENTH INNING
Crookston added an insurance run when Ecker walked before Melsa doubled for the third time in the game to score Ecker, and the Pirates led 11-5.
Melsa shut down Roseau’s offense in the bottom of the inning and the Pirates ended the game with a double play to win the game 11-5.

Crookston is 2-2 on the year and will host Fosston on Thursday and Hillsboro on Friday in game one of the Jim Karn Classis. Roseau is now 3-5 on the year.

CLICK HERE to listen to Coach Ben Parkin’s comments