The 2018 Adrian Dragon baseball team was able to get a game in last Thursday ahead of the weekend blizzard. The Dragons fell to Luverne by a score of 9-0.
Skylar Polzine started the game on the mound for the Dragons. He struck out the first two batters of the season before giving up a double. Brent Hokeness (catcher) blocked the next pitch in the dirt and was able to throw out the Cardinal runner who was trying to advance to third. The Dragons would go down in order in the bottom half of the first.
Polzine struck out the first batter in the second before giving up a single. The next batter bounced into a 1-6-3 inning ending double play. The Dragons would again go down in order in the second.
Polzine shut down the first two batters of the third with strikeouts. A base hit was followed by a ground ball to third to end the inning. The Dragons were able to get two runners on base in the third with one out as Noah Reyne and Trace Kremin each walked. However, two straight strikeouts would end the inning. After three innings of play, the game was tied at zero.
Things went south for the Dragons in the fourth. Polzine allowed a base hit which was followed by a two run homerun. A walk and two base hits followed loading the bases with no outs. The Dragons turned to Lance Luettel on the mound. Luettel was able to get out of the jam only allowing one more run. Hokeness drew a walk to lead off the the bottom of the fourth. A Dragon strikeout was followed by a Jeffrey Cauwels single, putting runners on first and second with one out. Another Dragon strikeout, then a Nathan Rahe walk loaded the bases with two outs. The Cardinals were again able to get out of trouble as the Dragon batter went down on strikes. After four innings of play, Luverne led by a score of 3-0.
The Cardinals added to their lead in the fifth. A double and a Dragon error brought home one run in the inning. The Dragons would get two runners on base in the bottom of the fifth as Landon Rogers walked and Hokeness singled. Again, the runners were left on base to end the inning. After five, the score was 4-0, Luverne.
Luverne used a double, single, walk, and hit by pitch to plate two more runs in the top half of the sixth. The Dragons put more runners on base in the bottom half of the inning, but were again unable to score. Brandon Schnoor walked and Reyne singled in the inning. The Dragons trailed 6-0 after six innings.
Luverne continued to add to their lead in top half of the seventh. Two walks and an error led to three more Cardinal runs. The Dragons would go down quietly in the seventh to end the game. The final score, Luverne 9, Adrian 0.
Polzine took the loss on the mound, pitching three plus innings. Polzine struck out five batters in the game while only walking one. Luettel threw three innings for the Dragons. He struck out two batters and walked two. Grant Jansma pitched the final inning, walking two batters while striking out none.
The Dragons were led by Cauwels, Hokeness, and Reyne at the plate. Each player had a hit in the loss.
The Dragon coaching staff would like to thank the players for scooping off the field on Monday afternoon and raking after practice on Wednesday. A big thank you also goes out to the custodial staff for working on the field during the day on Thursday. Without your effort, this game would not have been possible. Thank you again.
