BISMARCK, ND – Having not won back-to-back games since June 22, the Larks came into Saturday night’s game in position to do just that as they went for a sweep of the Thunder Bay Border Cats.
Back-to-back wins will have to wait for another day.
The Larks dropped game two of the series to Thunder Bay by a score of 6-2. Special German Heritage Night jerseys were worn during the game and auctioned off afterwards.
The Border Cats struck first for the second straight game with a run in the 1st. Braden Mosley bounced one toward third, and Luke Waldek was unable to pick the in-between hop. Colin Rosenbaum would score to give Thunder Bay and early 1-0 lead.
In the 2nd, Thunder Bay stayed on the throttle and pushed five more runs across, highlighted by a pair of two-RBI doubles, one from Colton Thomas and one from Kevin Biondic. Larks starter Frank Greco threw 35+ pitches in the inning, ending his outing after just two innings.
After the third inning, fans were treated to another touching moment as Grant Edwards was honored for his courageous battle with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Grant and his little brother Christian rounded the bases to complete Grant’s Sanford Health Home Run for Life.
In relief of Greco, Carson Selin gave the Larks a stellar outing to keep the Border Cats lead in check. Selin threw five scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and striking out four.
In the bottom of the 6th, the Larks threatened to get to Thunder Bay starter Blaze Bohall for the first time all game. With two outs and runners on second and third, Bohall recorded his ninth strikeout when he got Brandon Lankford swinging to end the inning.
Bohall’s day was done after six innings of scoreless baseball. Seth Rosenberg relieved him in the 7th inning.
Rosenberg threw a clean 7th inning but allowed the Larks to score a pair in the 8th. First, Scooter Bynum doubled to bring Newt Johnson to the plate, then a Lankford single brought Bynum home to make it 6-2.
The Larks threatened again in the 9th inning with two runners on an nobody out, but Connor Centala found his way out of his jam. Centala got Bynum to fly out to left field to secure a 6-2 Border Cats win.
Greco was saddled with the loss after going just two innings and allowing six runs (five earned), on five hits and two walks.
Bohall earned the victory after a sharp outing. In six innings, Bohall allowed zero runs and five hits while striking out nine Larks hitters.
Two Larks starters left the game with injuries. In the second inning, Connor Perry collapsed in left field and was tended to by team trainers. He walked off under his own power and said he felt light headed during the inning. Perry contributed the symptoms to the heat and not eating enough during the day, but claimed he was okay after resting and drinking some water.
In the 3rd, Quinn Irey was hit on the top of his throwing hand by a foul tip. He left the game after the inning and was replaced by Luke Horanski. Irey will likely be day-to-day but does not think the injury is serious.
The Larks play at home again tomorrow night as they host the St. Cloud Rox at 5:05pm. The St. Cloud series will be the final home games for the Larks before they embark on a six-game road trip that runs all the way into the All-Star break.
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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
