Scoreboard: Friday, April 20

Baseball

Staples-Motley is focused and the scoreboard shows it.

The Cardinals swept Wadena-Deer Creek 6-5 and 11-4 Thursday afternoon to move to 5-2 on the year.

Cody Drone, playing on the team for the first time since eighth grade, drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 1 with a swinging and runners in scoring position.

Jordan Jenkins tied the score with a two-out RBI double in the sixth inning after the Cardinals blew a three-run lead.

The catcher also hit a two-run double in the first inning.

Jacob Vetsch came in to relieve starter Blake Petrich to collect the win.

Matt Laughlin got hooked with the loss. Christian Berg went 2-for-2 for WDC.

In Game 2, the Cardinals took advantage of a sloppy Wolverines defense and got 2 RBI performances from Jalen Busker, Kyle Jansson and Jordan Wick.

Vetsch pitched well enough to grab his fourth win of the season. The Wolverines dropped to 1-3.

Ottertail Central batted around and plated eight runs in the fifth inning to top Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale 9-4 Thursday afternoon.

Seven different Bulldogs scored runs on just five hits, as the Raiders pitchers issued nine free passes.

“Once again, we played great early and then one bad inning took us out of contention,” said BHV coach Steve Riewer, whose team is 1-3 this season. “It was the walks that killed us again in the fifth inning. If we can put together a complete game and avoid the one bad inning, I still feel we can compete with most teams.”

Zach Torgeson picked up the victory for OTC (3-1), tossing a complete game. Preston Riewer took the loss in allowing eight runs in relief of starter Dallas Ehrmantraut.

In other games:

Pillager 7 Sebeka 1
at Sebeka	FINAL
Parkers Prairie 2 New York Mills 9
at New York Mills	FINAL
West Central Area 6 Eagle Valley 24
at Clarissa	FINAL

Softball

Sebeka scored another win behind the strength on the Brockpahlers.

Brett tossed seven effective innings and Katianne went 3-for-4 with three runs as the Lady Trojans upped their record to 5-1 by edging Pillager 6-4 Thursday.

Lacey Hiltner hit an RBI triple in defeat for the 0-6 Huskies.

In other games:

Bertha-Hewitt 0 Ottertail Central 5
at Battle Lake	FINAL
Menahga 12 Verndale 1
at Verndale	FINAL

Boys Tennis

Wadena-Deer Creek fell to Park Rapids 4-3 Thursday in boys tennis. 
The Wolverines picked up wins at No. 2 and 3 singles and No. 1 doubles, but couldn’t garner a team victory against Park Rapids.

At No. 1 singles, Austin Korkowski took the first set 6-3, then dropped the next two, 5-7, 2-6.

Mike Paavola and Drew Larson won in straight sets at No. 2 and No.3, respectively.

Shane Perry and Matt Green downed Nick Lopez and Josh Johnson of PR 7-5, 6-4 at No. 1 doubles.

Eliah Anderson lost in straight sets at No. 4 singles. And Edwin Kim and Mike Small and Nick Torkkola and Nathan Daigneault lost in the other doubles matchups.

Baseball Scoreboard: April 18

Backed behind strong pitching and timely hitting, the Staples-Motley Cardinals flew past Pequot Lakes twice, 8-3 in the first game and 4-0 in the second tilt Tuesday afternoon.

In Game 1, Jalen Busker pitched a complete game, allowing three runs while striking out five and contributed a two run-scoring single for Staples-Motley (3-2).

Blake Petrich went 2-for-3 with a run, RBI and two stolen bases and Austin Redemske scored twice in a 2-for-4 effort that included a double.

Aspen Florey took the loss for the Patriots, the team’s first of the season. 

In the nightcap, Jacob Vetsch hurled a one-hitter to go with seven Ks to pick up the win. Jordan Wick went 3-for-3 with two extra-base hits and two runs to lead a nine hit Cardinal attack.

Coach John Riewer was impressed with his team’s performance, especially the error-free defense.

In other games: 

Three Ottertail Central pitchers combined for the win in a sloppy affair Tuesday afternoon. The Bulldogs hurlers issued 11 walks, allowed nine hits and hit two batters, but got enough of a lift from the offense to even the team’s record on the young season at 2-2.

Tied at 7-7, OTC scored two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth to walk away with the win. As a team, Ottertail Central collected 12 hits and walked nine times.

Parkers Prairie dropped to 0-2 in 2012.

New York Mills cruised to an 11-1, six-inning victory Tuesday, thanks to erratic pitching by the Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale Raiders.

The game remained close until the fifth inning, when the wheels broke from the axles and down went the Raiders wagon. NYM scored four runs and tagged BHV for five more in the sixth, helped by 12 total free passes, to claim its third victory in as many tries this spring. 

“We were able to hang with NYM as long as we pitched well and played defense,” BHV coach Steve Riewer said. “Both of these areas kind of let us down in the fifth and sixth innings as we started to walk too many batters and committed a couple costly errors. Twelve walks and three errors won’t get it done against a quality team like New York Mills.”

Adam Snelgrove backed up a nine-strikeout effort with three hits and two RBI to grab the win.

Dallas Ehrmantraut went 1-for-3 and scored the lone run for the 1-2 Raiders.

Sauk Centre Star is Talented, Grounded

Greatness oftentimes goes hand-in-hand with overcoming adversity. When excellence is achieved with a great appreciation and genuine humility, it’s something truly special.

Kali Peschel graduates this spring as the Sauk Centre Mainstreeters’ career leader in points, assists and steals. She achieved those laurels despite missing the better part of her senior season while recovering from knee surgery.

