The Flickertails snapped a three-game losing streak on Monday night, defeating the Bull Moose 13-5 in a game presented by Lignite Energy Council.
With only 10 players total on the roster for the game, it was important for the Flickertails to receive a strong start from their starting pitcher. Justin Janssen was up to the task. The righty gave the Flickertails five innings and allowed four earned runs en route to the win. The next two Flickertail pitchers, Rob Mattei and Jason Dressel combined for the last four scoreless innings.
Despite the loss, Brad Hodges was feeling his fastball. Hodges hit 87 multiple times on the gun for the Metro-Area Ambulance Fastest Pitch. Hodges matched his season high in strikeouts, setting aside three Flickertail batters.
The Bull Moose made it close in the fifth, scoring four runs off of Justin Janssen in his final inning of work. The game remained 7-5 until the top of the seventh when Justin Janssen hit a two-run homerun over the ivy in right field off of Julio Acosta for the Fetzer Electric Play of The Game. From there, the Flickertails would score four more in the eighth and keep the Bull Moose off the board for the final three innings.
Monday’s game marked the second-to-last regular season game in Bismarck, with the regular season finale coming on Tuesday night when the Larks play the Bull Moose for a 7:05 first pitch.
The Flickertails return to the field for the Bismarck Division Championship best-of-three series against the Larks on Wednesday night.