Baseball: Park Rapids sweeps C-I after losing twice against Menahga

MENAHGA – Menahga followed a close game with a high-scoring affair in sweeping a doubleheader against Park Rapids on May 8.

The Braves edged Park Rapids 5-1 in the first game and used a 13-hit attack for an 11-8 victory in the nightcap.

In the opener, Menahga built a 5-0 advantage sparked by a four-run third inning. Singles by Brayden Aho, Tyrell Aho, Quincy Jantz, Jed Skoog and Isaiah Usher sparked that inning. Reino Salmen walked and scored on an error in the fifth to make it 5-0.

Park Rapids scored its lone run in the sixth on a single by Noah Larson and Sawyer Torkelson’s RBI double.

Brayden Aho went 3 for 4, Tyrell Aho went 2 for 4 and Skoog went 2 for 3 as the Braves finished with 11 hits. Usher started and earned the win.

Matt Johanning went 2 for 3 as the Panthers were held to five hits. DJ Reichling took the loss.

The second game was tied at 6-6 before a four-run sixth inning gave Menahga the win and the sweep.

A single by Torkelson and a double by Mason Yliniemi gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead in the first. A double by Jantz produced a run in the bottom of that inning while singles by Alvin Salmen, Shawn Hendrickson and Thomas Pietila and a double by Brayden Aho gave the Braves a 4-3 lead in the second.

Singles by Torkelson, Lucas Kritzeck and Yliniemi put Park Rapids in front 5-4 in the third before Skoog scored in the bottom of that inning as the Braves tied it at 5-5. Noah Morris scored to give the Panthers a 6-5 lead in the fourth, but Menahga countered on Tyrell Aho’s single and Pietila’s double for a 6-6 tie.

A double by Reino Salmen and a single by Skoog put Menahga in front 7-6 in the fifth, but an RBI single by Kritzeck gave the Panthers an 8-7 lead in the sixth. Singles by Tyrell Aho, Brayden Aho and Usher and a double by Reino Salmen produced the winning runs for the Braves in the bottom of the sixth.

Tyrell Aho (2 for 3, three runs), Brayden Aho (2 for 3), Pietila (2 for 2) and Reino Salmen (2 for 4) led Menahga’s offensive attack. Kritzeck (3 for 3), Torkelson (2 for 3, three runs) and Yliniemi (2 for 3) paced Park Rapids’ nine-hit attack as Johanning took the loss.

CROSBY – The Panthers pounded out 21 hits in sweeping Crosby-Ironton in a Mid-State Conference doubleheader on May 9.

Torkelson pitched Park Rapids to a 3-2 win in the first game while Morris earned the win in an 11-3 victory in five innings the nightcap.

In the first game, Reichling’s RBI single in the fourth was followed by singles by Ethan Eischens, Johanning and Jackson Soderberg in the sixth that led to the winning runs. Larson and Johanning both went 2 for 3 as the Panthers finished with 10 hits.

The Panthers completed the sweep by jumping out to a 10-1 lead in the second game. Singles by Larson and Kritzeck and a double by Morris gave Park Rapids a 4-0 lead in the first while singles by Morris, Yliniemi and Johanning made it 7-0 in the second. Larson, Eischens and Yliniemi had singles during a two-run third while Morris’ RBI double in the fourth and Johanning’s RBI single in the fifth capped off the scoring.

Morris (3 for 4), Larson (2 for 2, four runs), Yliniemi (2 for 3) and Johanning (2 for 4) led Park Rapids’ offense, which had 11 hits.

The sweep lifted the Panthers’ record to 6-4 in conference play and 7-8 overall. C-I fell to 1-9 in the conference and 4-10 overall.