Warm, sunny weather greets DRS on opening day

It was a warm, sunny opening day for 10 teams in the Dakota-Rice-Scott League, and three of the five games resulted in thrilling, one-run contests, while the other two were blowouts.

Winning teams on opening day included St. Patrick, Montgomery, New Market, Prior Lake and Union Hill.

League play continues Sunday, April 30, with six games. New Market is at Shakopee, Lonsdale at New Prague, Union Hill at Elko, Faribault at Prior Lake, Veseli at St. Patrick and Webster at St. Benedict.

Last week’s results:

Mallards 4, Sox 3 Both teams looked to be shaking off some rust from a long off-season as Montgomery defeated Webster 4-3 in a back-and-forth affair. Jeremy Wieland went the distance for Webster allowing four runs in eight innings. Marcus Pleiss and Gaige Bergman had two hits each for the Sox. Jared Schloesser pitched six innings for the Mallards, giving up three total runs, two of them earned. Jaron Christenson pitched two scoreless innings, with John Krocak pitching a scoreless ninth inning to pick up the save. Tom Flicek and Krocak had two hits each, with Krocak getting a triple in the first. Schloesser had three hits on the day. Webster led 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth when Tom Flicek hit a bases-loaded single with two outs that scored the final two runs.

Bulldogs 4, Warriors 3 It was a great day for baseball in Veseli as the Union Hill Bulldogs took on the Veseli Warriors. The Bulldogs came out on top in the season opener 4-3. Veseli didn’t take long to open the scoring, plating two runs in the bottom of the first. Starter Rick Bell would soon settle down and get into a rhythm, earning the win pitching five innings before Bryan Lindner would relieve Bell. Union Hill finally got to Veseli starter Matt Perkinson in the fourth inning, scoring three runs on a mixture of hits, walks and an error. Perkinson would take the loss for Veseli, throwing seven well-pitched innings. Dan Meger completed a twoinning save, his first action in over a year. Both teams had lots of chances to score, but some key double plays would end some rallies. Adam Gill and Matt Beckius each had two hits for Union Hill. Corey Friedges, Nate Novak and Tyler Busch each had two hits for Veseli. The Warriors turned four double plays in the game to help keep the Bulldogs in check.

Muskies 17, Orioles 2 New Market benefited from eight New Prague errors as the Muskies defeated the Orioles 17-2 at New Prague. Joel Zimmerman started on the mound for New Prague, while Derek Bergstrom had opening day honors for New Market. The Orioles scored one run in each of the first two innings, with an RBI double from Dan Shetka giving the home team a 2-0 lead. However the Muskies put up four runs in the third and added one in the fifth. They led 8-2 before scoring nine in the ninth for the final margin. Bergstrom pitched 5-2/3 innings to get the win, with Nate Rost pitching four scoreless innings in relief. For the Muskies, Kyle Henkemeyer had three hits and two RBIs, while Nate Rost had two hits and three RBIs. Kyle Bergstrom managed four RBIs without a hit. Neil Engler also had two hits for the Muskies. For the Orioles, Zack Dubanoski and Jake Klein each had two hits. Zack Sirek, Chase Buthe and Dusty Beckius pitched in relief.

Mudcats 2, Express 1 Prior Lake scored two runs in the sixth inning and it was enough to get a win over Elko, 2-1 in Elko. Jonny Houston provided the Mudcats with all the offense they would need, blasting a two-run homer, scoring Benjamin Benz. Houston had two of Prior Lake’s four hits. Ben Morrison got the win, pitching five scoreless innings and striking out five. Houston picked up the save, striking out two of three hitters he faced in the ninth. Kyle Kraska and Corey Grisim each had two hits for Elko. Glenn Parker took the loss for Elko.

Irish 17, Aces 3 St. Patrick pounded out 14 hits, drew seven walks and were hit with four pitches on their way to a 17-3 victory Sunday. Newcomer Kyle Rhodus led the way for the Irish with three hits and four RBIs. He had a double and a two-run home run deep to left field. Kyle Sticha was 2- for-4, including a double and three RBIs. Seth Ambroz and Derrick Isaacson each chipped in with two hits including a double for each man. The Irish had an eight-run second inning, overcoming an early 3-0 deficit. The top hitter for the Aces was Ryan Thompson who was 2-for-4, which included a double. Bill Dunker was the winning pitcher in relief.