Adam Papin/MDN Hector Rawley (#27) pumps up his Hot Tots teammates and the fans at Corbett Field earlier this week.

BISMARCK – The Dakota Dust-Up Rivalry finally arrived last night when the Minot Hot Tots travelled down US-83 to take on the Bismarck Larks.

After Wednesday night’s heartbreaking loss and with ESPNU’s national audience watching, the Hot Tots desperately needed a win to try and build some momentum to close out the first month of the season, as well as showcase what Minot baseball is all about.

Unfortunately for the Hot Tots, this season has been plagued by Minot jumping out to sizeable leads, only to squander them late in the game, as their opponent rallied; a trend that included last night.

This time, Minot held a four-run lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. By the time the Hot Tots went to bat in the ninth, they trailed by the same four-run margin.

A double by Drew Woodcox was the only offense Minot could manage, as they dropped the series opener 11-7.

The Hot Tots got the scoring started in the second inning when Thaxton Berch hit a bases-loaded single, scoring Nic Pepe. The Larks answered in the bottom half of the inning when Luc Stuka scored on a Luke Hammond single.

Minot added two runs in each of the third, fourth and six innings. In the third, Brannon Mondragon scored on a Pepe sacrifice fly and Zach Kluvers drove in Christian Perez on a double to left field. Tristan Moore tripled in the fourth inning to bring home Thomas Rollauer, and Moore would come around to score himself, on a sacrifice fly by Mondragon.

Mondragon hit a triple of his own in the sixth inning, scoring Rollauer and Moore, giving the Hot Tots a 7-3 lead.

Bismarck added a run in the bottom of the sixth, when Jake Simmons scored an unearned run following a Mason Le single. An inning later, and with two outs, back-to-back Larks hitters were hit by pitches. With the bases then loaded, Minot walked Connor Misch, scoring Jackson Breaman to make the score 7-5.

The eighth inning saw Bismarck pull even closer, when Ryan Moerman singled home Le, cutting the Hot Tots’ lead to one run. Then, Luc Stuka hit an RBI single that scored Robby Harrison to tie the game. Back-to-back bases-loaded walks scored Benjamin Rosengard and Moerman, giving the Larks their first lead of the game.

The Larks weren’t done. Jake Simons scored on a Le single to make the score 11-7 Bismarck.

The two teams will battle it out at Corbett Field tonight in the second game of a four-game set, as the Hot Tots honor the men and women who serve on Military Appreciation Night. The first pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Following tonight’s game, the Hot Tots and Larks will take the weekend off, before resuming the series in Bismarck Monday night at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday night, it’s back to Corbett Field for the series finale.