Blue Devils Defeat East Bethel to Notch 5th League Win

Mora hosted the Bandits on Friday night.

The Blue Devils were able to score the games first run in the bottom of the 1st on a RBI single from Austin Peterson, after Logan Graves reached with a single as the leadoff man. But East Bethel would answer with a run of their own in the very next inning to tie the game at 1. Then neither team was able to get much going offensively the next two innings, thanks in large part to the pitching from both sides. Then in the 4th the Bandits were able to the lead after a one run single. Then in the 5th they added onto their lead by scoring two more runs on two hits and now lead 4-1. Mora's offense needed a spark from somewhere, as it was clear East Bethel had swung momentum in their favor and were only gaining confidence. As the bottom of the 5th began it started with a quick fly out, but then it started rolling. The Blue Devils would get three straight base hits to load the bases, then Darin Erickson came up and hit a 4th straight single this time to score two runs. And now they were only down by one, with still two runners on and only one out. The next batter Mike McKee, would hit yet another base hit and again it scored a run which tied the game at 4. Now the question was could the Mora defense feed off the energy the offenses provided and hold the Bandits off the board. Well a pitching change came for the Blue Devils in the 4th, not because Asa Patterson didn't pitch well, but they just wanted to throw something different at the Bandits. And boy did it pay off. Nathan Nelson came in and held East Bethel scoreless while only giving up two hits throughout the rest of the game. But the offense still needed at least one run to retake the lead. They would add one run in both the 6th and 7th innings, but they added two more insurance runs in the 8th taking a 8-4 lead. That was plenty for the defense as they worked quickly to finish off the game with the win.

This wasn't their only game of the weekend. On Sunday they hosted a very tough Chisago Lakes team. The Blue Devils put on a performance to remember from the offense, defense and pitching. The saw Derek Graves pitch 7 innings giving up only 3 hits and no runs all while striking out 10. Their offense made it a 7 inning game because they scored 10 runs, 2 in the 7th, to enforce the 10 run rule to end the game.

With those two wins they improve to 9-5 on the year and now sit 4th in the division.

Pitching(Friday's Game):

Asa Patterson 4 1/3 innings, 7 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, 6 K's

Nathan Nelson 4 2/3 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 8 K's

Friday's Player of the Game:

Darin Erickson - 3-5, 2 singles, 1 double, 4 RBI's