Baseball Falls Short in MonDak Tournament

The Lake Region State College Royals would play host to the MonDak Conference tournament this past weekend. They would finish the weekend 2-2 and fall short of their ultimate goal of qualifying for the Regional Tournament.

Game 1: Dawson CC

Ezra Johnson had the hot hand on Friday, tallying four hits and leading Lake Region State College Royals to a 12-5 victory over Dawson CC. Johnson homered in the second, singled in the third, singled in the seventh, and singled in the eighth. Lake Region State College Royals got things moving in the second inning. Tarick Morris hit a solo homer. Lake Region State College Royals notched four runs in the sixth inning. Kyler Halverson had an RBI grand slam in the inning to lead the run scoring. Blake Patterson pitched Lake Region State College Royals to victory. He surrendered four runs on two hits over six innings, striking out six. Kevin Krumm and Brock Degooyer entered the game out of the bullpen and helped to close out the game in relief. The Dawson pitcher allowed seven hits and nine runs over five and two-thirds innings, striking out four. Lake Region State College Royals socked five home runs on the day. Johnson had a dinger in the second inning. Morris had a long ball in the second and eighth innings. Taylor Musgrave had a four-bagger in the second inning. Halverson put one out in the sixth inning. Lake Region State College Royals tallied 12 hits on the day. Johnson, Morris, and Alex Jinda each had multiple hits for Lake Region State College Royals. Johnson went 4-for-5 at the plate to lead Lake Region State College Royals in hits. Artola led Dawson CC with two hits in four at-bats.

Game 2: Miles City

Lake Region State College Royals watched the game slip away early and couldn't recover in a 12-2 loss to Miles City Community College on Friday. Miles City Community College took the lead on a walk in the first inning. The Lake Region State College Royals struggled to put runs on the board and had a tough time defensively containing Miles City Community College, giving up 12 runs. The Pioneers pitcher surrendered two runs on two hits over five innings, striking out 12 and walking one. Justin Young took the loss for Lake Region State College Royals. He went two innings, allowing five runs on six hits, striking out one and walking zero. Rylie Goodwin started the game for Lake Region State College Royals. He went two innings, allowing seven runs on two hits and striking out two Adrian Rodriguez and Ezra Johnson all had one hit to lead Lake Region State College Royals.

Game 3: Bottineau

Liam Sommer did not allow a single run against Bottineau, throwing a complete game shutout and leading Lake Region State College Royals to a 10-0 victory on Saturday Lake Region State College Royals got things moving in the first inning. Kyler Halverson hit a solo homer. Lake Region State College Royals put up four runs in the second inning. Lake Region State College Royals big bats were led by James Sampson and Tarick Morris, who each had RBIs in the inning. Liam Sommer was credited with the victory for Lake Region State College Royals. He lasted five innings, allowing two hits and zero runs while striking out nine. The DCB pitcher went two innings, allowing seven runs on four hits and striking out two. Lake Region State College Royals smacked two home runs on the day. Morris had a long ball in the second inning. Halverson had a four-bagger in the first inning. Lake Region State College Royals collected ten hits. Morris and Ezra Johnson each had multiple hits for Lake Region State College Royals. Morris went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead Lake Region State College Royals in hits. Lake Region State College Royals did not commit a single error in the field. Morris had nine chances in the field, the most on the team.

Game 4: Dawson CC.

Lake Region State College Royals watched the game slip away early and couldn't recover in an 11-1 loss to Dawson CC on Saturday. Dawson CC took the lead on a single in the first inning. The Lake Region State College Royals struggled to put runs on the board and had a tough time defensively containing Dawson CC, giving up 11 runs. Dawson CC got on the board in the first inning. Dawson CC scored one run when Norby singled. Dawson CC scored four runs in the sixth inning. Dawson CC's big inning was driven by a single by Artola and a home run by Castillo. Sorensen was on the mound for Dawson CC. He went six innings, allowing one run on six hits and striking out eight. Kyler Halverson was on the pitcher's mound for Lake Region State College Royals. He went five innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits and striking out four. Brock Degooyer threw one inning in relief out of the bullpen. Lake Region State College Royals launched one home run on the day. Taylor Musgrave had a four-bagger in the fourth inning. Lake Region State College Royals saw the ball well today, racking up six hits in the game. James Sampson-keck and Musgrave all managed multiple hits for Lake Region State College Royals. Musgrave and Sampson-keck each managed two hits to lead Lake Region State College Royals. Dawson CC collected 11 hits on the day.

Head Coach Kyal Williams would say after the weekend, "It was a great weekend of baseball, we fought hard but ultimately couldn't get that final win. The team was exceptional in how they handled themselves with a couple of tough games came out ready to fight. Tough way to finish the season, after some really good games, but that is baseball for you."

He continued, "So proud of the whole team and how they performed on and off the field this season. They worked extremely hard, and it showed. The improvement we had from our leadership to our determination was a step up from last year and only getting better. Our sophomores have built a great culture of hard work and team atmosphere that our freshman can take in their strides and move build on for the next year!"

The Royals would finish the season with a 12-19 record and 5-14 in conference.

Great season guys!