The Bismarck Larks held off a ninth-inning rally to open their 2020 season with a 6-5 win over the Mandan Flickertails. Mandan were able to load the bases with two outs in the ninth, but Blake Gallagher (Minot State) was able to get Cole Elvis (University of California-Berkley) to fly out to right field to end the game.

Brant Schaffitzel (Drury University) and Myles Harris (Boise State) led the Larks, as they both went 2-4 with an RBI and one run scored. Mandan’s Jack Krause (Bowling Green) had a breakout game, going 3-3 with a double and three RBI. He also reached base once on a walk before being hit by a pitch in the top of the ninth. Andrew Brooks (University of Mary) picked up the win for Bismarck, throwing one and two-third innings, giving up no runs and no hits while recording five strikeouts. Tristan Vrieling (Gonzaga) picked up the loss, while Gallagher recorded a pair of strikeouts in the ninth to pick up the save.

The Larks and Flickertails will be back on the diamond on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.