Spartans Fall to Cardinals in Conference Contest

WILLMAR -- The ROCORI Spartans baseball team returned to the field on Thursday, May 5 for their second road contest of the 2022 season, traveling to Willmar to face the Cardinals in a Central Lakes Conference showdown.

After winning in walk-off fashion against Sauk Rapids on May 3 in Cold Spring, ROCORI fell to Willmar 9-1 at Baker Field in Willmar. The Cardinals kicked off the scoring in the game with two runs in the third inning, with the Spartans answering with a run of their own in the top of the fourth. Willmar went on to add seven runs in the fifth inning to pull out in front and hold off ROCORI.

Jack Spanier led the Spartans at the plate with one hit and one run scored, followed by Joel Sowada with one hit and Beck Loesch with one RBI.

On the mound, Cole Fuchs got the start for ROCORI and threw the first four innings, giving up just two earned runs while striking out eight. Chandler Dumonceaux and Tyler Lardy each threw one inning in relief for the Spartans to round out the game.

With the loss, ROCORI falls to 5-2 in the Central Lakes Conference and 5-2 overall on the year. The Spartans return to action on Saturday, May 7 when they travel to take on the Sauk Rapids Storm in a conference contest at 1 p.m. at Bob Cross Field in Sauk Rapids.