Outfielder David Salgueiro leads Larks in offensive outburst to earn NWL Player of the Night.
BISMARCK, ND – Sometimes a little home cooking is all you need. That’s what the Larks got and it showed as the birds of Bismarck defeated the La Crosse Loggers 9-3.
The Larks (3-4) broke out in a big way on Monday night scoring nine runs while accumulating 12 hits. The Loggers (1-6) were held in check scoring three runs on six hits.
This was the offensive showing that the Larks needed after recording just three hits in an extra inning loss to the Rox this past Sunday. Something the Larks have had plenty of is solid starting pitching.
They got that yet again as Ryan Byrd tossed six innings giving up just four hits while striking out seven Loggers hitters. Byrd’s efforts were more than enough as the Larks offense gave him six runs of support before his night was over after he struck out Mike Ferri (UW-Milwaukee) to end the top of the sixth.
The scoring began in the bottom of the second when Trever Leingang had an RBI fielder’s choice scoring Noah Sadler. But just as almost every Larks game has played out, this game became a battle.
An error with two outs by third baseman Cullen Smith allowed Nick Schrank (UT-Rio Grande Valley) to come around and tie the game in the very next inning.
Even more atypical of the Larks, they responded themselves. In the bottom of the third inning newcomer Newt Johnson (South Dakota State University) punched a two-out RBI single to score David Salguiero right after Salguiero stole his fourth base of the season.
The back and forth action would continue as Loggers catcher Taylor Sanagorski (Emporia State University) took Byrd deep over the left-center field wall for his first homerun of the season to tie the game at two.
From here on out, the Larks would not look back.
A three run fourth inning, partly in thanks to two errors by the Loggers, aided the Larks to their first big victory of the season. Prior to Monday’s win, the Larks had not won by more than one run in their first two victories so far throughout the early goings of the 2017 Northwoods League season.
Salguiero was moved down to the ninth place spot in the order by Field Manager Sean Repay for tonight’s series opener against La Crosse. This moved payed off in a big way.
Salguiero went 3-4 on the night and was apart of a back-to-back-to-back stretch where Michael Pereznegron, Salguiero, and Wyatt Ulrich all delivered RBI singles to give the Larks some insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Miami, FL native finished the game with two RBI, two runs scored, and two stolen bases. Salgueiro’s efforts led him to be named the NWL Player of the Night. This is the second honor the Larks have earned this season as Byrd was awarded the NWL Pitcher of the Night on Opening Day.
The Larks bullpen did its job as well as JC Bonilla (Lackawanna CC) and Connor Hilburn (Lakeland University) threw a combined three innings of one run baseball.
The winning pitcher in tonight’s contest was Ryan Byrd (2-0). The losing pitcher in tonight’s contest was Taylor Turner (0-2).
The Larks hope to complete their first series sweep as they have failed to do so in two attempts so far this season.
The first pitch is set for 7:05pm.
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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
