Fargo Shanley had been in a cold hitting streak the past couple of games.
Ironically enough, their bats warmed up in Thursday night’s cold, rainy game in Grand Forks.
The Deacons had eight hits to edge out Grand Forks Central in a 9-8 win at Kraft Field.
“Eight hits is as many as we’ve had in a while,” said Shanley coach Luke Rustad. “We had a lot of quality at-bats that we haven’t been having.”
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Shanley took advantage of a six-run fourth inning, which opened up a temporary lead for the Deacons. Rustad said the batters at the bottom of the order played a large role in starting the run.
“It started with the guys at the bottom of the order, who got on base and the top guys were able to move them over,” said Rustad. “You get a couple of extra base-runners once in a while. It just so happened that some of our better hitters came up after them and were able to deliver.”
Shanley was able to come away with the win, but the Deacons were not the only team hitting the ball Thursday night. Central was able to score eight runs on 11 hits.
Though the Knights hit the ball well most of the game, Central coach Kyle Beckstead said his team’s three scoreless innings hurt.
“We got up early in the first two innings, but then had a lull in the next three,” said Beckstead. “We just have to mentally stronger. That was the theme of the game. We can’t take those three innings off or good teams will beat you like that.”
The Knights were down 8-4 after the fourth inning, but scored three runs in the sixth inning to make a comeback.
“We didn’t quit or quit on ourselves,” said Beckstead. “We just have to be better than that and mentally stronger.”
Rustad said he was impressed with the Knights’ offensive performance.
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“Got to give credit to Central,” said Rustad. “They didn’t quit and their players kept battling at the plate by pounding out hits and making us grind through the game.”
With the loss, Central drops to 5-6 in the EDC and 5-8 overall. The Knights will play at West Fargo today.
Shanley improved to 6-14 overall and 3-8 in conference play. The Deacons will play at Devils Lake today.
