McDonnell’s 14 Strikeouts Lead Esko To Road Win

Deb Decker-NSO

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May 21, 2012

Dwight Cadwell-NSAO

The Esko Eskomo’s capitalized on a 14 strikeout performance by Corey McDonnell and six runs on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh as the Eskomos knocked off the Pine City Dragons 8-1 in a sectional match up Monday in Pine City.

The Dragons and the Eskomos battled close for the first six innings until the Eskomos exploded for six runs to take the road win. Esko scored their first win in the top of the second inning when Grant Johnson walked with the bases load to bring in McDonnell and give the Eskomos a 1-0 lead.

Esko made it 2-0 in the top of the third inning when Max Reinertsen, who had doubled to start the inning, came into score on a pass ball with two outs to make it 2-0 in favor of the road team. The Eskomos held the 2-0 lead until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Pine City cut the lead to one on an unearned run.

All the one run did was to wake up the Eskomos in a big way. Esko responded right back in the top of the seventh inning by scoring six runs on six hits in the inning to ensure the Eskomos victory. The Eskomos pounded out eight hits and were led by Aaron Olson and Max Reinertsen, who each had two hits on the day. Reinertsen had both a double and a triple in the Eskomos victory.

McDonnell pitched all seven innings in the Eskomos win, along with the 14 strikeouts he allowed only four hits and one run. The run scored was an unearned run for Pine City. McDonnell allowed only one batter to reach via a walk Monday.

With Monday’s victory, the Eskomos improve to 9-7 overall on the season and will be in action again on Tuesday when they host the Cloquet Lumberjacks. Esko will also be home on Wednesday as they wrap up their home schedule with a Polar League contest against Silver Bay.

The Dragons fall to 6-12 on the season. They will play at Hinckley-Finlayson on Tuesday then on Thursday they will be home to close out their schedule by hosting the Carlton Bulldogs in a non-conference match-up.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at dwight@northlandsportsonline.com