By Brenda Erdahl
Sports Editor
The Irish baseball team lost a high scoring contest to Kimball then came up short twice in a doubleheader with Eden Valley-Watkins last week.
Kimball 15, Maple Lake 12
With two outs in the top of the first inning, Tuesday, April 23 at Kimball, Nathan Zander got the Irish bats going when he singled on a ground ball to take a base. A Danny Reilley double on a line drive to left field brought Zander home and put the first run on the board. Nick Jost then doubled on a fly ball to bring in Reilley and take a 2-0 lead over the Cubs.
The lead didn’t last long, however. By the end of the first inning, the score was tied 2-2. It was a back-and-forth battle after that. Maple Lake’s big inning came in the fifth when they put up eight runs led off by a Gabe Jurgens single on a fly ball to center field that scored Reilley. Nick Jost, Jackson Clapp, Jurgens, Zander and Reilley all had hits in that inning.
The Irish were up by one run going into the sixth inning (12-11). Maple Lake didn’t score that inning, but Kimball put up four runs and that made all the difference. A scoreless seventh inning left the Irish just short of a win.
Reilley pitched five innings, gave up 15 hits, 10 runs and struck out seven. Jost pitched one inning, gave up four hits, four runs and struck out two.
Eden Valley-Watkins 6, Maple Lake 3
The Eagles struck first with a run in the top of the second inning on Thursday, April 25 at Irish Stadium in the first game of a doubleheader.