Milaca splits Rum River games
Posted 4/26/02

Milacaís baseball team opened its Rum River Conference season last week by splitting a pair of games.

"We played pretty well," said Milaca Coach Craig Talberg. "Our pitching was pretty good and our hitting started to come around against Mora.

"Mora has a tough team that will be one of the contenders in the conference."

Milaca, 2-1 overall, was scheduled to travel to Princeton today (Thursday) for a RRC game at 5 p.m. The Wolves face Sartell Friday night at 7 under the lights at Sartellís Muskie Field, located on 12th Street north of the high school.

Milaca hosts Sauk Rapids in a RRC game Tuesday, April 30, at 5.

Milaca 3, Pine City 2

Milaca scored solo runs in the first and third innings before Pine City tied the score at 2-2 with single runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings.

Pine City pitcher Charlie Zak held Milaca hitless through six innings. However, the Wolves broke through to score the winning run in the top of the seventh inning as senior Jason Swanson singled and junior Jayme West brought the run home with a double.

Zak allowed just one earned run while walking three and striking out 14 over seven innings.

Senior right-hander Luke Karels was Milacaís starting pitcher. He threw three and one-third innings, allowing three hits, one walk and one earned run while striking out four. Senior right-hander Dave Christianson pitched the final three and two-third innings and picked up the win, allowing two hits, no walks and no earned runs.

Senior Tom Tadych and sophomore Josh Walz each had a pair of stolen bases for the Wolves.

Tony Samuelson had a bases-empty home run for the Dragons.

Mora 10, Milaca 5

The Mustangs, who boosted their overall record and their RRC mark to 2-0, took a 4-0 lead behind a solo run in the top of the second inning and three runs in the third.

Milaca scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning to slice Moraís lead to 4-3 but the Mustangs added solo runs in the fifth and sixth innings before breaking through for four runs in the top of the seventh. Milaca scored its final two runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Karels led Milacaís five-hit attack with a two-run single in the third inning and a long double off the fence in left-center field in the sixth inning.

Tadych had a pair of singles and junior Joe Barrett had a single to account for the Wolvesí other hits.

Senior Jeremy Gmahl had a home run and a single and drove in four runs to lead Mora. Erik Raivo and Ricky Akkerman also had two hits each in Moraís nine-hit offense.

Barrett pitched the first six and one-third innings, allowing nine hits while walking six and striking out four. Junior Nate Roehl came on to get the final two Mora outs.

Right-hander Eric Johnson pitched the distance for the Mustangs, allowing five hits and four walks while fanning eight.

On Tuesday, April 16, junior Josh Oslin threw a perfect game over five innings as Mora topped Foley 18-0 in its season opener.