Kari GIbb/MDN Hot Tots Jaeden Jordahl (15), a junior at the University of Charleston, fields the ball at third and makes the throw to first for an out in the first inning of play

The Minot Hot Tots hosted the Bismarck Larks for a pair of games on Sunday, June 2, and Monday, June 3, after traveling to the Larks’ home field for two games last week.

The Hot Tots started the week off well with the 14-4 win over the visiting Larks.

After scoring one run at the bottom of the first inning, the Tots then rolled up six runs at the bottom of the third inning and four more at the bottom of the fourth inning enroute to the xx-x win.

The Tots were 17-for-41 at the plate with three errors as a team. Jonah Shields was 3-for-4 batting with three RBIs in the win. Wyatt Reginato was 3-for-4 while Elias Fiddler was 3-for-4 with six RBIs. Jack Matousek and T Moore were each 2-for-4 with two and three RBIs respectively. Nine of the Hot Tots had hits in the game.

Cullen Flowers pitched three innings and allowed no runs on one hit. Devin Marton pitched two innings and allowed no runs on no hits. Rhys Francis pitched two innings and allowed four runs on five hits. Nic Luna pitched two innings and allowed no runs and no hits in relief.

The Larks were 6-for-35 batting with two errors as a team. Theo Bryant was 2-for-4 at the plate. Will Millard, Isaac Pegors, Jake Agarwal and Andrew Niaves each had a hit in the game.

Kobe Andrade pitched two and two-third innings and allowed seven runs on nine hits. S Borgmann pitched one-third inning and allowed three runs on two hits. Kai Mayfield pitched one inning and allowed one run on three hits. Kyle Odenbach pitched two innings and allowed one run on two hits. Braden Guentz pitched two innings and allowed two runs on one hit.

The first games of the year for the Hot Tots were Wednesday, May 29, and Thursday, May 30, at home against the St. Cloud Rox. The first game was a 5-7 loss while game two was a 7-6 win.

The season opener had the Tots leading 3-1 over the Rox after four innings of play. The Rox responded with a run at the top of the fifth and ninth innings with two runs at the top of the sixth and eighth innings en route to the 7-5 win.

The second game with the Rox started with the Tots building a 5-2 lead going into the fourth inning of play. The Rox would add two runs at the top of the fourth and tie the game at the top of the fifth with another run. That tie would continue as both teams scored a run apiece by the end of nine innings of play. Minot gained the win at the bottom of the tenth inning of play with a walk as the bases were loaded.

The Tots traveled to Bismarck for the Larks home stand on Friday, May 31, and Saturday, June 1, and lost both games 7-15 and 4-5 for an overall record of 1-4 prior to starting the fresh week at home.

As the season gets underway, the team is still in need of host families for the 2024 season. Much like the Minot Minotauros and the Minot Honeybees, host families are vital for the success of both the team as well as the players individually.

Both the Hot Tots and the Honeybees are encouraging anyone who is interested in hosting a player to reach out. The only way for teams like the Hot Tots and Honeybees to be successful is with the help of those that are willing to open their homes to these players. Anyone who is interested can call the teams’ office at 701-838-8687, fill out the interest form at hottotsbaseball.com, or send an email to info@hottotsbaseball.com for more information.