VFW baseball: Alexandria Red splits with Starbuck

The Alexandria VFW Red baseball team kicked off the season with a split against Starbuck on Tuesday night.

The VFW Red bounced back with a 10-2 win in the nightcap of a doubleheader after falling 10-4 in the opener.

Big innings were the story of both games on Tuesday night. In the nightcap, Alexandria was the benefactor of those innings. The Red scored two in the first and two in the third before putting the game away with six runs through the fourth and fifth innings.

The top of the order dominated for Alexandria in game two. Jeff Swedberg set the tone with a double, a triple and two runs scored in the leadoff spot. Zach Carlson was 3-for-3 with two doubles, three runs scored and an RBI, while Ben Allen went 2-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and two RBI.

That was plenty of offense for starter Chase Duwenhoegger. He got the win by scattering three hits and a walk in allowing just two runs. He struck out eight in just four innings of work. Matt Pilgrim retired the side in order in the fifth to close out the win.

Starbuck used a couple big innings late in the game to pull away in the opener. Three runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth broke open what was a close game through the first four innings.

Craig Campell had a nice game for Alexandria out of the eighth spot in the lineup. He finished with a double and a triple, while driving in two runs. Swedberg, Nick Knoblach, Allen, Patrick Leary and Pilgrim each added a hit, as well.

GAME STATISTICS

Alexandria 10, Starbuck 2

ALEXANDRIA PITCHING – Chase Duwenhoegger – W, 4IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 8SO; Matt Pilgrim – 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 1SO

ALEXANDRIA HITTING – Jeff Swedberg – 2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 runs; Zach Carlson – 3-3, 2 2B, 3 runs, RBI; Ben Allen – 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 runs; Patrick Leary – BB; Grant Becker – 1-4, 1 run, RBI; Gabe Grimstad – 2 BB, 1 run; Tom Schmidt – BB

Starbuck 10, Alexandria 4

ALEXANDRIA PITCHING – Beau Backhaus – 5IP, 9H, 6R, 5ER, 0BB, 3SO; Allen – 1IP, 2H, 4R, 4ER, 3BB, 2SO

ALEXANDRIA HITTING – Swedberg – 1-4, 2B, 1 run; Nick Knoblach – 1-3, 3B, 1 run; Allen – 1-3, RBI; Leary – 1-3, RBI; Pilgrim – 1-1, 2 BB, 2 runs; Craig Campell – 2-3, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, vfw, baseball, red