VFW Red: Alexandria's Knoblach fans nine in win over Morris

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Nick Knoblach threw a gem for the Alexandria VFW Red baseball team on Tuesday night to help his team split a doubleheader with Morris one day after Alexandria took one of two games from Cold Spring.

Morris bounced back after a 3-0 loss in game one on Tuesday to take a 12-0 game in the nightcap. Ted Deitz got the only hit for the Red in the nightcap as Morris returned the favor with a dominant pitching performance that helped them run away with things in the middle innings.

The opener belonged to Knoblach. He stymied the Morris lineup through seven innings, allowing just two hits and a walk, while striking out nine.

Knoblach then helped himself out at the plate in the bottom of the first. He doubled in Jeff Swedberg to take an early 1-0 lead. The Red then added two more runs in the fourth, highlighted by an RBI double by Swedberg. Both Knoblach and Swedberg went 2-for-3 at the plate.

It was a similar story against Cold Spring on Monday as Alexandria dropped game two, 9-8, after taking the opener 13-3.

Cold Spring scored at least once in every inning after the first in the nightcap. They had three-run innings in the third and fourth, but it would be a lone run in the fifth that turned out to be the winning run.

Alexandria trailed 9-2 heading into the final inning before mounting a big comeback. The Red sent 10 men to the plate in the fifth and scored six runs to put a scare into Cold Spring. Six straight batters reached for Alexandria before the first out was recorded.

The Red’s offensive outburst in the final inning of the nightcap was a continuation of what fans saw in the opener.

Alexandria scored seven runs in the first and never looked back from there. The Red added four more in third to put even more distance between the two teams.

Ben Allen and Knoblach both had big days to lead the Alexandria offense. Allen went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored, while Knoblach connected for two triples to go along with three RBI and two runs scored. Patrick Leary also went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBI.

That made things easier for Matt Pilgrim on the mound. Pilgrim threw a complete game to pick up the win. He scattered five hits and two walks, while striking out four.

The VFW Red will be back in action tonight, Friday, when they welcome New London-Spicer to town for a 6 p.m. contest. They will also host a VFW tournament at Knute Nelson tomorrow and Sunday.

GAME STATISTICS

Morris 12, Alexandria 0

ALEXANDRIA PITCHING – Chase Duwenhoegger – 1IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 2SO; Beau Backhaus – 3IP, 8H, 10R, 8ER, 2BB, 1SO

ALEXANDRIA HITTING – Ben Allen – BB; Ted Deitz – 1-2; Gabe Grimstad – BB; Grant Becker – BB

Alexandria 3, Morris 0

ALEXANDRIA PITCHING – Nick Knoblach – 7IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 9SO

ALEXANDRIA HITTING – Jeff Swedberg – 2-3, 2B, RBI, 1 run; Knoblach – 2-3, 2B, RBI; Backhaus – BB; Zach Carlson – BB, 1 run; Becker – HBP, 1 run; Duwenhoegger – 2B

Cold Spring 9, Alexandria 8

ALEXANDRIA PITCHING – Carlson – 3IP, 6H, 5R, 3BB, 0SO; Gabe Grimstad – 1/3IP, 2H, 3R, 3ER, 1BB, 0SO; Allen – 1 2/3IP, 0H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 3SO

ALEXANDRIA HITTING – Swedberg – 1-4; Allen – 2-4, 2 runs; Carlson – BB; Knoblach – 1-1, 1 run, RBI; Pat Leary – 1-3, 1 run, RBI; Backhaus – 1-2, 1 run, RBI, BB; Becker – 2-3, 1 run, RBI; Tom Schmidt – 0-2, 1 run, RBI; Chris Christian – BB, 1 run; Deitz – 1-3

Alexandria 13, Cold Spring 3

ALEXANDRIA PITCHING – Matt Pilgrim – 5IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 4SO

ALEXANDRIA HITTING – Swedberg – 1-3, BB, 1 run, RBI; Allen – 3-4, 3 runs, 2B; Knoblach – 2-3, 2 runs, 3 RBI, 2 3B, BB; Leary – 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 1 run; Craig Campbell – 1-4, 1 run; Becker – 1-3, 2 runs; Backhaus – BB; Grimstad – BB, 1 run; Christian – 1-2, BB, 2 runs

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