BISMARCK, ND – For the first time in a couple of weeks, the Bismarck lineup was at full strength. Noah Sadler returned from his injury, Mitch Gallagher and Newt Johnson are back to 100 percent, and Luke Horanski made his Larks debut behind the plate.

As a result, the offense was alive Thursday night when the Larks welcomed the Duluth Huskies to The Nest.

The Larks had a phenomenal day at the plate as they put up 11 runs on 14 hits to beat the Huskies 11-2.

Connor Perry helped the Larks get off to a hot start when he reached on an error in the first and moved to second on an Austin Paschke single. Perry stole third, then took home when the throw got away from the third baseman Jack Stronach.

In the third inning, the Larks bats really caught fire as they rattled off five runs on four hits and one Duluth error to make it a 6-0 ballgame.  

After the third inning, fans were treated to another very heartwarming moment at the ballpark. With the help of Sanford Health, Carson Gietzen was recognized for his courageous battle with supportive lung disease and an adrenal insufficiency as he rounded the bases with his brother to complete his Home Run for Life.

Bismarck stayed on the throttle in the 5th inning when they scratched out two more runs. Newt Johnson tripled to score Ryan Anderson, then Cooper Coldiron brought Johnson home with an RBI single to make it 8-0.

Larks starter Ryan Byrd had another solid outing, only getting into trouble one time. In the top of the 6th with an eight-run lead, Byrd allowed runners to reach second and third with no outs. Both of those runners would eventually score, but Byrd pithced his way out of the jam to limit the damage.

The Larks made up for the two runs lost in the top of the inning by adding on three more of their own. Scooter Bynum, Anderson, and Paschke each had RBI base hits in the bottom of the 6th to put the Larks up 11-2.

Byrd’s day was done after the 6th inning as he gave way to newcomer David Manasek. The righty from Millersville University threw two innings of scoreless baseball in his Larks debut, allowing just one hit while striking out two. Noah Luedtke finished off the game for the Larks with a scoreless 9th inning.

Byrd was the winning pitcher of record after allowing just two runs and three walks. He is now 2-3 on the season with a 4.00 ERA.

Ryan Cunningham was chased after just 2.0+ innings of work. He finished with five hits, six runs (four earned) and two walks. The loss drops him to 1-2 on the year with an ERA at 2.92.

For the Larks, the offense came up big yet again as everyone contributed into getting 11 runs on the board. Fresh off of injury, Sadler went 2-5 with an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base. Bynum, Anderson, and Johnson each had two RBIs on the night as well.

The big win for the Larks moves them to 15-16, just one game back from being .500 yet again, and only five games behind the Waterloo Bucks and St. Cloud Rox for first place in the North Division.  

With the return of key players like Sadler and the addition of new arms in Jamie Kaye and Manasek, this Larks team appears to be trending in the right direction. If everyone stays healthy, fans shouldn’t be surprised if the Larks start to make a push toward the top of the standings.

The Larks and Huskies play game two of the series tomorrow at 7:35pm. Bismarck-Mandan Convention & Visitors Bureau presents Girl Scouts Night, and fans will again be treated to a post-game performance from Dave the Cannonball Guy.

# # #

The Bismarck Larks are apart of the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 170 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play