The Becker Bulldog boys baseball team went 3-2 in five games this week. Becker 5, Little Falls 1. Becker traveled to Little Falls Thursday to play the Flyers in the second game in three days with a lot better result. 

Kendal Hanson pitched an outstanding game, going the distance, giving up five hits,  three walks, six strikeouts and one run.  

 

The Bulldogs’ defense was perfect, making all the plays and no errors.  

 

Becker scored four runs in the second inning when Matt Yoerg led off by reaching base on an error. Zach Halvorson worked the pitcher for a walk. Clayton Gallus got a hit to score Yoerg and  moved Halvorson to third. Gallus stole second base and Andrew Stanger delivered a hit, scoring both Halvorson and Gallus. Cody Gruenhagen followed with a walk and a hit by Casey Vesledahl scored Stanger.

 

The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the fifth inning on a Gruenhagen solo home run to right field to make it 5-0.

 

Little Falls managed to plate a lone run in the sixth inning, but that was all she wrote.

 

“This was a big win for the Bulldogs as we have not beaten Little Falls in a every long time,” said Head Coach Chuck Stanger. “And in the polls they where rated second in the state and this win ties us for the conference title.”

 

Little falls came to Becker Tuesday and left town with a three-run win.  

 

Vesledahl started on the mound and went five innings. John Mann came on in the sixth  and allowed one run.  

 

“Both pitchers threw very good, we just had a few mistakes in the field allowing Little Falls to score four runs in the fourth inning,” said Coach Stanger.  

 

Both teams managed just five hits.  

 

 

Saturday, the Bulldogs traveled to Alexandria for two games. 

 

The first game was against Moorhead and was a very good game to watch as both teams had good pitching an outstanding defense.  

 

Moorhead scored one run in the fourth and two in the fifth to go up 3-0.  

 

A walk to Gallus, a walk to Stanger and a hit by Vesledahl scored Gallus for Becker’s first run.  The Bulldogs scored a lone run in the fifth, but that was all they could muster. 

 

In the second game of the weekend, the Bulldogs came back from a three-run deficit, scoring  nine runs in the top of the seventh inning to beat Alexandria by four.  

 

Gruenhagen was Becker’s starting pitcher and he went five innings, giving way to Zack Fisher, who threw the last two innings to win his first varsity game.  

 

Becker scored first in the top of the third on a double by Gruenhagen and a hit by Vesledahl.  

 

Alexandria tied it in bottom of the inning.  

 

In the fourth, Becker went ahead by two but Alexandria cut the lead to one with a lone run in the fourth. They finally took the lead in the fifth when they scored four runs to go up 6-3.  

 

Stanger led of the seventh with a walk and Gruenhagen followed with a single.  Vesledahl walked to load the bases which brought  Rasmussen to the plate. He hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Stanger.  With two outs and runners on first and third, Yoerg delivered a hit scoring Gruenhagen.  Mann followed with a hit of his own to score Rasmussen.  

 

With Yoerg at second and Mann on first, Connor Rolf drew a walk to load the bases.  Gallus, the Bulldog’s lead-off hitter drove a pitch up the middle scoring Yoerg and Mann and moving Rolf to third. Stanger followed with another hit, scoring Rolf and moving Gallus to third. Stanger stole second and both runners scored on a hit to right field by Gruenhagen.

 

Alexandria tried for their own comeback in the bottom of the inning, but only managed two runs to fall to the Bulldogs. 

 

Becker played Monticello last Friday and came away with a nice six-run win.  

 

Stanger started and went the distance, giving up just  three hits,  walking six while the defense committed four errors.

 

Becker did, however, overcome the miscues and walks by belting out 13 hits.  

 

The Bulldogs scored two runs in the first and broke the game open in a five-run fourth inning.  Mann and Rolf walked and Stanger belted a home run over the left field fence to go up 5-0. Gruenhagen followed with a triple and scored on a double by Vesledahl, who also scored on a hit by Rasmussen to go up 7-0. 

 

Becker scored two more in the fifth and two more insurance runs in the seventh.  

 

Gruenhagen had quite a day, going 3-for-4 with a triple and two doubles. Stanger was 2-for-4 with the home run and Vesledahl was 2-for-3 and a double. Rolf was also 2-for-3.

 

The boys played Friday at Cambridge-Isanti (full report on game in next week’s Citizen-Tribune), then host Zimmerman Tuesday before hitting the road Thursday at Foley and Friday at Big Lake.