Alexandria Legion: Post 87 tops Perham, splits with West Fargo

Dalton Leuschke and the Alexandria Post 87 Legion baseball team made easy work of Perham to pick up a 13-2, eight-inning win on the road last Wednesday night.

Leuschke led an Alexandria offense that pounded out 20 hits. He showed off some of the power that highlighted his high school season with a home run that went along with a 3-for-5 day at the plate. He scored three and drove in five more runs.

Leuschke was one of seven Alexandria players who finished with multiple hits. Chris Vogeler continued to create havoc for opposing teams from the leadoff position with three hits, including a double. Eric Carlsen added three hits and two RBIs, while Luc Beireis, Parker Giroux, Erich Murphy and Chris Curry each had two hits apiece.

“It was a great all-around game for the guys,” head coach Kevin Engebretson said. “We hit the ball, threw it well on the mound and played flawless defense.”

Beau Backhaus got the start and stymied the Perham lineup through six innings. He allowed one run on two hits and two walks, while striking out eight. Nate Nelson came on in the seventh and struck out five over the final two innings after giving up a run in the seventh.

“Both pitchers looked sharp,” Engebretson said. “They hope to carry that into the playoffs for their team.”

GAME STATISTICS

ALEXANDRIA 330 004 12X – 13 20 0

PERHAM 000 010 10X – 2 4 4

ALEXANDRIA PITCHING – Backhaus – W, 6IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 8SO; Nelson – 2IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 5SO

ALEXANDRIA HITTING – Vogeler – 3-5, 2B, 2 runs; Aaron Billberg – 1-4, 2 runs; Leuschke – 3-5, HR, 3 runs, 5 RBI; Carlsen – 3-6, 1 run, 2 RBI; Luc Beireis – 2-4; Jordan Domine – RBI; Giroux – 2-4, BB, 3 runs; Murphy – 2-4; Curry – 2-5, 2B, 1 run, 2 RBI; AJ Anderson – RBI; Gideon Burnham – 1-1; Nick Knoblach – 1-1, 1 run; Nelson – BB

ALEXANDRIA 5-2,

WEST FARGO 2-7

The Alexandria Post 87 Legion baseball team split a doubleheader against West Fargo last Thursday with a 5-2 win in the nightcap after falling 7-2 in the opener.

Dalton Leuschke got his team off on the right foot in game two with a blast in the first inning. Parker Giroux was hit by a pitch in front of him when Leuschke came to the plate and sent a pitch deep over the left field fence for a 2-0 lead.

That gave Logan Serum some early runs to work with on the mound. Serum threw the first five innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on seven hits and two walks. He struck out four. Nathan Nelson relieved him in the sixth and struck out four over the final two innings.

“Both pitchers answered the call and did a very nice job to help us pick up the win,” head coach Kevin Engebretson said.

Alexandria added a run in the second and two in the fifth to give Serum and Nelson some insurance. Leuschke, Giroux and Gideon Burnham all had two hits in the game, while Aaron Billberg, Jordan Domine and Nick Knoblach added one hit each.

The roles were reversed in game one as West Fargo took an early lead and opened things up for the 7-2 win. The big blow for Post 87 came in the third when West Fargo used a home run and two Alexandria errors led to a five-run inning.

Post 87 had one last chance in the seventh. They loaded the bases with one out before the final two batters went down on strikes to end the game.

Shawn Krueger took the loss in a complete-game performance. He allowed four earned runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out three.

“It was another solid effort by Shawn,” Engebretson said. “Just not quite good enough in a game where we couldn’t produce much offense.”

Alexandria backed him with just six hits. Chris Vogeler had two of them, while Leuschke, Luc Beireis, Eric Carlsen and Jordan Domine added the others. Post 87 was able to utilize their speed on the bases where they stole 10 bags in the two games.

“Overall, it was a successful night against a very nice team from West Fargo,” Engebretson said. “Our pitchers did a solid job of giving us a chance to win both games.”

GAME STATISTICS

ALEXANDRIA 210 020 0 – 5 9 2

WEST FARGO 100 010 0 – 2 10 0

ALEXANDRIA PITCHING – Serum – W, 5IP, 7H, 2R, 1ER, 2BB, 4SO; Nelson – 2IP, 3H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 4SO

ALEXANDRIA HITTING – Vogeler – RBI; Aaron Billberg – 1-1; Leuschke – 2-4, HR, 1 run, 2 RBI; Jordan Domine – 1-3; Giroux – 2-3, 2 runs; Burnham – 2-3, 2B; Knoblach – 1-3, 1 run, RBI

ALEXANDRIA 010 010 0 – 2 6 3

WEST FARGO 105 010 X – 7 6 0

ALEXANDRIA PITCHING – Krueger – L, 6IP, 6H, 7R, 4ER, 2BB, 3SO

ALEXANDRIA HITTING – Vogeler – 2-3, BB, 1 run; Leuschke – 1-3, BB; Carlsen – 1-2, BB, 1 run, RBI; Luc Beireis – 1-4; Domine – 1-3, RBI; Erich Murphy – BB; Chris Curry – BB

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, legion, baseball, post, 87