Baseball: Cannon Falls blasts past Stewartville

CANNON FALLS – Cannon Falls sent 18 batters to the plate in the first two innings as the Bombers built a 10-1 lead at the end of the second inning en route to a 14-7 victory Friday against Stewartville.

The 1-5 hitters in Cannon Falls’ order scored 12 of the 14 runs, including all five in the first inning.

“A mental intensity was key,” Cannon Falls head coach Bucky Lindow said. “Our 2-strike approach was very solid today and I think that was part of that mental approach.”

Junior second baseman Paul Rolfes secured a walk and a hit by pitch in his first two at bats for the Bombers (5-2, 5-2 HVL) and ended up scoring both times. He finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored.

“That’s huge, especially now because Cedric (Dicke) is getting hot with the bat,” Lindow said.

Dicke, a senior, went 1-for-4 with a double, a walk and two RBI. He also scored three runs and had an RBI double in the first inning. Junior Noah Callister did damage both on the mound and at the plate in the win. He was 2-for-2 with four RBI and also threw 3 2/3 innings, giving up four hits and striking out two.

14th-ranked Stewartville (5-1, 5-1 HVL) was led by Shane Mlenar, who went 3-for-5 and Sam Quackenbush went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Mlenar only lasted 1 1/3 innings on the mound, giving up seven hits and 10 runs to get the loss.

Tyler Boyle-Hoban started on the mound and got the win for the Bombers while keeping the Tigers’ offense mostly silent through the first two innings. Boyle-Hoban got into trouble in the fourth inning after an error by the catcher and a walk put runners on first and second with one out. Callister came on to relieve but both runners ended up scoring to pull Stewartville within five runs at 10-5.

Cannon Falls responded with another run in the fourth inning and three more runs in the fifth inning to push the lead out of reach.

“We were ready for whatever came at us,” Rolfes said. “We were hungry for a win.”

Lindow said he never felt comfortable with any lead against the potent Tigers’ offense and the pitching staff struggled with control but he was pleased with the way Boyle-Hoban and Callister competed. The Bombers threw 150 pitches and issued eight walks in the win.

“Obviously not the way you want to do it but we’ll take the result,” Lindow said.

After a tough loss to seventh-ranked Kenyon-Wanamingo Tuesday in which Cannon Falls squandered an early lead, Lindow said it looked like the Bombers learned something from that game and the results were evident on the field.

“Today was a good sign of keeping the foot on the gas,” he said.

The Bombers host Triton Tuesday.

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