Milbank Firechiefs Clobber the Cormorants

The  Firechiefs were back in action on Sunday after being rained out Friday night. Milbank hosted Volga in a doubleheader at Pribyl Park on July 9. The locals defeated the Cormorants in game one 9-6 and in game two 5-4. The Firechiefs wasted no time in getting on the board. Kellen Hoeke slapped a single to left field. Brady Krause drew a walk to put runners on first and second, and B. Krause reached on an error by the second baseman to score Dom Boerger and Hoeke. Milbank took an early 2-0 lead. Merik Junker joined D. Boerger on base with a double to left. Mitch Quade also scored D. Boerger with a sacrifice fly to centerfield.

Volga cut Milbank’s lead to 3-2 in the top of the fourth, but the Firechiefs came back strong in the bottom of the inning. Brady Femling reached on an error. Taylor Boerger doubled to center to put runners on second and third with one out. Kaden Krause drew a walk to load the bases. Hoeke singled to left to score Femling from third and push the score to 4-2. Mikey Karges doubled to center to score T. Boerger and Krause. Milbank led 6-2. Junker singled to left to drive home Hoeke and Karges and give the Firechiefs a comfortable lead at 8-2.Volga had added three runs to their total, when Milbank came up in the sixth, and the Firechiefs decided they needed an  insurance run.  Hoeke drew a leadoff walk. B. Krause bunted him over to second. Karges doubled to left to score Hoeke. Milbank’s was ahead 9-5.The Cormorants added one more click to their score, but Milbank held on to claim the first game 9-6. T. Boerger pitched all seven innings. He allowed six runs and struck out seven batters. Junker had three hits and two RBIs.

In game two, Milbank became the visitors on the scoreboard. In the fourth inning, T. Boerger drew a one-out walk. Hoeke doubled to left to score T. Boerger and get the Firechiefs on the board. Volga, however, went on to score four more runs in the bottom half of the inning, and Milbank found themselves trailing until the seventh. T. Boerger then got a rally started with his single to center with one out. Hoeke drew a walk to put runners on first and second. B. Krause loaded the bags with a single to left. Quade continued the trend and tied things up with a double to left to scored all three baserunners. Both teams sat at 4-4, and the game was forced into extra innings.  

Femling led off the eighth with a single to left. He stole second. Tyler Krause moved him to third with a bunt. T. Boerger and Hoeke both drew walks to load the bases. B. Krause was hit by a pitch to bring home the winning run. That fifth run gave the Firechiefs their ninth victory of the year.B. Krause went the distance on the mound. He gave up four runs and struck out 13 batters. B. Krause, Quade, and Femling added two hits apiece.
The Firechiefs’ game with Lake Norden that was rained out on Friday will be rescheduled for Friday, July 14, at 8:00 pm in Pribyl Park in Milbank. 

Photos: Top- Brady Krause Bottom- Brady Femling