DICKINSON, ND – The Badlands Big Sticks (25-25 overall, 7-9 second half) started slow, falling down 8-0 through the first three innings to the Minnesota Mud Puppies (7-16 overall, 2-7 second half) on Sunday evening, leading to their first loss against Minnesota in franchise history.

 

A shutout last night immediately changed in the top of the 1st inning for the Mud Puppies with Landon Jasper starting the scoring with a two-run home run.

 

In the top of the 2nd inning, Minnesota’s Aidan Perry singled to score Dayton Franke which was followed by an error. Jasper then added two more RBIs on a double that put the Mud Puppies up 6-0.

 

Both Spencer Pederson and Holden Peacock tallied an RBI single in the top of the 3rd inning, extending it to 8-0.

 

Badlands’ Ryder Hernandez (Incarnate Word) got the scoring started in the bottom of the 4th inning, scoring Cougar Cooke (Arkansas State) and himself on a two-run home run to left field.

 

The Mud Puppies matched the Big Sticks two runs in the top of the 5th inning on back-to-back RBI singles by Carter Sintek and Brayden Kohls, making it 10-2

 

A leadoff single in the bottom of the 5th inning by Dylon Myrow (Nebraska) came around to score on an RBI groundout by Gavyn Schlotterback (Kansas).

 

Derek Martinez (Arkansas State) sent a solo home run in the bottom of the 6th inning to chip and put the score at 10-4.

 

A group effort by the Big Sticks’ offense in the bottom of the 7th inning added two more runs on a pair of doubles from Blake Beheler (Blinn JC), scoring Crew Secrist (Texas A&M – Corpus Christi), and John Youens (Baylor) that made it 10-6

 

In the top of the 8th inning, a double by Larsen and Nolan Welke both scored one wrapping the scoring for the Mud Puppies at 12-6.

 

A lone run scored for Badlands in the bottom of the 9th by Evan Mann (Odessa CC) on a wild pitch led to the final at 12-7.

 

Badlands will look to regroup against the Wilmer Stingers in a four-game set starting Monday, with first pitch at 6:35 p.m. MST.