Spartans Fall To Cardinals In Final Inning

ALEXANDRIA -- The Rocori Spartans fell to the Alexandria Cardinals on Thursday evening in back-and-forth game at Knute Nelson Field.

Alexandria scored a walk-off run in the bottom of the seventh inning to take down Rocori 4-3 in the Central Lakes Conference contest.

The Spartans and Cardinals were knotted up at 1-1 heading into the the sixth inning, until Alexandria scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning to gain a 3-1 lead.

But Rocori answered right back, tallying two runs of its own in the top of the seventh to tie the game back up at 3-3.

In the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded, Connor Hammerback sent a single to right field to drive home the winning run for Alexandria.

Jordan Barth led the way for Rocori, going 2-for-4 and driving in all three of the Spartans' runs. Dylan Tebrake went 2-for-4 and Nick Penick and Sam Young each had one hit each.

Penick took the loss on the mound for Rocori, pitching 1 1/3 innings in relief. He gave up three hits, one run, two walks and struck out one.

Eli Emerson started the game on the mound for the Spartans, receiving a no-decision. He gave up four hits, one run, three walks and struck out three in 4 2/3 innings.

Hammerback finished 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBI to lead Alexandria. Michael Kuhn went 1-for-2 and drove in the other run for the Cardinals.

Hunter Schoenrock pitched one inning in relief to pick up the win. He gave up three hits, two runs, no walks and struck out one.

With the loss, Rocori falls to 6-6 in the conference and 7-6 overall on the season.

Next up for the Spartans is a Central Lakes Conference doubleheader with Fergus Falls on Tuesday at the Cold Spring Baseball Park. The first game will begin at 4 p.m., with the second game beginning shortly after.