Offensively, the Otters managed six hits with Kellen Stenstrom, Ben Swanson, Ethan Gronwold, Leighton Buckmeier, Riston Albert, and Griffin Babolian each getting hits.  Fergus Falls stranded two runners in the first and left the bases loaded in the third as they just couldn’t get the big hit with men in scoring position.  The lone Otter run came in the fifth when Stenstrom was hit by a pitch and eventually came around to score after a Swanson singles and a fielder’s choice.

“Defensively, we handled situational defense well and Stenstrom and Fronning turned a nice 4-6-3 double play,” noted Thielke.  “Taking free outs is crucial and it hurt when we made a costly throwing error on a bunt that led to a big second inning.  We continue to see good things at certain times, but we just need to be consistent.  Our mentality is to keep building and gain the confidence both offensively and defensively to be competitive and avoid the big inning.  Every opportunity to play baseball is an opportunity to get better.  We know we have a lot more opportunities coming!”

The Fergus Falls JV team improved to 2-0, beating the Cardinals 10-4.  Keys to victory were solid hitting and a quality start on the mound from Levi King.  King went 5 innings, yielded 2 runs on 4 hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out 2.  Leaders at the plate in a 10-hit attack were Logan Larson and Andrew Klinnert with two hits apiece.  The Otters also showed patience at the plate, drawing 14 walks.