Knights baseball opens the season 2-2 on the diamond

The West Central Area baseball team went 2-2 in action last week. The Knights dropped a doubleheader to Montevideo Tuesday, April 25 and then beat Ashby in a doubleheader Friday, April 28.

The Knights, now 2-2, hosted BOLD for a West Central Conference doubleheader Monday, May 1 and will now host Benson in a conference doubleheader Friday, May 5, in Barrett.

Montevideo 9

WCA 0

West Central Area was unable to score a run in a 9-0 blanking by Montevideo in game one of a West Central Conference doubleheader Tuesday, April 25, in Montevideo.

Brady Snell and Griffin Epema combined for a no-hitter for the Thunder Hawks.

WCA made contact with the ball, the Montevideo defense just made plays to keep them off the basepaths.

Ty Fuoss, Adam Lohse and Hunter Gruchow were the only runners to reach base on walks or being hit by a pitch in the game.

Montevideo 10

WCA 8

West Central out-hit Montevideo 12-7 in game two, but still dropped the game 10-8 Tuesday evening.

The Knights got on the board first with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Cash Nelson doubled in Brady Lindquist. Nelson came around to score on a single by Fuoss, and Dane Anderson scored on a throwdown to second base.

The lead didn’t last as Montevideo tallied six runs on just two hits in the top of the second to go ahead 6-3. The T-Hawks made it 7-3 with an insurance run in the third.

The Knights used a four-run third to lock the game at 7-7. Fuoss, Ben Bye and Brayden Stark all had RBI hits in the inning. Stark’s grounder scored Bye to tie the game at 7-all.

The game remained tied until the sixth inning when Montevideo scored two to go ahead for good at 9-7. WCA got a run back on an RBI double by Gruchow in the bottom of the frame, but could get no closer as Montevideo added a run in the top of the seventh to win 10-8.

Ty Fuoss was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Stark, Nelson and Bryce Kjesbo all had two hits each for WCA, which hit five doubles in the game.

Jack Courrier was tagged with the loss, giving up four earned runs on one hit in one inning of work. He walked three and struck out one.

West Central 4

Ashby 2

WCA used a two-run third to go ahead for good in a 4-2 game one win over Ashby Friday, April 28, in Ashby.

Ashby got on the board right away with a solo home run by Logan Johnson. The lead was short-lived as WCA drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom half for the Knights’ first run of the game.

WCA added go-ahead runs in the third. Ben Bye recorded an RBI double to right field and later scored on an error.

The Arrows’ Fred Schlotfeld tallied an RBI on a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Kellen Dahlen to trim Ashby’s deficit to one.

The Knights got the run back in the bottom half after Cash Nelson scored on a passed ball for the final 4-2 score.

Dane Anderson, Ben Bye and Cole Bruss recorded hits for WCA while Bryce Kjesbo and Bye notched RBIs.

Bye earned the complete game win on the mound for the Knights. He gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits, walked two and struck out three in five innings.

Johnson, Brodie Ecker, Dahlen and Richard Nelson had hits for Ashby.

Nelson was tagged with the loss after going three innings and giving up three runs (one earned) on two hits. He walked five and struck out four before being relieved by Levi Bogenrief, who struck out three batters in the final inning.

West Central 12

Ashby 8

West Central Area strung together three runs in the first, four in the fourth, one in the sixth and another four in the seventh to clinch a 12-8 win over Ashby in game two Friday.

The Knights opened the game with three runs in the first thanks to two hits and an error.

Levi Bogenrief singled in Ashby’s first run of the game in the bottom of the second and the Arrows trimmed the deficit to 3-2 with an RBI double by Logan Johnson.

The Knights ballooned the lead to 7-2 on five hits in the fourth. Ben Bye, Bryce Kjesbo and Brady Lindquist all recorded RBIs in the inning.

The Arrows continued to chip away at the lead, scoring one in the fourth and three more in the fifth to trail by just one at 7-6.

Ahead 8-6, Dane Anderson opened the seventh-inning scoring with a two-run double. Lindquist and Jacob Strunk also recorded RBIs in the inning.

The Arrows got two back in the bottom half but could get no closer, falling 12-8. Bradee Christianson tallied an RBI single and Logan Johnson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score the final run of the game.

Lindquist was 3-for-5 with four RBIs to lead the Knights at the plate. Bye was 3-for-4 and Dane Anderson was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored.

The Arrows were led by two hits, an RBI and a run scored by Christianson. Bogenrief recorded two RBIs in the loss.

Logan Johnson was tagged with the loss. He gave up an earned run on one hit and struck out one in one inning of work.

Austin Bennett took the win on the bump. He went three innings, gave up five earned runs on four hits, walked six and struck out two.