Written by Kyle Tatelbaum

BISMARCK, ND – The Mark Weidemaier era has officially begun in Bismarck, as the Larks win their third consecutive Memorial Day game to move to 1-0 on the season.  

Cade Torgerson looked phenomenal in his return for the Larks, surrendering just one run on three hits while striking out three batters through 3.2 dominant innings of work. Torgerson helped himself out on multiple occasions, coming off of the mound to make a phenomenal play in the top of the first, and spearing a line drive right back at him in the fourth with a man on second, saving a run. 

The bullpen finished what Torgerson started, holding the Rox only to an additional run through 2.1 innings of work in a game cut short due to rain. 

It seemed as if the St. Cloud bats were seeing Torgerson well, knocking back-to-back hits in the first inning. However, Torgerson was able to settle down in the latter innings thanks to a three-spot put up by the offense in the bottom half of the frame. 

Alex Alva led off the game by legging out an infield single, and Mathis Meurant reached base after being hit by a pitch. Designated hitter Isaac Huettl worked a walk to load the bases after 9 pitches and 4 foul balls. 

The Larks’ first run of the season came after Nathan Martinez reached on an error to second base, allowing Alva to score. Erick Dessens worked the Larks’ second walk of the inning with the bases still loaded,  which brought Meurant in to score. Catcher Will Millard drove in the third run of the inning after a long at-bat on a grounder to second base.

The Larks sent 8 batters to the plate, causing St. Cloud’s starting pitcher Nathan Anderson to exit the game after surpassing 35 pitches in a single inning per Northwoods League regulations. 

When asked if working counts was something that the team discussed pregame, skipper Mark Weidemaier said “No, we talked about getting good pitches to hit- but we are never going to work the count, we’re going to try to hit. In my opinion, we didn’t hit enough (fastballs) tonight, but they (the Rox) were a little wild. We’re swinging the bat” said Weidemaier.

After the Rox scored their first run in the top of the fourth inning, the Larks responded with back-to-back singles from Jake Agarwal and Alex Alva and a fielder’s choice from Isaac Huettl. 

The Rox came within a run in the seventh inning, after Luke Doty drew a leadoff walk and scored from first on an RBI double from Francesco Barbieri who advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt a batter later. 

With one out in the inning, Mathis Meurant speared a line drive off of the bat of Kade Lewis and fired to third base to catch Barbieri for an inning-ending double play. This was the Fetzer Electric Play of the Game.

The Larks added a couple of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on a 2 RBI double snuck just inside the third base line off of the bat of Isaac Huettl for his third RBI of the day. 

Larson Sholtz then came in to slam the door, recording a six-out save while striking out the last four batters he faced. 

When asked what he would like to see differently in tomorrow’s contest, skipper Mark Weidemaier said, “I’d like to see more compact swings, we got big sometimes in our swings… swung underneath a lot of pitches. We need to be aggressive, hit the fastball, and have some fun.”

The Larks aim to finish the two-game sweep tomorrow at 6:35 pm at Bismarck Municipal Ballpark against the St. Cloud Rox. Tickets can be secured at larkstickets.com.