For the third consecutive game, the Larks bullpen was not able to reserve the lead resulting in a series sweep by St. Cloud.

ST. CLOUD, MN – For the third consecutive night the Larks weren't able to hold onto a lead late in the game. This time it was about as late as can be.

The Bismarck Larks (2-4) dropped their third consecutive game in an extra inning loss to the St. Cloud Rox (4-2) by a score of 3-2.

Larks starting pitcher, Micah Beyer (Biola University), was the story of the game. Beyer ended up throwing eight plus innings striking out seven while giving up just three hits. The only bump in the road for Beyer occurred when he hit Rox hitter Matt Tarantino (University of the Pacific) to lead off the bottom of the ninth.

The only reason that is notable is because Tarantino eventually came around to score on a wild pitch by relief pitcher Mitchell Cavanagh (Oswego State University) with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The ball that bounced away from Larks catcher Quinn Irey tied the game at two.
 

Wild pitches ended up being a common thread throughout this ballgame. Three out of the five runs scored came via the wild pitch.

The Larks got the scoring started in the top of the first when David Salguiero scored on a wild pitch after getting hit near the kneecap on the first pitch of the game.

The Rox would come back in the third scoring an unearned run on an RBI single by Cameron Eden (University of California, Berkeley). The opposite field single off the bat of Eden tied the game at one.

The very next inning, in typical Larks fashion, the Larks added another run. How did they do it? It was because of a wild pitch. The second wild pitch of the day by Rox starter Jered Solomon (Lackawanna CC) scored Cullen Smith after he earned one of his three walks on the day.

This is where Beyer turned it on.

Beyer retired 13 out of 14 hitters beginning from the last out in the third inning to the last out in the seventh. After giving up an eight inning leadoff single, Beyer stranded a runner at third getting Eden to groundout on the 5-3 putout.

With 93 pitches thrown, Beyer headed out the mound attempting to accomplish the Larks first complete game of the 2017 season. On a 1-2 count Beyer hit Tarantino granting him a free pass.

In the game of baseball, somehow and someway, the free passes always come back to haunt you.

That stayed true and Tarantino touched home plate because of the wild pitch by Cavanagh. Cavanagh was able to bear down and get a strikeout of John Matthews (Kent State University) with two outs and runners on first and second to send the game into extra innings.

The Larks stranded two runners in the top of the tenth after Irey reached via an error and Smith reached via a walk.

Cavanagh went out for his second inning of work giving up a leadoff, infield single to Louis Baker (Scottsdale CC). The Rox loaded the bases and this is where Luke Ringhofer came up trying to send the Larks back to Bismarck without a win.

After falling behind 3-0, Cavanagh battled his way back to a 3-2 count. Ringhofer proceeded to hit a high chopper to Michael Pereznegron at second on the 3-2 pitch. Pereznegron received a tough hop and was not able to make the play.

The Rox grabbed their first series sweep of the season as the Larks were swept for the first time.

The winning pitcher of the game was Brent Killam (1-0) who pitched the top of the 10th. The losing pitcher was Mitchell Cavanagh (0-1).

The Larks return home as they welcome the La Crosse Loggers (1-5). The first pitch for tomorrow, June 5th, 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