Bulldogs Baseball Wrap Up Season With A Win

May 20

Dwight Cadwell-NSO

The Carlton Bulldog boys baseball team wrapped up their regular season this week, closing with a 4-3 win over a strong Nashwauk-Keewatin Spartan baseball team. Nashwauk-Keewatin entered the game with only two losses on the season, posting twelve wins so far. The Bulldogs shut down this offensive team that had scored 151 runs in fifteen games. Carlton held the Spartans to only three runs, seven under their season average. This
was the result of a great job by the Bulldogs pitching staff.

“I was very pleased with how we played,” head coach Scott Battaglia told Northland Sports Online. “Our pitchers threw strikes and with the exception of the first two innings, we were very solid defensively,” Battaglia would add. Adam Schmitz started and pitched the first 3 innings, giving up three unearned runs. Ben Rapp pitched the next 3 1/3 innings and threw very well. Rapp allowed only two hits, struck out six, and walked one. Caleb Hatfield pitched the final 2/3 of an inning, striking out both batters he faced.

Nashwauk-Keewatin jumped out to a three-run lead at 3-0, following several Carlton miscues. The Bulldogs would tie the game at 3-3 when Ben Rapp tied it up with a three-run home run to center field. The game remained tied at three until the bottom of the sixth inning when, with two outs, Kyle Gunderson knocked in the go-ahead run with a single to left field.

“It was a nice win for a few reasons,” Battaglia stated. “It gives us some momentum and confidence heading in the playoffs…The Spartans are very good team, that has scored a lot of runs this year,” Battaglia would add. “It was great way for us to wrap up the regular season and now we’ll wait and see where we get seeded.”

Zack Anderson went 2-3 for the Bulldogs. Ben Rapp was 2-2, with a three run home run and 3RBIss. Calvin Wolf was also 2-3 for Carlton in the win and Kyle Gunderson was 1-1 with the game winning hit and an RBI.

The Bulldogs finish the regular season at 10-8, their best regular season in several years. They wait seeding in the Section 7A tournament that will start this Saturday with opening round action. The Bulldogs first playoff game should be next Wednesday. NSO will have the complete bracket posted.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at dwight@northlandsportsonline.com