Peschel may be remembered most by those outside the program for her records, including surpassing the 2,000 point mark during the state tournament, but her impact to the team was much greater. She was a model teammate, student and friend who just happened to posses Division I basketball ability.

“You put others before yourself,” Peschel said. “You want success not just as an individual but with a group of people.”

The team came close to achieving the ultimate success, falling 46-40 to Providence Academy in the Class 2A state final last month.

All things considered, Peschel thought being able to play after tearing her ACL last summer and finishing runner-up to the top-ranked Lions was a perfect ending to an illustrious high school career.

“I have all great memories playing here at Sauk and couldn’t have asked for a better way to end it,” said Peschel, who was named to the Minnesota State High School’s Class 2A All-Tournament Team. “I mean, being second in state out of the 140 2A schools is amazing.”

The soon to be Iowa Hawkeye gives credence to her coach Scott Bergman for instilling in her valuable life lessons at every opportunity and for overseeing a state-bound basketball team two years running.

“’If you do the little things right, what you deserve you’ll get, which is an appearance at the state tournament,’ is one piece of advice coach gave,” Peschel said.

Putting others before the self is another.

Bergman also helped put her late June 2011 injury in perspective while she worked back into first using her knee for everyday purposes and then playing condition.

Early projections had her missing six to nine months. She split the difference, returning to the court for the first time on Valentine’s Day. 

“It was the greatest feeling in the world going back out on the court with the Sauk Centre girl’s basketball uniform on playing with my teammates,” Peschel said.

Initially, her excitement level to be back playing dwarfed her explosiveness. Getting her body to respond at full speed was a process, one that only now is nearing where it was before the injury.

“Getting into shape was probably the hardest part,” said Peschel, who still rehabilitates the knee three times per week.

When it came down to choosing where she wanted to bring her talents, Peschel said almost immediately she settled on Iowa after paying the campus a visit a couple years back. Open to other options, she is thinking about majoring in communications or psychology.

One more accomplishment awaits Peschel before she departs from Sauk Centre for good, remembered by the banners affixed with her good name aloft the high school gymnasium floor. She will graduate May 25. 

Beyond that lies the opportunity to fulfill a long-held dream of playing Big Ten basketball.

Softball Scoreboard: April 18

After wiping the wet field with Ottertail Central in a season-opener 15-1 victory Friday, the Staples-Motley Cardinals’ bats fell silent Tuesday. The Pequot Lakes pitchers were brilliant throughout, scoring a sweep of S-M, 12-0 and 3-2 Tuesday.

Katie White allowed just one Cardinal to reach in Game 1, a one-out single off the bat of Megan Vetsch in the bottom of the fifth inning. The sophomore went the distance, striking out three.

She also helped her cause, going 4-for-4 from the plate with a double and two RBI.

Vetsch pitched well in four of six innings, but the third and sixth were rough.

Pequot Lakes batted 11 in the third, scoring seven times. After collecting a run in the fifth inning on a two-out hit by Jamie Sewall, who had three hits and four RBI in the game, PL added four more runs in its next at-bats.

In Game 2, Lindzee Johnson kept the Cardinals at bay and designated player Mandy Carlson made her first hit of the day count.

Tied 2-2 in the top of the seventh, Carlson lined a single into right field to score Sewall from second. The Cardinals, who had battled back from down 2-0 with single runs in the fifth and sixth, had no answer in the bottom of the frame to drop to 1-2 on the year.

Johnson allowed just four hits and two runs, while striking out none to pick up the victory.

Vetsch pitched a complete game in defeat, giving up seven hits and three runs, two earned.

The Patriots are now 5-0 on the season and have outscored opponents 51-6.

In other games:

Jessica Lillquist plated two Lady Trojans during a 3-for-4 effort and Brett Brockpahler struck out nine to earn the win as Sebeka doubled up Verndale 8-4.

Sydney Weniger went 3-for-3 for the Pirates in a losing effort.

Michaela Lemkuhl blasted the Wolverines past Perham 10-5 in the first game of a double-header. The Yellowjackets responded in the nightcap, earning a series split with an 11-4 win.

Lemkuhl belted two home runs and drove in seven runs during a 4-for-4 performance in Game 1, providing all the offense Caitlyn Volkmann needed to pick up the “W.”

In Game 2, four errors and 10 free passes spelled the end to WDC’s modest two game winning streak. Katelyn Peters collected three hits and scored two runs and Avery Jackson went 2-for-4 with an RBI. 

Behlianno's Athlete of the Week: April 4

KSKK/KVKK’s Behlianno’s Athlete of the Week is Caitlin Volkmann of the Wadena-Deer Creek softball team.

Volkmann pitched a complete game (five innings), allowing three runs (two earned), while striking out five as Wadena-Deer Creek thumped Bertha-Hewitt 21-3 in its season opener last week. She also scored three runs and drove in three more.

The junior plays shortstop, too, but coach Craig Klawitter will be relying heavily upon her to take the hill after Amanda Perkins graduated last spring.

Last Tuesday’s win was a good start.

“I’m expecting to get a lot more pitching in,” Volkmann said. “So I need to step up and help win more games there.”

An expanded workload at the game’s most scrutinized position doesn’t faze Volkmann, who says she is prepared for whatever Klawitter asks of her.  

Offensively, she set a team record for sacrifices last year and hopes eclipse her own mark this season.

Including Volkmann, WDC returns seven players from its 2011 squad that finished 12-9.

This year: so far, so good.

“I still think we have some things to work on, but I think we should have a good year,” Volkmann said.