EDITOR'S NOTE: Michael Achterling is a reserve outfielder on the active roster of the Detroit Lakes Amateur Baseball Club.
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DETROIT LAKES — The Detroit Lakes Amateur Baseball Club fell to the Bucks 7-1 in their franchise opening game in Breckenridge on May 27.
Before the game, Club player/manager Brandon Johnson said he was calmer than he thought he'd be, but still extremely excited in the lead up to franchise's opening game for a team he began building from the ground-up in February.
"I'm just ready to play some baseball, more excited to play a game of baseball than I have probably been in my entire life," said Johnson. "Really what it means is we're in and out these communities, representing our community and we get to do that with class and, hopefully, baseball excellence."
He also said his keys to the opener against Breckenridge were to: throw strikes, make plays (in the field), and put the ball in play at the plate.
However, while the Club threw plenty of strikes and limited their play in the field to only two errors, they failed put the ball in-play at the plate. Club members managed only three hits and struck out 15 times over the course of nine innings.
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After holding a 0-0 score through the first three innings of the game, the first Bucks run came in the 4th inning on a throwing error by Johnson, which allowed a runner on third to score.
Club starting pitcher Logan Lund was tagged for six earned-runs in the fifth inning, after pitching well in the game's first four frames. He ended his day giving up 7 runs on 10 hits while walking one in 4 1/3 innings before being relieved by Matt Huberty.
Huberty said the Club's opening game was the first competitive baseball he's played in nearly 10 years; an example of the Club players' diverse level of experience on their roster.
"When you haven't played for 10 years, it's so vastly different from anything I've ever experienced because I'm used to going out there fresh, and having played at least fairly recently, and this being my first game in ten years is a heck of a lot different than a first game in six months," said Huberty, after the game. Adding, he hopes to get a better feel for his off-speed pitches to limit opposing batters' contact the next time he takes the mound.
Following Huberty on the mound, Club starting catcher Blaine Henderson struck out four over the final three innings of relief while giving up only two hits.
The offensive highlight for the Club was a double by starting 3rd baseman Tristan Wimmer in the 7th inning; however, Wimmer needed to be removed from the game after pulling-up, standing into second base with an apparent leg injury. He was replaced by Noah Borah who later scored in the inning on a Johnson single, which gave the Club their sole-run of the game.
After the game, Johnson admitted it's hard to win a baseball game any time a team strikes out 15 times in a single game.
"If you are not putting the ball in play, things can't happen," Johnson said. "If they don't have that big inning, it's a 1-1 game ... but if you are not getting hits and you are not putting the ball in-play, it's hard to score runs."
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The Detroit Lakes Amateur Baseball Club's next game will be their home opener at Washington Ballpark in Detroit Lakes against the Hawley Hawks on June 1 with the first pitch scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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