Spartans Drop Section Battle in Extra Innings

LITTLE FALLS — The ROCORI Spartans remained on the road for the second game in as many nights, facing off against Little Falls on May 23 in a section matchup at Little Falls High School.

In the game, ROCORI and Little Falls had to go eight innings to decide a winner, with the Flyers coming out on top 9-8 thanks to three runs in the bottom of the eighth.

The Spartans jumped out to an early 5-0 lead through two innings, but the Flyers answered back with four runs in the third inning and evened the game up in the bottom of the sixth to force extras. After ROCORI plated two runs in the top half of the eighth frame, Little Falls brought home three to take the win.

Beck Loesch went 3-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored while Brady Weber finished 3-for-4 with one run scored, Thad Lieser went 2-for-3 with one run scored and Jack Spanier added two hits and three runs scored at the plate for ROCORI. John Kinzer tallied one hit and two RBI and Jack Boos finished with one hit, one RBI and one run scored.

On the mound, Hunter Fuchs pitched the first 5 1/3 innings with four strikeouts while earning a no-decision. Brady Weber threw the final two innings, giving up five hits and three runs with two strikeouts.

With the loss, ROCORI dropped to 11-8 overall on the season while remaining 8-5 in Central Lakes Conference action. The final game of the regular season before the start of the Section 8-3A Playoffs next week will come against Willmar at 3 p.m. on May 25 in Willmar.