Dickinson, North Dakota- The Fremont Moo dropped the rubber game of the three-game series, with the Badlands Big Sticks, 7-1, Sunday, in Independence League Baseball Association action on Astoria Field, at Dakota Community Bank and Trust Ballpark.
With the Badlands win and the Moo loss, both teams are now in a statistical tie for first place in the standings, with two weeks left in the Association’s first half.
After a scoreless first inning, Fremont got on the board in the top of the second. With two outs, Henry Hayman, Conner Petersen and Blake Tablazon drew consecutive walks off Big Sticks starter Michael Getzinger, loading the bases for Tyler Hummel. The Moo designated hitter delivered a rbi single to left, scoring Hayman. On the play, Petersen attempted to score from second, but was thrown out at the plate by Big Sticks’ left fielder, Joe Osborn, keeping the score, 1-0, Fremont.
The Big Sticks would tie it up in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Carson Carey singled off Moo starter Cole Hupke. Cam Credeur walked and Alex Urlaub delivered a rbi single, scoring Carey, to tie the score at one.
In the bottom of the third, Badlands would add two more runs. Leadoff batter in the inning, Brant Kragel was hit by a pitch and Royce Vandine drew a walk. Kadyn Van Hill came out of the bullpen for Fremont and hit the first batter he faced, Preston Jones, to load the bases. Troy Berg delivered a rbi single, scoring Kragel, to make it 2-1. Van Hill was able to get Carson Carey to ground into a 4-6-3 double play, but Vandine scored, to make it 3-1, in favor of Badlands.
The score would stay the same until the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Credeur drew a walk off Moo reliever Jagger Edwards and Urlaub did the same. Fremont then went to the bullpen and brought in their fourth pitcher of the game, Cooper Mollet. Facing leadoff batter Matthew Lewis, Credeur and Urlaub executed a double steal before Lewis drew a walk to load the bases. Next batter, Osborn also drew a walk to bring home Credeur, making it 4-1. Big Sticks offensive threat Danny Rogers came off the bench as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the seventh. In his first trip to the plate, in the eighth, he roped a 2-1 pitch off Mollet into the right field corner for a three-rbi double making it 7-1.
The Moo tried to put something together in the ninth, but the attempt was short lived. Josh Blount drew a walk off reliever Garret Lundmark, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Lundmark got Tyman Long to pop up to second base for the first out. With Tyler Harrington at the plate, Blount advanced to third on a passed ball by Carson Carey. However, Lundmark got Harrington to fly out to short left field and Ben Swails to ground out to second for the final out of the game.
Michael Getzinger (1-0) earned the win for the Big Sticks. He pitched 6.0 innings, giving up two hits, one run, walked one and struck out two. Garret Lundmark (1) earned the save, pitching 3.0 innings, giving up one walk and striking out three.
Fremont’s Cole Hupke (0-1) took the loss. The Brandon, South Dakota native pitched 2.0 innings, giving up two hits, three runs, four walks, struck out two and hit one batter. Kadyn Van Hill, an Omaha native, at Iowa Western Community College, pitched four innings, giving up four hits, walking one, striking out one and hitting two batters. Jagger Edwards, a San Antonio, Texas native, from Columbia University, pitched 1.1 innings, giving up two runs, walking three and hitting one batter. Cooper Mollet, the Edina, Minnesota product at Northern Iowa Area Community College, pitched 0.2 innings, giving up one hit, two runs, and walked two.
Offensively, Badlands was led by Alex Urlaub, going 2-for-2 with a rbi. Danny Rogers was 1-for-1 with a three-rbi double.
Fremont’s Tyler Hummel was 1-for-3, with a rbi single.
More Information: With the loss Fremont falls into a statistical tie with Badlands for first place in the Independence League Baseball Association standings. The two teams will meet again, for their final three meetings, this year, June 23-25, at Historic Moller Field in Fremont, with the first half championship of the league standings, potentially at stake. The Moo saw a couple of hitting streaks end on Sunday. Tyler Harrington, the Lakeland, Tennessee native, headed to the University of Alabama-Birmingham, went 0-for-4, ending his 11-game hitting streak. Tyman Long, the Sioux Falls, South Dakota native, who plays at Southern Nevada University, was 0-for-3, ending his five game hitting streak. On a positive note, Tyler Hummel, the Nolansville, Tennessee native at the Colorado School of the Mines, delivered a rbi single in the second, stretching his hit streak to four games.
Up Next: Badlands (12-4) will host the Sawtooth Sawkeyes in a three-game series, Tuesday through Thursday, this week. Fremont (13-5) returns home to open a three-game series, and what will begin a 12-game homestand, Tuesday night, against the Spearfish Sasquatch. The Sasquatch were the 2022 ILB runner-up. First pitch Tuesday through Thursday is 7:05, each night, at Historic Moller Field, in Fremont. Tuesday night is College NIght. Patrons get a free general admission ticket with their college ID. There will be Beer Pong, Cornhole and chances to win “Cow Chips” (Drink Chips) with on-field games and club music vibes. Plus it’s Two-for-Tuesday. Fans get two-for-one on general admission tickets and popcorn, plus there will be $2.50 specials on 16-ounce Coors Light. For advanced tickets and information go to www.fremontmoo.com/tickets or call (402)-660-1217.
