Dustin Duenow (6IP, 3H, 5R, 1ER, 4BB, 4K) was the winning pitcher and Shane Wahlund pitched the seventh inning, striking out the side.

Leading hitters for Fergus Falls were Jayden Ollila (2-4, HR, 3RBI), Brock Kotschevar (3-4) and Abel Aho (2-4, 2R).

Fergus Falls jumped on TRF for eight runs in the bottom of the first inning.  They loaded the bases with two outs and one run in already, when an error made it 2-0 and the flood gates opened.  Five consecutive hits with two outs increased the lead to 8-0 after one inning.

Thief River Falls clawed their way back into the game with a run in the second, another in the fourth and three in the sixth, cutting the lead to 8-5.

Fergus Falls answered back with four runs in the bottom of the sixth, capped off by a three-run home run by Ollila.

“This was a great weekend of ball,” said Coach Trevor Larson.  “We became better teammates and learned a lot about ourselves and what we are capable of.  There were many learning experiences along the way.  It was extremely satisfying as a coach to see the guys pick each other up when someone didn’t get the job done.  Nobody hung their head, instead they went back to work and their work paid off with a third place trophy in a very good tournament.”

Fergus Falls returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to Perham for one 9-inning game starting at 6:00pm.