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Otter 7th Graders Win Jake Laber Invitational

By Shane Thielke, 04/25/21, 11:30AM CDT

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Fergus Falls Otters 7th Grade opens the season in dramatic walk-off fashion by winning the Jake Laber Invitational Tournament in North Fargo.

The Otters went 3-0 in the tournament and showed promise in their first action of the season. The cold and wet weather of the spring hasn’t allowed very many opportunities for teams to get outside and play, or even practice, but the 7th graders demonstrated that skill work indoors can be transferred to the diamond as they consistently made plays in the field, threw strikes, and had quality at-bats which led to run scoring opportunities.

Fergus Falls opened up with a 4-2 victory over DGF on Friday night. The scoring started with 3 runs in the top of the first when Jacob Fronning reached on an error, followed by singles by Parker Thielke, Micah Johnson, and Hunter Powers. That would be all that Jackson Conklin would need as he was strong on the mound going 4 solid innings. Micah Johnson earned the save striking out the side and shutting down the Rebels in the home half of the 5th to secure the win. The Otters managed 5 hits (Thielke 2-2, M. Johnson 1-2, Powers 1-2, Joey Metcalf 1-1).   Pitching stats showed Conklin 4IP, 1H, 2R,0ER, 5K, 1BB and M, Johnson 1IP, 0R, 3K.

The night cap on Friday night was a similar story as the 7th Grade Otters took down Valley City 6-2 thanks to a combined strong pitching performance of Ethan Swedberg and Hunter Powers as they denied VC of any hits in the contest on the combined NO-HITTER!

The time limit and weather shortened game lasted only 4 innings but the Otters jumped out with 5 runs in the home half of the first thanks to a VC error, 3 walks and RBI singles from Conklin and Johnson the Otters had the early 5-1 advantage and would eventually cruise to a 6-2 victory.

The Otters only managed 3 hits, led by M. Johnson 2-2, J. Conklin 1-1, but took advantage of 3 VC errors and 4 walks to earn the victory. Pitching: Swedberg (3IP, 0H, 2R, 1ER, 4K, 4BB) Powers (1IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 2K, 0BB).

With the 2-0 start on Friday the Otters earned the opportunity to play in the Championship game against the host Fargo North Spartans who also were 2-0 coming into the Saturday tilt. The game was as expected with 3 lead changes, but ultimately the Otters prevailed in extra innings in dramatic walk-off fashion.

As they had all weekend, the Otters jumped out in the home half of the first inning with 3 runs as Fronning led off with a walk and scored on an RBI single by Thielke. A single by Johnson set the table for Holden Stenstrom and he came through with a clutch 2 out single and a 3-0 early Otter advantage.

Micah Johnson got the start on the mound and held the Spartans to one run over the first 2 innings, but a couple of uncharacteristic defensive miscues in the third inning allowed the Spartans to get momentum and tie the game at 4.

At the end of 5 innings, the score remained tied and extra innings were necessary to determine a champion. After a scoreless 6th, the California tie-breaker rule went into effect and the Spartans were able to manage a run and take their first lead of the day 5-4. The bottom half of the 7th proved to be the difference as Cam Wiederich started on 2nd base and perfectly placed bunt by Jacob Fronning advanced Wiederich to 3rd and he scored on a throwing error, tying the game at 5-5. WIth Fronning on second and one out, Thielke got his 3rd hit of the game when wrapped a single, scoring Fronning and walking-off the Spartans for the victory.

The Otters managed 8 hits, (Fronning 2-3, Thielke 3-4, Johnson 1-3, Powers 1-2, Stenstrom 1-3) Pitching: Johnson (3IP, 2 H, 4R, 1ER, 5K, 3BB) Wiederich (1IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1K, 1BB) Powers (2IP, 0R, 0ER, 3K, 1BB) Isaiah Holmes (1IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0K, 0BB).

Head Coach Dave Saggerhorn commented that he was especially proud of his team’s performance as they have only had one outdoor practice this spring. “These kids show up with a positive attitude and work hard and that hard work was rewarded this weekend.”

The Otters get back to the diamond this week with a double header in Perham on Tuesday.