The Mandan Flickertails are the hottest team in the Northwoods League at the moment, and are now riding a six-game win streak after sweeping the Bismarck Bull Moose in a doubleheader on Saturday to move them to a 7-3 record on the season. The two losses dropped the Bull Moose to 2-7 on the season.
Game One: Flickertails 9, Bull Moose 6
In the first game, the Flickertails drew 12 walks, with Jack Krause (Bowling Green), Jeffrey Elkins (Northwestern State) and Adam Dapkewicz (Georgetown) each drawing three. Sterling Hayes (Creighton) went 1-2 at the plate with two RBI while Collin Hopkins (Indiana) was 1-5 with a pair of RBI. Clark Candiotti (Saint Mary’s College) got the start on the mound, and picked up his first win of the season after throwing five innings, allowing one run on three hits and recording five strikeouts.
The Bull Moose were able to make things close at the end, as they scored one run in the seventh, two in the eighth and two in the ninth to cut the Flickertails lead to three. Liam Critchett (Loyola Marymount) was a big part of the offense, going 3-5 at the plate with a home run and two RBI. He was the only Bull Moose hitter to record multiple hits.
Game Two: Flickertails 11, Bull Moose 8
The second game of the day saw both teams explode with offense in the fourth inning, as the Bull Moose scored four in the top of the inning while the Flickertails responded with seven runs in the bottom of the inning. Damone Hale (Yavapai Community College) led the Mandan offense, going 3-6 at the plate with a triple, two runs scored and three RBI. Ben Rushing (Central Florida) went 1-5, but the one hit was a three-run home run in the fourth inning that blew the game open.
The Bismarck offense was led by Ben Teel (University of Montevallo), who went 3-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Lorenzo Debrecht (Toledo) also went 3-5 with a pair of RBI while Noah Hemphill (Missouri Baptist) went 2-3, with a double and two RBI for the Bull Moose.
The Bull Moose will look to rebound on Sunday afternoon, when they take on the Bismarck Larks in a Sunday matinee. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. at Bismarck Municipal Ballpark.
