After suffering their first loss of the season a week ago Monday, Bulldog baseball Head Coach Brett Knudsen put his team through three straight days of hitting drills in practice.  The extra work apparently paid off last Friday as the Bulldogs ambushed Cambridge-Isanti for eight runs in the first inning en route to a 17-0 win.

“As a coach, it’s encouraging to see that what you do in practice pays off on the field,” Knudsen said after the game.  “It’s fun to look at the box score after the game and see nine different players with hits.”

For the game, Becker hit 15-for-29, or a .517 team batting average.

Ethan Obermoller finished 3-for-4, while McCalla, Graning, Daluge and Isaac Guck each had two hits.

Hanle, the freshman, was again in control on the mound, yielding just two hits and striking out 10 Bluejacket batters.

With the win, Becker improved to 10-1 on the season and moved up a spot to #4 in the Class AAA rankings from the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association.

2-2 in last 4

Last Wednesday, Becker defeated North Branch in a dramatic come-from-behind 10-9 win, scoring five runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Mason Nevala provided the final fireworks with his bases clearing double to score three runs and seal the win.

McCalla had four RBI in the game, while Sawyer Anderson picked up the win by going four innings in relief of starter Groskreutz.  Anderson struck out five and yielded five runs, just two that were earned.

The Bulldogs then played Monticello last Thursday and fell 11-1 in a game shortened to five innings due to the run rule. 

This week, Becker started things off right with the team’s most complete win of the season, a 4-3 home win in extra innings over a #7 state-ranked Princeton team.

Kellan Daluge finished 3-for-5 in the game, while Graning and Hanle also had three hits. 

Tuesday, the Bulldogs were victimized by five errors as they lost to St. Francis, 14-6 on youth night.  Becker had 11 hits in the game, but couldn’t overcome the porous defense.

With the loss, Becker sits at 12-3 on the season and had games Thursday at home against Milaca and on the road Friday in Princeton with a M8 title still in the picture.  With two conference games left, wins in those two games would guarantee a conference title for the Bulldogs.