It was a mass baptism by fire of sorts for the Detroit Lakes baseball team, as six starters were playing in their first varsity game Thursday in the 2014 season and home opener against visiting Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton.
Hits were a premium for both teams, as the Lakers outhit the Rebels by a 4-3 margin, but the final run tally favored the visitors 3-1.
“I thought our pitchers did a great job, D-G-F didn’t have any hard hits, but they did have a couple of key hits,” said DL head coach Steve Fuhs.
Those key hits came in the fourth and sixth innings, with No. 9 hitter sophomore Eric Watt delivering in both frames with singles.
Watt also drew a walk to start the third inning, off of DL starter Connor Johnson, and later scored the game’s first run on a couple of misplays by the Lakers.
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“Connor and (reliever) Matt Haire threw strikes and they both went after the kids,” Fuhs said.
Haire pitched the final 1.5 innings and struck out the side in the top of the seventh.
Johnson allowed two earned runs in the loss.
The Lakers had just three hits, with Nolan Singer setting up the lone run after singling to lead off the fifth.
John Schumacher laced a one-out single, which was followed by a Ryan Cihak RBI single to score Singer.
“We struggled at the plate, but the guys didn’t strikeout a lot, at least,” Fuhs said. “It will be a work in progress, since we had six kids taking their first varsity at-bats.”
Catcher Sam Beck, one of those first-time starters, did a nice job behind the plate, as well, Fuhs added.
The Lakers hosted Fergus Falls Friday and will play again Tuesday, April 22, in Park Rapids for the Mid-State Conference opener in a doubleheader.
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Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton at Detroit Lakes, Thursday, April 10.
DGF 001 101 0 – 3 3 0
DL 000 010 0 – 1 4 1
Detroit Lakes
AB R H Bi
R. Cihak 4 0 1 1
J. Lyngaas 3 0 0 0
S. Voz 3 0 1 0
B. Thompson 3 0 0 0
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C. Johnson 3 0 0 0
Beck 3 0 0 0
Singer 2 1 1 0
T. Lyngaas 2 0 0 0
M. Haire 1 0 0 0
Schumacher 3 0 1 0
Totals 27 1 4 0
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
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AB R H Bi
T. McManus 4 0 0 0
A. Matthews 4 0 0 0
C. Johnson 2 0 0 0
T. Oberg 4 0 0 0
B. Stalboerger 1 1 1 1
Z. Nelson 1 0 0 0
K. Sieling 1 0 0 1
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B. Kragnes 2 1 0 0
W. Bolin 3 0 1 0
E. Watt 2 1 2 1
Totals 23 3 4 3
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-k): DL – C. Johnson (LP) 5.5-3-3-1-6-2; M. Haire 1.5-0-0-1-1-3…DGF: C. Johnson (WP)
