The Crookston Pirates baseball team got their season off to a great start with a 14-1 run-rule victory over the Red Lake County Rebels at L.E. Drechsel Field in Red Lake Falls. It was the first game of the season for both teams and the first game they played since 2019.
The first inning was where the Pirates did most of their damage as 14 of the first 15 hitters reached base before a line drive double play ended the inning. It started with Gunner Gunderson walking, advancing to third on a wild pitch, and scoring on Cade Deleon’s grounder to third. Deleon reached on the groundball thanks to an error. After a foul out, Carter Bruggeman and Ashton Larson were hit by pitches. Jacob Miller and Ethan Boll then recorded back-to-back RBI walks. Jack Doda drove in another run with a fielders choice and advanced to second on an error to make it 4-0. George Widman walked to bring the top of the order back up. Gunderson and Deleon both walked. That prompted a pitching change for the Rebels. Brooks Butt was the first batter to face the new pitcher and he collected the Pirates first hit of the season on an RBI double. That was followed by a Bruggeman RBI single to make it 10-0. After a walk to re-load the bases, a lineout double play ended the inning. “We were very disciplined and that gave us a cushion to kinda sit back and relax and our approaches got better,” said Pirates Head Coach Mitch Bakken. “That is what I wanted to see. I’m glad we didn’t go up their swinging at garbage and looking foolish.”
Miller got the start on the mound for the Pirates. After getting an out on his second pitch, he struggled to get quick outs. The next three batters for the Rebels reached base as Pacey Struthers got the offense going with a walk and Bailey Hince moved him to third on a double. Brayden Swendra subsequently singled to left field, but Struthers was unsure if the ball was going to be caught so he stayed at third base. After a strikeout, Miller hit Isaiah Aquino with a pitch to bring in a run for the Rebels and make it a 10-1 game. Miller got his second strikeout of the inning to end the threat.
The Pirates got back on the board in the third inning with three more runs. Gunderson singled and Deleon reached on an error to start the inning. Then, Butt put a charge into a ball and sent it over the left field fence for a three-run homerun to increase their lead to 13-1. “He is a strong kid… just watching him in the cage, he is the most relaxed person and nothing rattles him and he has shown a good approach,” explained Bakken.
Crookston added an insurance run in the fourth inning when Gunderson reached base for the fourth time in the game with a single to center field. He was advanced on a hit by pitch and scored from second on a fielders choice groundball on a double play attempt to make it 14-1.
That was plenty of run support for Miller on the mound as he found the command of both his fastball and curveball after the first inning on his way to four strong innings of pitching. He gave up four hits and only two hits after the first inning. He struck out ten batters while only walking one and hitting two batters. “”Not perfect as you don’t want to throw 30 pitches in an inning with a ten run lead, but he settled down after the first inning and that was great to see,” said Coach Bakken. Bruggeman relieved him in the fifth inning and he closed the door quickly with a 1-2-3 inning that included two strikeouts. “I was unsure if I wanted to put Carter in for the fifth inning… but he just went out there and he looked amazing and he hit his spots and when he hits those spots it is going to be hard to hit him,” added Coach Bakken.
The Pirates start their season with a 1-0 record. The Rebels start with an 0-1 record. The Pirates will have their first home game of the season against Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton on Tuesday. They will travel to Fosston on Thursday and will play at home on Friday against Park Rapids to conclude a busy week.
Red Lake County will play BGMR, Northern Freeze, and Thief River Falls in a doubleheader next week.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E | |
| CROOKSTON | 10 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 |
| Red Lake County | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Jacob Miller | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| Carter Bruggeman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
For Crookston
Brooks Butt- 2 for 4, homerun, 5 rbi, run
Gunner Gunderson- 2 for 2, 4 runs, 2 walks
For Red Lake County
Bailey Hince, Brayden Swendra, Brock Seeger, and Thomas Benson all had one hit
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