Pierre, South Dakota – The Fremont Moo scored eight runs in the first three innings and went on to defeat The Oahe Zap 13-5, Thursday night at Hyde Stadium. With the Fremont victory and Spearfish suffering a loss, The Moo moved into sole possession of second place in the ILB overall standings.
Josh Blount started the Fremont offensive attack with a leadoff single against Oahe starter Angel Escobar, in the top of the first. Then, Jack Torosian did the same. A passed ball advanced the runners to second and third. The next batter, Cooper Fuchino, grounded out to short, scoring Blount, to make it 1-0. Then, Carter Sintek reached on an error by Oahe third baseman Aidan Johnson, and Torosian scored, to put The Moo up 2-0.
Oahe cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first. Facing Fremont starter Parker Otte, Emiliano Montijo was hit by a pitch. Mason Lang drew a walk, then, Leondro Guevara was hit by a pitch, to load the bases. The next batter, Garen Gladhill, hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Montijo, to make it 2-1.
Fremont added to its run total in the top of the second. Miles Meadows led off with a single, then stole second. Three batters later, Jack Torosian struck out swinging at a pitch in the dirt, however, catcher Mason Lang’s throw to first was high, allowing Torosian to reach and Meadows to score, making it 3-1. The next batter, Cooper Fuchino, hit an rbi single, scoring Torosian, to make it a 4-1 Fremont lead.
The Zap had its most productive inning in the bottom of the second. With one out, Cole Ottersberg drew a walk. Then, Isaac Martinez reached on an error by Dylan Brandenburg at third, which put runners at second and third. A wild pitch scored Ottersberg and Martinez on the play, to make it 4-3.
Fremont responded with its biggest inning, in the third, sending ten batters to the plate and scoring four runs. Against reliever Collin Quandee, Fremont’s Kayden Anderson was hit by a pitch. Then, Dylan Brandenburg drew a walk. Anderson stole third, then Miles Meadows drew a walk, to load the bases. The next batter, Connor Petersen was hit by a pitch, which brought Anderson home, to make it 5-3. Then, Josh Blount drew a walk, scoring Brandenburg, to make it 6-3. Jack Torosian hit a sacrifice fly to center, plating Meadows, to give The Moo a 7-3 lead. A double steal brought home Petersen, and The Moo led 8-3.
Oahe plated one in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Isaac Martinez drew a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Emiliano Montijo hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Martinez, to make it an 8-4 game.
Fremont got the run right back. Against Oahe reliever Brady Glenn, Jack Torosian hit a fly ball to the warning track in right, but the ball was dropped by The Zap’s Leondro Guevara. A fly out to right field by Cooper Fuchino advanced Torosian to third. Then, Torosian scored on a wild pitch, to give The Moo a 9-4 lead.
The Bovine Nine extended their lead in the top of the sixth. Kaden Anderson led off with a single. Then, Dylan Brandenburg reached on an error by Johnson at third base. The next batter, Miles Meadows, hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Anderson, to make it a 10-4 Fremont lead. Connor Petersen singled. Then, Josh Blount hit an rbi single, scoring Brandenburg, to make it an 11-4 Fremont advantage.
In the bottom of the sixth, The Zap scored their final run of the night. Facing Fremont reliever Grant Wagner, Oahe’s Aidan Johnson singled. Wagner then got Cole Ottersberg to hit into a ground ball double play. The next batter, Isaac Martinez drew a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Then, Emiliano Montijo singled, scoring Martinez, to make it 11-5.
Fremont tallied another run in the top of the eighth. Facing Oahe’s Emiliano Montijo, Fremont’s Miles Meadows drew a walk. Then, Connor Petersen singled. A balk advanced the runners to second and third. Two batters later, Jack Torosian grounded out to second, scoring Meadows, to make it 12-5.
In the top of the ninth, The Moo scored one more time. Facing Oahe reliever Kayden Shivers, Fremont’s Isaac Bonner doubled, with one out. A wild pitch advanced Bonner to third. Then, Kayden Anderson grounded out to second, scoring Bonner, to make it 13-5.
Fremont’s Ryan Semin completed a three-inning save by retiring the Zap in order, in the bottom of the ninth.
Fremont (31-18, 18-7) scored thirteen runs off ten hits and committed two errors. Oahe (14-35, 9-13) plated five runs off four hits and had four errors.
Moo starter Parker Otte pitched 4.0 innings, giving up three earned runs off two hits, struck out three, walked four, had four wild pitches and hit two batters. Grant Wagner (1-0) earned the win. He pitched 2.0 innings, giving up one run off two hits, struck out three, walked one, committed one balk and had one wild pitch. Ryan Semin (2) earned the save. He pitched 3.0 innings, struck out four and hit one batter.
Oahe starter Angel Escobar (3-2) took the loss. He pitched 1.2 innings, giving up one earned run off five hits and struck out two before an arm injury forced him to leave the game. Collin Quandee pitched 0.2 innings, giving up four runs off no hits, walked three and hit four batters. Brady Glenn pitched 3.2 innings, giving up one earned run off three hits, struck out three, walked two and had one wild pitch. Emiliano Montijo pitched 2.0 innings, giving up one run off one hit, struck out one, walked two and committed one balk. Kayden Shivers pitched 1.0 inning, giving up one run off one hit.
Offensively for Fremont, Josh Blount was 2-for-5 with two rbi’s. Jack Torosian was 1-for-6 and drove in two runs. Cooper Fuchino was 1-for-5 with two rbi’s. Kayden Anderson was 2-for-5 with an rbi. Miles Meadows went 1-for-3 and drove in one. Connor Petersen went 2-for-4 with one run batted in.
For Oahe, Emiliano Montijo was 2-for-3 with an rbi. Mason Lang was 0-for-4 and drove in one. Garen Gledhill was 0-for-4 and also drove in one run.
Oahe dropped its seventh straight game and will conclude the season with a three-game series at The Casper Spuds, beginning Friday night.
Fremont has won five straight and opens a three-game series at the Spearfish Sasquatch Friday night. First pitch at Black Hills Energy Stadium is 7:05 p.m. (CT).
