The Otters started strong when Colin Becker belted a 3 run home run in the top of the first and it looked like the offense of the Otters was firing on all cylinders, pushing 8 runs across in the first 3 innings.  After that it was a battle to see who would be the last team standing and as both teams exchanged big hits combined with costly errors.  It was the home team who held the advantage in the end when an 8th inning, 2 out rally sent the Otters home with a sour taste in their mouths.  Holding a 13-11 lead Otter pitcher, Cartson Fronning got 2 outs on 2 pitches, but a walk, an error, then a deep 2 RBI triple to the gap tied the game and put the winning run on third base.  The winning run came an across when a fly ball to right field was dropped, scoring the winning run and Park Rapids earned the walk off win.

The Otters pounded out 16 hits, but 8 walks and 6 errors proved to be the difference in the game.

“We just didn’t allow ourselves to finish tonight,” lamented Head Coach Shane Thielke of the Otters.  “We kept putting ourselves in a good position to win the game and we couldn’t get the big outs when we needed to.  That can happen from time to time, but tonight we left too many plays on the field and at the varsity level you can’t make that many mistakes and expect to win.  We continue to get better at the plate and I like where our offense is going.  Bo Bring (3-4, 2 2B, 2RBI, 2R) had a 3 hit night, it was great to see him get going and Logan Larson (3-5, SB, R), Griffin Babolian (2-4, 2B, SB, 2RBI, R), Colin Becker (2-5, HR, 4RBI, 2R) and Brandon Brown (2-2) also had 2 hit nights.  You feel like if you score 13 runs, it should be good enough to win, but tonight we let an important section game get away.” 

Logan Larson (3IP, 6H, 5R, 3ER, 2BB, 3K) started on the mound for Fergus Falls.  Riston Albert (2IP, 2H, 2R, 0ER, 3BB, 3K) and Ethan Gronwold (1IP, 0H, 2R, 0ER, 1BB, 0K) provided solid middle inning relief.

Thielke concluded with, “Our pitchers battled on the mound and we definitely had chances to win, we know we need to firm up our defense if we want to get past the first round in our section tournament.  I trust our guys and I know we will bounce back and build from here.  I love the level of compete and the culture in our dugout was awesome again tonight, when we put all of it together, we will be tough to beat.”