Kari Gibb/MDN Minot Hot Tots and MSU pitcher Devin Marton seen pitching in an earlier game, faced the Badlands Big Sticks on the road on Monday, July 1.

With their current four game series against Badlands Big Sticks (16-18) tied at 1-1, and fresh off a 16-4 victory in their last game, the Minot Hot Tots (10-23) started game three strong and forceful in Monday’s Northwood League action. Badlands would take the hard fought 9-8 win over Minot.

The Hot Tot would put two runs on the scoreboard in the top of the first innings to take a 2-0 lead. Jonah Shields scored the game’s first run off an Adam Berghult single to center field. Berghult would later come across home plate on a Evan Dempsey triple to right field.

Not to be outdone, the Badlands team would serve the Hot Tots with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning to even the score at -2-2. Adam Haber put Badlands on the board, scoring on Troy Berg’s double to left field. Berg later followed suit, scoring on Evan Applewick’s sacrifice fly.

The Hot Tots carried their hot bat over to the top of the second innings, as they put up five more runs in the inning to lead by a 7-2 score. A three-run triple by Anthony Potestio to center field allowed Shields, Wyatt Reginato and Caden Parker to each add a run. Potestio was rewarded with a run of his own on a Berghult single to right field. The sequence of reaping rewards continued as Berghult was also brought home by a Jack Matousek single.

The action packed baseball game showed no sign of easing up in the bottom of the second inning. Three is the number of runs scored by Badlands in the bottom of the second. Dawson Walls and Jake Paczkowski scored on a fielder’s choice play where Keenan Proctor reached base while delivering two RBI. A few moments later Proctor scored on a Haber single to center field.

Minot led 7-5 heading into the top of the third inning.

After holding Minot scoreless in the top of the third, Brant Kragel would put up another run for the Badlands team in the bottom of the third inning off Tyler Tobey single to center field, Minot now leads 7-6.

The ball clubs played “anything you can do, I can do better” with each other in the fourth inning, exchanging a run apiece to make it a 8-7 Minot lead.

Dempsey scored the Minot run on a put out by Matousek. Berg scored the Badlands run on a bases-loaded walk by Walls.

An anticipation filled baseball game, filled with many ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ and several lead changes met its final score line in the bottom of the fifth inning when Badland scored the games final two runs to make it a 9-8 score and kept it that way until the final out.

Proctor scored the game tying run on a Haber double to right field, leveling the score 8-8. Haber and Berg would complete their great performance, as a single by the latter allowed Haber to score the game winning ninth run.

The Hot Tots batted 8-for-for 35 and had two errors in the game. Dempsey batted 2-for-4, scored one run, had one RBI and walked once. Matousek batted 2-for-4 and had two RBI. Berghult batted 2-for-5, scored two runs and had two RBI. Potestio batted 1-for-5, scored one run, had three RBI and walked once. Shields batted 1-for-5 and scored two runs. Parker scored one run and walked three times. Reginato scored one run and walked twice. Xavier Esquer walked two times. Tristan Moore walked once.

Devin Morton pitched three innings, allowed three hits, six runs, walked seven and struck out three batters. Will Smith pitched four innings, allowed five hits, three runs, walked five and struck out three batters. Kaden Arn pitched one inning and struck out one batter.

The Big Sticks batted 8-for-31 and had three errors. Haber batted 2-for-3, scored two runs, had two RBI and walked twice. Berg batted 2-for-4, scored two runs and had two RBI. Applewick batted 1-for-4 and had an RBI. Zach Seflon batted 1-for-4 and walked once.Tobey batted 1-for-4, had an RBI and walked once. Proctor batted 1-for-5, scored two runs and had two RBI. Walls scored one run, had one RBI and walked three times. Kragel scored a run and walked three times. Paczkowsi scored a run and walked once. Wicks walked once.

JD Kirchner pitched one inning, allowed five hits, seven runs, walked three and struck out one. Braxton Greenburg pitched four innings, allowed one hit, one run, walked four and struck out one. Dylan Cortes pitched two innings, allowed one hit and walked three. Roman Tolbert pitched two innings, allowed one hit and struck out four batters.

The teams played again on Tuesday, July 2, and the scores from that game will go into print on the next day as Minot looks to even the series before returning home to play Willmar Stingers on Wednesday July, 3 and Thursdays July, 4, for a Fourth of July Holiday game.