Bulldog batters pick up win at Alma, fall to Mondovi

By Cara L. Dempski

Boyceville’s head baseball coach Michael Roemhild was glad to see his team pick up its first conference win of 2017.

The Bulldogs took on the Pepin/Alma Eagles April 18 at Alma in a inter-division contest, and came away with a 7-2 victory despite looking a little flat offensively. The Dogs next headed for Mondovi April 21 for a meeting with the Buffaloes.

But the Bulldogs could not maintain the hard-earned momentum from the road win in Alma as the Mondovi squad got a jump on Boyceville with two runs in the first inning, but the Bulldogs were quick to respond and scored in the second. The two teams traded back and forth on runs for six innings before the game was called at the end of the sixth, resulting in an 8-5 loss for Boyceville last Friday.

The Bulldogs will go to Colfax April 27 before welcoming Elk Mound to town May 1.

The team is currently 2-3 overall, and 1-2 in the Large Dunn-St. Croix.

Pepin/Alma

According to Coach Roemhild, the Bulldogs sparkled defensively at Alma, but the team’s shine dulled somewhat when it came to working at the plate.

The Bulldogs traveled to Alma April 18 for a match-up with the Pepin/Alma Eagles, and walked away with a 7-2.

On defense, the Boyceville coach said junior Cooper Boesl turned a nice double-play in the sixth inning that got the team out of some trouble, and sophomore Jaden Reisimer chased down a ball and then hit his cutoff, Luke Knudtson, to throw out a runner at third base.

“I was disappointed with how flat we came out offensively,” Roemhild said. “We didn’t show much life or excitement until the fifth inning. Our focus was not sharp; we were lucky to come away with a win.”

The Bulldog coach said the team left too many runners on the bases, but did say he was pleased with the patience his team showed at bat. He also noted the Bulldogs did a nice job stealing bases.

It may have taken until the fifth inning for Boyceville to score, but then they did so in style. Micadin Kahl, Boesl, James Palmer and Luke Knudtson formed the top of the Bulldogs’ order in the game, and all four managed to score before the Eagles could even get the first out of the inning.

Boesl then tacked on another run in the sixth, and Brendan Sempf made it all the way around to score, which made the score 6-2 at the end of the inning. Knudtson punctuated the win with a run in the seventh to give the Bulldogs the win.

Reisimer, Knudtson and pitcher James Palmer are all credited with a pair of RBIs apiece. Palmer and Reisimer led the Bulldogs, who finished with a 9 to 7 advantage in hits, with respective 3-for-5 and 2-for-4 performances at the plate.

Palmer pitched five innings and recorded seven strikeouts, while Brady Nye logged a pair of hits and one strikeout in two innings pitched.

BOYCEVILLE 7, PEPIN/ALMA 2
Boyceville……………..0  0  0  0  4  2  1 — 7
Pepin/Alma…………..0  1  0  0  0  1  0 — 2

Mondovi

Seldom can a team commit six errors in a game and win.

And the Bulldogs did not.

Despite coming up with eight hits, the Bulldogs could not over come their defensive mistakes and the Buffaloes’ offense.

The Boyceville baseball team brought in five runs against Mondovi April 21, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the errors or the host Buffaloes, who claimed an 8-5 victory.

The Dogs did not get on the scoreboard until the second, and then it was Brendan Sempf who drove Bryce Boda home and made the score 2-1 with Mondovi still on top. Luke Knudtson and Kyle Holden scored in the top of the third to briefly give Boyceville the lead, but Mondovi scored a run in the bottom of the inning to tie the game up 3-3.

The Buffaloes held the Boyceville scoreless in the fourth, but then scored again in the fifth and sixth with runs from Boda and James Palmer, but Mondovi just kept swinging and pushed home a pair of runs in each of those innings to maintain the lead.

Sempf is credited with two RBIs in the game, while Knudtson, Boda and Jayson Gonzales each picked up one apiece.

Jayson Gonzales finished with three hits in four atbats and Bryce Boda picked up a pair of hits and runs in the loss.

Palmer pitched three innings and allowed three runs, while Boda pitched one and one-third innings with two runs and a trio of strikeouts. Cooper Boesl pitched one and two-thirds innings and allowed three runs.

BOYCEVILLE 5, MONDOVI 8
Boyceville………………..0  1  2  0  1  1 — 5
Mondovi………………….2  0  1  1  2  2 — 8