The Bismarck Larks have been the leaders in the North Dakota Pod since the start of the season, and on Friday they solidified it, beating the Mandan Flickertails 5-0 to win the 2020 North Dakota Pod championship. The Larks lost the first game of the championship series, but managed to win the final two games to claim the trophy. In the Michigan pod, the Kalamazoo Mac Daddies are heading to the pod championship, where they will face the Traverse City Pit Spitters on Saturday afternoon.
Michigan Pod
Kalamazoo Mac Daddies 4 Kalamazoo Growlers 2
The Mac Daddies scored three runs in the top of the fourth, then held off a ninth-inning rally to beat the Growlers and advance to the Michigan Pod championship against the Traverse City Pit Spitters. Five different Mac Daddies recorded hits, with Shawn Goosenberg (Northwestern), Blake Bean (Kalamazoo College) and Chase Coselman (Kalamazoo College) all recording RBI. Travis Snyder (St. Clair College) threw six strong relief innings, allowing one run on four hits with four strikeouts to pick up the win. He came on to relieve Dane Armbrustmacher (Western Michigan), who threw three innings, allowing a run on three hits with five strikeouts.
North Dakota Pod
Bismarck Larks 5 Mandan Flickertails 0
The Larks led from the start, and cruised to a 5-0 win to claim the 2020 North Dakota Pod championship, taking the series against the Flickertails 2-1. Enrique Morales (Irvine Valley College) was 2-4 for the Larks, with two runs scored and an RBI. He was one of three Larks to have multiple hits, along with Jayce Bailey (Boise State) and Nick Kemper (Barton CC), with Kemper delivering a double. Tommy Wellen (Bismarck State College) threw six shutout innings for the Larks, allowing a pair of hits and recording three strikeouts. It took the Flickertails until the sixth inning to record their first hit of the game. He gave way to Carter Rost (Bismarck State College), who threw three scoreless innings to close out the game.
Saturday, September 5 schedule
Kalamazoo Mac Daddies at Traverse City Pit Spitters 4:05 p.m. ET