Playing with a bit of bravado | News, Sports, Jobs

Photo by Jake McNeill Granite Falls pitcher Bennett Knapper throws a pitch from the mound during a baseball game against the Marshall A’s at Richter Field in Granite Falls on Sunday. The Kilowatts defeated the A’s 4-0.

GRANITE FALLS — Despite battling through a 12-inning slog in Friday’s win over Sacred Heart, the Granite Falls Kilowatts didn’t look tired at all when they hosted Marshall on Sunday afternoon. The pitching duo of Bryce Sneller and Bennett Knapper limited the A’s to one run on the day and earned their fourth straight victory, 4-1.

“It was a bit uncertain what we would do today, but these guys really tried their best,” Granite Falls manager Mike Richter said Sunday about the team’s pitching situation after Bennett Knapper pitched against Willmar on Wednesday and Nikson Knapper and Sneller pitched against Sacred Heart on Friday. “I said, ‘Bryce, can you give us something to help us get started?’ I was hoping for five, we got into the fifth and struggled a little bit there, but not too bad. Bennett said he was ready too, so kudos to him for sticking with it today.”

After pitching 4 2/3 scoreless innings on Friday, Sneller was back in action on Sunday, shutting out Marshall for 4 1/3 frames, allowing just two hits before being replaced by Knapper with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth.

“(Sneller) had a short rest so we knew we had to let a couple guys go, but he gave us a chance,” said Knapper.

After Sneller picked up his first strikeout of the day to start the inning, consecutive singles by Ryan VanMoer and Talan Plante and a walk to AJ Toulouse loaded the bases when Bennett Knapper entered the game. The Kilowatts led 2-0 at the time, but with the go-ahead run at third, Knapper locked in and got a strikeout and ground out to end the inning.

“You could tell (Sneller) was feeling it a little bit with the fatigue, but I knew I was just going to come in and give us a chance, maybe with a ground ball double play,” said Knapper. “If we had given away one or no points, it would have been a pretty successful game as far as I’m concerned.”

Knapper finished the game with 4 2/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits and a walk. He also retired a third of the batters he faced and finished the day with six strikeouts.

“If you want to be competitive, it all starts with pitching,” said Richter. “That’s what really sets the tone of the game. These young guys have stepped up. They’re all a year older and a little bit more mature and it’s turned out pretty good.”

Nikson Knapper put the Kilowatts on the board in the first inning when he was walked with one out. Bennett Knapper was hit by a pitch and a wild pitch put the runners in scoring position, where Sneller then drove in Nikson with a sacrifice fly to center field.

Nikson Knapper reached base in each of his four plate appearances on the day, walking in his first two and singled in his last two. Jordan Odegard also reached base three times on a pitch hit, singled and walked.

Odegard’s single led off the fourth inning. He advanced to second base as Cody Dahlager was running, stole third, and then came home on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.

Charlie Jacobson pitched the first two innings for Marshall. He struck out three batters and did not allow a hit during his time on the mound, but he walked two batters and hit another while allowing a run.

Mitchell Bouwman was the A’s first reliever of the day. He allowed three runs in his 3 1/3 innings, none of which were earned. He struck out five batters and allowed four hits and six walks.

When Marshall failed to capitalize on his bases-loaded opportunity in the top of the fifth, the Kilowatts responded with another run in the bottom of the inning. Marshall made it two when Bennet Knapper relieved Nikson at first by reaching a fielder’s choice and then was caught in the path on a pickoff throw from Marshall catcher Talan Plante. Still, Sneller reached for a walk and Colton Vien reached on an error to put two runners on, and an Odegard single drove in a run to make it 3-0.

Marshall scored his only run of the day in the eighth inning. Toulouse singled and was replaced at first by pinch runner Cooper Mensink. Mensink advanced to second on a single by Chase Douglas and advanced to third when Connor Neubeck walked with the bases loaded with one out. Cody Wichmann hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Mensink, but a fielder’s choice prevented Marshall from capitalizing.

Toulouse’s eighth-inning single was his first since he returned to batting after an injury during his baseball season at Waldorf University (Iowa). VanMoer was the only other A to reach base safely twice that night, singleding in the second inning and singled in the fifth for the A’s first hit of the game.

“Just not enough line drives, a lot of pop-outs and then putting the ball on the ground,” Marshall manager Ryan Schwagel spoke about the root of the team’s attacking struggles in the last two games after they lost 1-0 to Raymond on Friday. “(Granite Falls) played good defense. They didn’t make mistakes, they threw strikes and they played well enough to win the game. We didn’t.”

Jake Eben pitched the final 2 2/3 frames for Marshall, shutting down the Kilowatts and retiring three batters. He allowed one walk and no hits.

The Kilowatts scored one final time in the sixth inning when Nolan Hildahl walked, advanced to third on wild pitches and scored on a single by Nikson Knapper.

Granite Falls improves to 5-5 on the season while Marshall drops to 9-4. Both teams are now tied for third place in the Corn Belt at 5-3 in the league, behind Raymond’s 8-2 record and Bird Island’s 6-1 record.

“We’re still quite young, so it’s almost a bit of bravado when the whole team does well,” said Bennett Knapper. “We find ways to win, no matter the situation.”

The win is a big step forward for the Kilowatts, who started the season by losing five of their first six games. Richter described the victory as a quality win against a good team, adding that with many of the Kilowatts players only a year or two out of high school or college ball, it takes a while to get going.

“I just keep telling them to play for each other. It’s not about yourself, it’s about the team. I think guys just play really hard when they try to play for each other,” said Richter. “We have some guys that live out of state or far away from the cities and they just enjoy playing baseball together. That’s the biggest thing. We have a really, really good league and when you can get a win in our league, it feels pretty good.”

The Kilowatts host Wabasso for their next game on Sunday, July 14 at 1:30 p.m. Marshall plays again tonight when they travel to Minneota for a 7:30 p.m. game against the Mudhens. Schwagel said the A’s have the pitching to compete with anyone, but hitting more consistently is the key to getting back in the winning column.

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