by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls Post 117 split an American Legion baseball doubleheader with Park River Post 147 Tuesday night at Prowler Field.
Park River took the opener 11-1 in six innings, but Thief River Falls bounced back to take the nightcap 6-5 in a five-inning game.
Park River batters made Thief River Falls work for outs in game one. Post 147 drew a total of 11 walks in 39 total plate appearances. Post 147 sent nine batters to the plate in the opening inning and scored two runs on two hits while leaving the bases loaded.
Post 147 scored two more runs on two hits in the top of the second to chase Post 117 starter Dylan Osowski. Osowski had several full-count walks and left with the bases loaded and just one out in the inning.
Kaleb Mehrkens came on in relief and coaxed an unassisted double play as Park River batter Trace Anderson lined out to short, with Thief River Falls shortstop Gannon Zutz stepping on the second base bag to double off Kieran Sullivan.
Post 117 got on the board in the bottom half of the inning. Noah Gonzales singled to lead off the frame. He stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch, before scoring on an RBI-single by Wade Nelson.
Post 147 added three runs on one hit in the fourth to take a 7-1 lead. They added two more on two hits in the fifth and made it 11-1 with two runs on one hit in the top of the sixth.
Jaxon Omdahl got the win in game one for Park River. He went four innings and allowed one run on four hits, with a pair of walks and seven strikeouts.
Osowski, Mehrkens and Bridger Wilcox combined to allow 11 runs, 10 earned on 10 hits, with 11 walks and four strikeouts.
Park River started fast again in game two, scoring two runs on four hits in the top of the first.
Post 117 answered with a run on two hits in the bottom of the first. Mehrkens singled with one out in the inning and moved to second on a one-out walk to Osowski. Both baserunners moved up a bag load the bases on a single by Wilcox, and Mehrkens scored when Ryan Flaagan was hit by a pitch.
Post 117 took its first lead of the evening in the bottom of the second. Wade Nelson was hit by a pitch, and Cooper Skjerven and Cole Johnson reached on singles, with Wade Nelson scoring on Johnson’s hit. Casey Nelson reached don an error to load the bases. With one out in the inning, Osowski drew a four-pitch walk to score Skjerven and make the score 3-2 in favor of Post 117.
Park River took the lead with three runs in the fourth, but Post 117 answered with two runs on two hits in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game 5-5. Casey Nelson singled to lead off the inning. He stole second and advanced to third on an error, before scoring on a single by Osowski. Osowski moved to second on the Park River throw to the plate scored when Wilcox reached on an error.
Post 117 got the walk-off win in the bottom of the fifth. Wade Nelson was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Skjerven, advanced to third on a balk, and scored the game-winning run on an RBI-single by Johnson.
Johnson also picked up the five-inning complete-game win on the hill for Post 117. He allowed five runs, three earned, on nine hits, and finished his evening with two walks and three strikeouts.
Post 117’s record stands at 3-3 following the doubleheader split, with Post 147 is now 9-3.
Game 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
PR 2 2 0 3 2 2 X – 11 10 0
TRF 0 1 0 0 0 0 X – 1 4 3
Batting
Park River Post 147 AB R H RBI BB SO
James Larson 2b 4 2 0 0 1 0
Jake Solseng 1b 5 3 3 0 0 0
Tucker Omdahl ss 3 3 2 2 2 0
Kieran Sullivan rf 3 1 2 2 2 1
Jameson Erovick dh 2 0 0 1 2 0
Trace Anderson c 2 1 0 1 2 0
Toren Beneda lf 2 0 0 0 1 1
Isaac Porter 3b 2 0 1 2 1 1
Isaac Porter 3b 0 1 0 0 0 0
C.Troftgruben 3b 0 1 0 0 0 0
Aidan Rost cf 4 0 2 0 0 1
Totals 27 11 10 8 11 4
Highlights – HBP: Toren Beneda, Carter Troftgruben; SB: Jake Solseng, Tucker Omdahl, Kieran Sullivan; 2B: Tucker Omdahl 2, Aidan Rost.
TRF Post 117 AB R H RBI BB SO
Gannon Zutz ss 2 0 0 0 1 0
Jaxon Hams 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0
Bridger Wilcox cf, p 3 0 0 0 0 1
Jameson Hurst lf 3 0 0 0 0 1
Noah Gonzales rf, cf 3 1 2 0 0 0
Ryan Flaagan c 2 0 0 0 1 1
Wade Nelson dh 2 0 1 1 0 1
Cooper Skjerven 1b 2 0 0 0 0 1
Landon Wikert 2b 2 0 0 0 0 2
Totals 22 1 4 1 2 7
Highlights – SB: Noah Gonzales, Jaxon Hams; E: Ryan Flaagan 2, Jaxon Hams.
Pitching
Park River Post 147 IP H R ER BB SO
Jaxon Omdahl – W 4.0 4 1 1 2 7
Reeves Jorgenson 2.0 0 0 0 0 0
TRF Post 117 IP H R ER BB SO
Dylan Osowski – L 1.1 4 4 4 6 2
Kaleb Mehrkens 3.2 4 5 4 4 0
Bridger Wilcox 1.0 2 2 2 1 2
Game 2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
PR 2 0 0 3 0 X X – 5 9 3
TRF 1 2 0 2 1 X X – 6 8 1
Batting
Park River Post 147 AB R H RBI BB SO
Toren Beneda 2b 2 0 0 1 0 1
Calvin Otto cf 3 1 1 1 0 0
Carter Troftbruben c 3 0 3 1 0 0
R. Jorgensen 1b 3 0 1 1 0 0
Trace Anderson dh 3 0 1 1 0 1
Kieran Sullivan rf 2 1 1 0 1 0
Tucker Omdahl 3b 3 1 1 0 0 0
James Larson lf 1 0 0 0 1 1
Jaxon Omdahl ss 2 1 1 0 0 0
Totals 22 5 9 5 2 3
Highlights – HBP: Toren Beneda; E: Toren Beneda, Tucker Omdahl, James Larson; 2B: Trace Anderson; CS: Kieran Sullivan.
TRF Post 117 AB R H RBI BB SO
Casey Nelson ss 3 1 1 0 0 1
Kaleb Mehrkens 3b 3 1 1 0 0 0
Dylan Osowski rf 1 1 1 2 2 0
Bridger Wilcox cf 3 0 1 0 0 0
Ryan Flaagan c 2 0 0 1 0 1
Bodhi Mossestad lf 3 0 1 0 0 0
Wade Nelson dh 0 2 0 0 1 0
Cooper Skjerven 1b 2 1 1 0 0 0
Cole Johnson p 3 0 2 2 0 0
Totals 20 6 8 5 3 2
Highlights – E: Landon Wikert
HBP: Ryan Flaagan, Wade Nelson 2
SB: Casey Nelson
Pitching
Park River Post 147 IP H R ER BB SO
Jameson Erovick-L 4.1 8 6 3 3 2
TRF Post 117 IP H R ER BB SO
Cole Johnson – W 5.0 9 5 3 2 3