The Red Lake County Rebel Baseball had no problems with the Hillsboro/Central Valley Burros on Friday, as they took them down by a score of 18-2 in the first game of the Jim Karn Classic in Crookston.
FIRST INNING-
Red Lake County looked to get hot early, and with one out, Ben Gullingsrud ripped a triple over the center fielder’s head. Kegan Schmitz would bring him in with a groundout, making it 1-0 Rebels. Gunnar Halverson would deliver a two-out single, but a popout would end the frame.
Hillsboro led things off with an infield hit down the third base line, followed by a sacrifice bunt to move the runner over. However, the runner would be stranded there, as Ben Gullingsrud induced two groundouts to end the inning and maintain the 1-0 lead.
SECOND INNING-
The Rebels again began to produce, as after Riley Broden was hit by a pitch, back-to-back errors loaded the bases. Will Gieseke grounded into a force play to score the lead runner, making it 2-0 and putting runners on the corners. Then, the Rebels executed the double steal to make it 3-0, before a groundout ended the inning.
Ben Gullingsrud kicked things up a notch in the second, striking out the side to set the Burros down 1-2-3.
THIRD INNING –
The Rebels exploded on offense in the third inning. 12 batters came to the plate, and eight would score. After a leadoff hit by pitch and a strikeout, a single put runners on the corners. A dropped fly ball would score a run, and then Colin Taggart would drive in two with a triple, putting the Rebels up 6-1. Later in the inning, a run scored on a balk, Will Gieseke delivered an RBI single, Schmitz drove in two more with the second Rebel triple of the day, and finally Schmitz would score on an RBI single, putting the Rebels up 11-0. The Burros would then make a pitching change, and get two outs to mercifully end the inning.
In the bottom of the third, the Burros were retired in order once again, this time on two strikeouts and a popout.
FOURTH INNING-
The Rebels would not stop in the top of the fourth inning, as they would add nearly as many runs as they had in the third. The first two batters for the Rebels would reach on two walks, then after a hit by pitch, Gieseke would also get hit, scoring a run to make it 12-0. Gullingsrud would then drive in two with a single, increasing the lead to 14-0. The Burros would make another pitching change after this, and Schmidt would drive in another run with an RBI groundout. Gunnar Halvorsen would then single in another run to make it 16-0. Later on, with two on, a wild play got a force play at second base, but then two errors while trying to turn the double play scored two more runs, making it 18-0 Rebels before a groundout to the pitcher ended the inning.
The Burros would finally make something happen in the bottom of the inning. Two walks allowed runners on second and first with one out, and Alexander Dufner would deliver an RBI single to get the Burros on the board. Then, with two outs, an error on an attempted steal made it 18-2 before the inning ended.
FIFTH INNING-
The Rebels were retired in order in the fifth on a flyout and two strikeouts.
H/CV got a one-out walk in the bottom of the fifth, but were unable to score, and the Rebels would win by run rule, 18-2.
Red Lake County improves to 8-0, while Hillsboro/Central Valley drops to 6-3.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E | |
| Red Lake County | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 18 | 10 | 1 |
| Hillsboro/ C.V | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
OFFENSIVE LEADERS –
Red Lake County –
Kegan Schmitz – 1 for 4, 3B, 4 RBI
Will Gieseke – 1 for 4, 3 RBI
Colin Taggart – 1 for 3, 3B, 2 RBI
Hillsboro/CV –
Tyson Leshuk – 2 for 3
Alexander Dufner – 1 for 2, RBI
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Ben Gullingsrud – RLC | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Riley Broden – RLF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Austin Cotton – H/CV | 2.1 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Alexander Dufner – H/CV | 0.2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Carson Kozojed – H/CV | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Griffin Mitzel – H/CV | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
