Boyles chucks five quality innings in final Larks appearance
BISMARCK, ND – Less than 24 hours ago, the Larks were trying to avoid a four-game losing skid. Now, they’re looking to win their third straight game.
After taking yesterday’s game, the Larks came out swinging again today and beat the Waterloo Bucks 9-3 in game one of a day-night double-header.
Nick Boyles started the game on the mound in what would be his final appearance for the Larks. Boyles reached his innings limit that was put in place by his UNC-Asheville program before the Northwoods League season started.
Boyles came out firing and retired the Bucks in order in the first inning.
In the bottom half, the Larks bats gave Boyles an early lead thanks to an RBI double from Ryan Anderson. Connor Perry scored to put the Larks up 1-0.
The Bucks responded in the top half of the second with a run of their own. Jake Viaene singled to center field to score Charlie Concannon as Scooter Bynum nearly made a phenomenal diving catch.
As they often do, the Larks responded right back. With the bases loaded, Perry delivered the big blast with a grand slam to right field to put the Larks up 5-1 in the second inning. It was Perry’s fourth home run as a Lark and the third grand slam for the birds this season.
The Larks added to their lead in the third inning when Luke Waldek drew a bases-loaded walk to push the score to 6-1.
Boyles cruised through the third and fourth innings, but ran into trouble in the fifth. The Bucks pushed a pair of runs across on two hits to make it 6-3. Because of a throwing error, only one run was an earned run charged to Boyles.
Boyles’ day was over after five innings. He allowed six hits, three runs (two earned), just three walks and four strikeouts in his final game as a Lark.
Waldek notched another RBI in the bottom of the fifth with a sacrifice fly to right field to score Bynum, making the score 7-3.
The Larks added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning using just one hit to do so. Newcomer Dylan Dresel was hit by a pitch to score Waldek for his first RBI as a Lark, and Noah Sadler scored on a Newt Johnson 4-6-3 double play.
David Manasek finished off the ninth and locked down the 9-3 victory for the Larks in game one of the double-header.
The Larks bullpen was stellar in relief of Boyles. Jake Carlsen pitched the sixth and seventh innings, and Manasek took the eighth and ninth. Combined, they allowed just two hits and struck out seven Bucks hitters.
The win moves the Larks to 10-9 in the second half while the Bucks drop to 7-12. The Larks will look to take three out of four games from Waterloo in game two of the double-header tonight at 7:05 pm.
Less than 25 tickets are left for tonight’s game, and the Larks will embark on a six-game road trip after the game. Call the ticket office or go to larkstickets.com to get yours now, or you might have to wait a whole week to see the birds in action again.
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The Bismarck Larks are a member of the finest developmental league for 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, 180 former 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 portal. For more information, visit www.bismarcklarks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Larks as your favorite team.
