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Wild rally for Gaels vs. Humboldt

Down 11-0, St. Edmond scores 15 unanswered runs to prevail

Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Brant Reiling of St. Edmond makes a catch at Rogers Park.

St. Edmond head baseball coach Joe Shanks has seen just about everything during his time on the diamond.

Monday night, though, Shanks experienced a first, as the Gaels charged back from an 11-0 deficit to defeat North Central Conference rival Humboldt at Rogers Park by a final of 15-11.

Thanks to 15 walks and four hit batters, St. Edmond plated four runs in the fourth, 10 in the fifth and another in the sixth to win their fourth straight.

“It seems every year you have a game you don’t really deserve to win and a game you shouldn’t have lost,” Shanks said. “We came out flat once again and that’s just something we can’t do.

“But to the credit of our kids, we didn’t hang our heads and we battled back. Humboldt helped us obviously with the walks, but we’ll take it anyway we can get it.”

Connor Allison reached base five times on the night, going 2-for-2 and drawing three walks. He scored twice and drove in a run, while Sam Dougall collected three RBI for the Gaels (10-8 overall, 4-4 in NCC).

“Connor and Sam have really been hitting the ball well this past week,” Shanks said. “It seems when we need a big at-bat, one of them is up at the plate.”

No. 9 hitter Nick Bennett drove in two and drew three walks, as did leadoff hitter Cole Allison. Brant Reiling, Cael Kolacia and Jake Szalat all had an RBI, as Szalat reached base four consecutive times.

Jackson Kochendorfer, a sophomore, came on in the third and completed the game. Kochendorfer picked up his first varsity victory, allowing four hits and just one earned run over the final five frames.

“Jackson doesn’t always show a lot of emotion, but we saw some out of him (Monday night),” Shanks said. “He came in and threw strikes, which was what we needed. And for the most part, the defense backed him up.”

The Wildcats (10-6, 4-3) suffered their second consecutive defeat. They scored six runs in the third, as six consecutive batters reached base. Devon Clark was 3-for-4 with a triple, Hudson Gargano had two doubles, while both Reese DeWinter and Joey Busse drove in three.

DeWinter, who started the contest, recorded seven strikeouts in three-plus innings, but walked six.

“We’ve always struggled with Humboldt since I’ve been here,” Shanks said. “They are a solid program that does it the right way. This is a big win for our kids.”

Over the last three-plus seasons, Humboldt has gone 42-10 in league play.

St. Edmond returns to action Tuesday night, stepping out of the NCC to meet Pocahontas Area back here. The Wildcats are off until hosting two-time defending state champion Clear Lake on Wednesday.

In the junior varsity contest, Humboldt won, 4-3. Sean Flattery and Gage Johnson each went 1-for-1 at the plate.

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