The Bismarck Larks came out victorious in an 8-3 battle against the Mandan Flickertails on Monday. 

Both teams’ pitchers made strong appearances despite the high score. Larks starter Ryan Bourassa pitched an efficient game going five and a third innings while striking out five, giving up one run. For the Flickertails, starter Tyler Strechay had zero earned runs against during his five innings of play.

Coming out of the bullpen in the sixth, Larks pitcher Noah Kandell dominated opposing batters. In three innings of work, Kandel surrendered one run and struck out six. He also threw the Metro Area Ambulance fastest pitch at 94 mph — the second fastest pitch of any team this season.

The stars of the show tonight were Larks catcher Chase Adkison and short stop Connor Henriques. Adkison continues his tear at the plate going 4-4 with a double and two RBIs, also furthering his hitting streak to seven games. For the season, Adkison has four multi-hit games and leads the league in batting average at .464 and OPS at 1.166; he is tied for the league-lead in hits, triples and RBIs.

Getting the start at short was Connor Henriques. The infielder came up big in the game delivering a monster grand slam to left field in the bottom of the fifth inning. Henriques rounded the bases with his first home run of the year and collected his first Fetzer Electric Play of the Game.

The Larks improve to 6-3 on the season while the Flickertails’ losing streak is snapped at six, bringing the team to a 7-4 record. The Bismarck pod will take a two-day break over Tuesday and Wednesday before the Bismarck Bull Moose host the Flickertails at 7:05 p.m.