Spartans Fall To Cardinals In Close CLC Battle

COLD SPRING — After a jam-packed week last week, ROCORI opened up another busy week on May 12 against Willmar, hosting the Cardinals for Youth Night where all kids under the age of 13 got into the game for free and received a free meal.

Those in attendance were treated to another close battle between ROCORI and Willmar, with the Cardinals edging out the Spartans 3-2 in a Central Lakes Conference showdown. After trialing 3-0 entering the third inning, ROCORI tallied one run in each the third and the fourth innings, but wasn't able to bring home the game-tying run to fall short by one.

Cal Heying and Cooper Notch each drove in one run for ROCORI, with Heying adding a hit. Max Fredin finished 1-for-3 with a triple and one run scored, while Reece Kalla added a hit and a run scored.

Nolan VanLoy threw the entire game on the mound for the Spartans, giving up three runs, no walks and striking out five.

With the loss, ROCORI dropped to 8-8 overall on the season while sliding to 3-6 in conference action. Next up for the Spartans is battle against Albany on May 14 in St. Martin, a showdown against Red Wing on Alumni Night on May 15 in Cold Spring, and Bryce Day at 4 p.m. on May 16 in Cold Spring.