“We fell behind early and couldn’t quite dig out of it,” commented Fergus Falls Head Coach Shane Thielke.  “We closed the gap to 4-3 in the top of the 4th but then turned around and gave them 2 runs right back with a hit batsman and an error at third base.  Overall, we just gave them too many free bases on a combination of walks and fielding mistakes.  Three walks and a misjudged fly ball in right field led to a 4 run 5th and that was just too much. I was proud how our guys battled back and we had the tying run at the plate with one out in the 7th but our late inning rally fell short.  St. Cloud has been dominating most of the conference schedule and it was good to see that we didn’t back down.” 

Ethan Gronwold (4IP, 3H, 6R, 2ER, 2BB, 2K) gave the Otters a quality start and showed that he can pitch deep into ball games.  Griffin Babolian (2-2, SB, 2RBI, R, BB) had a solid night at the plate.  Bo Bring (1-4, 2RBI, R), Ben Swanson (1-4, RBI) and Colin Becker (1-4, RBI, R) were the other offensive leaders for the Otters.

“We actually tallied more hits and fewer errors than St. Cloud, but a few walks and the timing of our miscues cost us in the end,” added Coach Thielke.  “The best part about the spring schedule is we get a chance to bounce back against section opponent Hawley tomorrow night at home.  I expect that to be a very competitive baseball game.”

The Fergus Falls junior varsity recorded a 6-3 win over St. Cloud and the freshmen Otters took a pair, winning 14-1 and 12-1.