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15U Otters Go 4-1 at Moorhead Tournament

By Shane Thielke, 07/15/19, 9:30AM CDT

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The Fergus Falls 15U Baseball team was able to stretch their winning streak to12 games over the weekend before falling to Moorhead on Sunday. After three days and 5 games of baseball, Fergus Falls 15U, Moorhead 15U All-stars, and the Fargo 15U All-stars found themselves in a 3 way tie for first place in the 6 team pool play style tournament.   Each team posted a record of 4-1 over the 3 day stretch inducing a laundry list of tie-breakers to determine a champion. After the pencil was sharpened, the Otters dropped into 3rd place as the top three teams traded wins and losses and run differential became the determining factor, with the Fargo 15U All-stars claiming the title.

FF 15U - 3, West Fargo - 0
The 15U Otters came off a busy week of baseball, capping off an undefeated LRBR schedule on Thursday night and jumped into tournament play in Moorhead Friday night in a matchup against West Fargo.  The Otters were able to gain the 3-0 victory behind starting pitcher Carter Thielke (3IP, 0H, 0R, 5K) and relievers Sully Kruger (3IP, 1H, 0R, 1K) and Sam Sorum (1IP, 0H, 0R, 1K) who combined to complete the shutout.   The Otters put up 3 runs on 6 hits, led by Andrew Johnson 2-2 (2 RBI), Thielke 1-2, Cole Zierden 1-3, Krueger 1-3, and Jonah Sorum 1-2. 

FF 15U - 11, Bismarck 3
On Saturday the Otters made quick work of Bismarck, topping them 11-3, behind the strong pitching performances of Ben Tollerson (3IP, 1H, 2R,) and Andrew Johnson (1IP, 0R). Cole Zierden lead the hitting attack going 2-2 with Sully Krueger, Jonah Sorum, Andrew Johnson, and Bailey Culbertson adding 1 hit each.  The Otters took advantage of 6 walks and a handful of Bismark errors, earning the 11-3 win.

FF 15U - 6, Fargo 15U All-stars - 2
The Saturday afternoon game provided the Otters an opportunity to avenge one of their 2 losses on the season when they matched up with the Fargo 15U All-stars.  The Otters went toe-to-toe with the solid lineup from Fargo and found themselves tied at 2 going into the bottom of the 5th inning. The tides started to turn when singles from Thielke and Krueger gave the Otters a one run lead.  The big knock came in the bottom of the 6th when Sam Sorum belted a solo home run over the 300 ft. sign in center field, creating a cushion and boosting the momentum. Dugout energy following the Sorum blast prompted singles by Culbertson and Zierden, then a double by Thielke and the Otters saw the lead grow to 4 runs and an eventual 6-2 victory.  

Two Otter pitchers limited opportunities for a potent Fargo lineup as Thielke started on the mound (4IP, 4H, 2R, 5K, 2BB) and Kaden Conklin provided the relief (3IP, 3H, 0R,1BB). 

Leaders at the plate: Zierden 3-4 (2B), Thielke 2-3 (2B, RBI), Krueger 2-2 (2RBI), Sam Sorum (1-3, HR, RBI), and Culbertson (1-3).

FF15U - 9, DGF -3
The Otters came into the Sunday morning game finding themselves in a classic back and forth battle with the DGF Rebels.  DGF jumped out to an early 3-2 lead before the Otters would finally take a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 4th. The Otters added a run in the 5th and 4 more in the 6th, securing the 9-3 win.  Sam Sorum started on the mound, but was forced to leave the game early with soreness in his arm and Kaden Conklin took over in the 2nd inning. Conklin showed true grit, going the distance, scattering 6 hits and 1 run over the final 6 innings, striking out 6 Rebels in the process.  Otter hitters punched out 10 hits: Zierden 2-4 (3R RBI), Taeren Holdeman 2-4 (3RBI), Thielke 2-3, Johnson 1-3, Conklin 1-2, Adam King 1-2, and Culbertson 1-2 (RBI).

FF15U 2, Moorhead 15U All-stars 6
The Sunday matinee game proved to be a buzz-saw as the Otters took the field for the 8th time in 7 days and the afternoon heat drew signs of fatigue and mistakes that were uncharacteristic of this talented group.  After Moorhead squeaked a run in the bottom of the first, neither team managed another run until the Spuds plated 5 runs in the bottom of the 5th, taking advantage of 4 Otter errors and boosting the lead to 6-0. The Otters bounced back with 2 runs of their own in the top of the 6th when Conklin lead off with a single and a Culbertson walk was followed by a Thielke 2RBI double.  The 2 runs were not enough and the Otters saw a 12 game winning streak come to an end on Moorhead’s home field. Jonah Sorum suffered the loss on the mound, going 4 ⅓ strong innings, allowing only 2 earned runs on 6 hits, striking out 3, and walking 2. Krueger came in to provide 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. At the plate the Otters managed 5 hits compared to 8 for the Spuds. Otter Hitters:  Thielke 1-3 (2RBI), Holdeman 1-3, J. Sorum 1-3, S. Sorum 1-3, and Conklin 1-3.

Coach Dave Sagerhorn commented on the weekend:  “I am so proud of our pitching. We continue to keep opposing teams off balance and we do it with multiple guys. Kaden Conklin really stood out this weekend. He was put into some tough situations and he persevered.” 

Coach Dave Conklin also commented on the Otters, “We really wanted to win this tournament outright.  We lost Zierden to an injury during the DGF game and his presence was missed. We made some mistakes that we don’t normally make and we just didn’t have a lot in the tank. I am proud of the effort and these kids have a lot to be proud of!”

The 15U Otters improved to 20-3 on the season and will face their toughest competition of the season in the 15U All-star State Tournament in Albany on July 19-20.