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Chisago Lakes 5, Rum River 1

Reece Berner’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning doubled the Bulldogs’ lead to 4-0 over the Rum River Bandits, and the Bulldogs went on to beat the Bandits 5-1 Sunday, July 8 at Pat Collins Field.  Noah Couwenhoven started and allowed just one hit in seven innings of work.  He didn’t walk anyone and struck out four.  Dylan Magnuson pitched a scoreless eighth, and Tyler Stilp allowed one unearned run in the ninth.

In the bottom of the first, Adam Brown doubled to right with two outs.  Alex Wilkey walked.  Nate Zingerman singled up the middle to drive in Brown.  The throw home skipped past the catcher and moved Wilkey to third and Zingerman to second.  Collin Hackl singled to left center, and the Bulldogs led 2-0.  Couwenhoven hit a batter with two outs in the first inning and did not allow a hit until Cody Randall singled up the middle to lead off the seventh inning.

Dusty Rhodes was hit by a pitch with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.  Hunter Lindstrom hit a slow roller down the third base line.  He beat the throw to first, and as the throw bounced away from the first baseman, both runners moved up.  Berner stepped up to the plate and hit a hard grounder to the right of second base.  The second baseman dove for the ball, but came up short, and both runners scored as the ball rolled into right center field.  The Bulldogs led 4-0.

Pinch hitter Jeremy Knutson singled to left to lead off the bottom of the eighth.  Adam Brown lined a double to the wall in left field.  Knutson tried to score from first but was thrown out at the plate.  Brown moved up to third on the throw and scored on Alex Wilkey’s groundout to second.  In the top of the ninth, the Bandits scored without the benefit of a hit on a walk, an error, and a wild pitch.  But with a runner on second and one out, Stilp struck out the next batter.  The final batter flew out to left to finish off the 5-1 win for the Bulldogs.

Ramsey 3, Chisago Lakes 1

The Ramsey Renegades scored two runs in the top of the first inning and went on to beat the Bulldogs 3-1 Monday, July 10 at Enloe Park in Anoka.  The game was a home game for the Bulldogs and was moved to Anoka due to a light situation at Pat Collins Field.

With one on the top of the first, Karr Fager reached on an error.  One out later, Max Loven doubled to left putting runners on second and third.  Dakota Freiborg hit a hard grounder to second.  It took a bad hop and skipped by second baseman Reed Marquardt, driving in two runs.  Bulldog starter Bailey Kasprowicz struck out the next batter to end the inning.  The Renegades added another run in the third on a single, a double and a groundout.

The Bulldogs had just two baserunners through the first five innings, partly due to three diving catches in the outfield for Ramsey.  The Bulldogs finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth.  Noah Couwenhoven led off with a Texas-league single to left-center.  One out later, Tyler Stilp grounded to first, moving Couwenhoven to second.  Adam Brown grounded a ball between the third baseman and third base, driving in Couwenhoven to make the score 3-1.  Alex Wilkey grounded to first to end the Bulldog rally.  In the eighth, Couwenhoven and Marquardt walked with one out.  Stilp grounded to first for the second out, and Brown struck out to end the inning.  Pinch hitter Collin Hackl walked with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning.  One out later, Aaron Keeney hit a fly ball to short left center that looked like it was going to drop in.  But Renegade center fielder Zach Loven raced in and made another diving catch, ending the game.

Kasprowicz went six innings for the Bulldogs and took the loss.  He allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits, walked one and struck out nine.  Marquardt pitched three innings of scoreless relief.  He didn’t allow any hits, walked two and struck out three.  Max Loven threw a complete game for the Renegades.  He allowed one earned run on five hits, walked two and stuck out 10.

Bulldog Banter

The Bulldogs (9-4 league, 9-8 overall) will play five games over the next week as they move toward the Region 1C playoffs.  They will head north this Saturday to play the Twin Ports Timbers in a non-league doubleheader starting at noon at historic Wade Stadium in Duluth.  The Bulldogs will then play three  away games.  On Sunday, July 16 they will play the Mora Blue Devils at 6 p.m. at Mora.  On Monday, July 17, they will take on the St. Francis Silverbacks at 7:30 p.m. at Oakey Park in Osceola.  And on Wednesday, July 19 they will head to Redbirds Field in Isanti for a 7:30 p.m. rematch with the Isanti Redbirds.

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