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May 12—BEMIDJI — A year ago, the Bemidji High School baseball team couldn't buy an extra-base hit in "too many games," according to head coach Jim Griimm.
The Lumberjacks had seven of them on Monday in a 15-7 win over East Grand Forks at the BSU baseball field.
Bemidji celebrated Senior Day in style, scoring three or more runs in four innings to plate 15 runs on 18 hits over the Green Wave (9-3), moving to 10-4 this season.
"It's definitely huge (to get this offense), especially right before sections," senior Jack Lundquist said. "If we can keep this rolling, there's nobody that's going to be able to stop us."
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning, Lundquist notched his first of four RBIs with a single to tie the game, scoring Eli Kringen. Brody Anderson gave East Grand Forks a 3-1 lead in the top of the second inning on a two-run home run that followed some controversy.
With Cole Schmiedeberg on first and Anderson ahead in a 2-1 count, BHS starting pitcher Kobe Brown threw a ball off the plate. The home plate umpire signaled that Anderson had walked, but Ganske threw the ball to first and picked off Schmiedeberg, who acted as if the play was dead due to a ruling of a walk, which led him to get picked off at first.
After an extended discussion between officials and coaches, it was ruled that Schmiedberg was safe at first and Anderson was still ahead in a 3-1 count.
Two pitches later, Anderson took Brown deep.
In the bottom of the second, however, the Lumberjacks got a run back before Kringen tied the game with an RBI double. He later scored to give BHS its first lead on Gunner Ganske's single.
From there, the Jacks were in control.
Tied 4-4 in the bottom of the third, Stonewall Gessner brought home Reece Dokken with a double, then scored on Lawson Berg's triple. Beg later scored on a passed ball.
Leading 7-6 in the fifth, Miles Gish plated a run with a triple, then scored on Kringen's single. Ganske brought home another with Bemidji's third triple before Lundquist added another RBI single.
Lundquist wasn't done there, making it 14-7 in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run single. Gessner added another run-scoring hit to increase the Lumberjacks' lead to eight.
"After the confusion early in the game, we really kind of focused our energy toward hitting and fielding, and playing the way we need to play," Lundquist said. "We really just focused up.
"It all starts with one guy. As soon as that one guy breaks the door open, then the floodgates open, and it's not going to stop."
Despite his unassuming pitching totals on Monday, Gessner was pivotal in limiting the Green Wave offensively. He threw 3 2/3 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs and three walks with five strikeouts, all while pitching into the wind.
"One thing that goes unnoticed is how hard it is to pitch against a 20-mile-per-hour wind," Grimm said. "Now your fastball isn't your fastball, and your breaking ball is harder to control. ... Stony came in and handled it, and that's huge."
Bemidji and East Grand Forks combined for 11 extra-base hits. Kringen was 4 for 5 with two doubles and two RBIs. Berg went 2 for 4 with a double and a triple, while Lundquist was 3 for 5 with three singles and four RBIs.
"The wind was blowing out today, but they still had to hit the pitcher," Grimm said. "The ball wasn't flying out for us, it was finding gaps. As hard as this field is, if you hit it on a line and in a gap, no outfielder can cut that off."
Bemidji's six seniors were honored after the game.
"This whole team, they're all brothers to me," Lundquist said. "We're all a family. I've grown up playing with them since T-ball. It's a good group to play with, for sure."
It's a group that Grimm took over during their junior seasons after Mike Fogelson, the winningest baseball coach in BHS history, stepped down.
"I can't tell you how proud I am of them to have had the chance to coach them," Grimm said. "They got uprooted in their junior year with a new coach and a new way of doing things. That's not easy, but they bought in. They got to work, did what they were told, tried their hardest and they lead on and off the field. Success is guaranteed for these kids whenever baseball is over for them."
Bemidji 15, East Grand Forks 7
EGF 121 111 9 — 7-10-7
BHS 133 053 X — 15-18-1
WP: Gessner (3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K)
LP: Hams (5 IP, 15 H, 12 R, 9 ER, 2 BB, 1 K)
Continue reading...
The Lumberjacks had seven of them on Monday in a 15-7 win over East Grand Forks at the BSU baseball field.
Bemidji celebrated Senior Day in style, scoring three or more runs in four innings to plate 15 runs on 18 hits over the Green Wave (9-3), moving to 10-4 this season.
"It's definitely huge (to get this offense), especially right before sections," senior Jack Lundquist said. "If we can keep this rolling, there's nobody that's going to be able to stop us."
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning, Lundquist notched his first of four RBIs with a single to tie the game, scoring Eli Kringen. Brody Anderson gave East Grand Forks a 3-1 lead in the top of the second inning on a two-run home run that followed some controversy.
With Cole Schmiedeberg on first and Anderson ahead in a 2-1 count, BHS starting pitcher Kobe Brown threw a ball off the plate. The home plate umpire signaled that Anderson had walked, but Ganske threw the ball to first and picked off Schmiedeberg, who acted as if the play was dead due to a ruling of a walk, which led him to get picked off at first.
After an extended discussion between officials and coaches, it was ruled that Schmiedberg was safe at first and Anderson was still ahead in a 3-1 count.
Two pitches later, Anderson took Brown deep.
In the bottom of the second, however, the Lumberjacks got a run back before Kringen tied the game with an RBI double. He later scored to give BHS its first lead on Gunner Ganske's single.
From there, the Jacks were in control.
Tied 4-4 in the bottom of the third, Stonewall Gessner brought home Reece Dokken with a double, then scored on Lawson Berg's triple. Beg later scored on a passed ball.
Leading 7-6 in the fifth, Miles Gish plated a run with a triple, then scored on Kringen's single. Ganske brought home another with Bemidji's third triple before Lundquist added another RBI single.
Lundquist wasn't done there, making it 14-7 in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run single. Gessner added another run-scoring hit to increase the Lumberjacks' lead to eight.
"After the confusion early in the game, we really kind of focused our energy toward hitting and fielding, and playing the way we need to play," Lundquist said. "We really just focused up.
"It all starts with one guy. As soon as that one guy breaks the door open, then the floodgates open, and it's not going to stop."
Despite his unassuming pitching totals on Monday, Gessner was pivotal in limiting the Green Wave offensively. He threw 3 2/3 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs and three walks with five strikeouts, all while pitching into the wind.
"One thing that goes unnoticed is how hard it is to pitch against a 20-mile-per-hour wind," Grimm said. "Now your fastball isn't your fastball, and your breaking ball is harder to control. ... Stony came in and handled it, and that's huge."
Bemidji and East Grand Forks combined for 11 extra-base hits. Kringen was 4 for 5 with two doubles and two RBIs. Berg went 2 for 4 with a double and a triple, while Lundquist was 3 for 5 with three singles and four RBIs.
"The wind was blowing out today, but they still had to hit the pitcher," Grimm said. "The ball wasn't flying out for us, it was finding gaps. As hard as this field is, if you hit it on a line and in a gap, no outfielder can cut that off."
Bemidji's six seniors were honored after the game.
"This whole team, they're all brothers to me," Lundquist said. "We're all a family. I've grown up playing with them since T-ball. It's a good group to play with, for sure."
It's a group that Grimm took over during their junior seasons after Mike Fogelson, the winningest baseball coach in BHS history, stepped down.
"I can't tell you how proud I am of them to have had the chance to coach them," Grimm said. "They got uprooted in their junior year with a new coach and a new way of doing things. That's not easy, but they bought in. They got to work, did what they were told, tried their hardest and they lead on and off the field. Success is guaranteed for these kids whenever baseball is over for them."
Bemidji 15, East Grand Forks 7
EGF 121 111 9 — 7-10-7
BHS 133 053 X — 15-18-1
WP: Gessner (3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K)
LP: Hams (5 IP, 15 H, 12 R, 9 ER, 2 BB, 1 K)
Continue reading...
