—Messenger photo by Eric Pratt fort dodge’s drew callon delivers a pitch against Davenport West Saturday afternoon at Ed McNeil Field. The Dodgers went 2-0 on the day, beating both West and Clinton.

After a promising — albeit frustrating — season-opening performance against fifth-ranked (Class 4A) West Des Moines Dowling earlier in the week, the Fort Dodge baseball team desperately wanted to find their rhythm at the plate and build some momentum heading into Memorial Day.

The Dodgers did just that in the FDSH Invitational Saturday at McNeil Field, scoring a pair of convincing victories over Clinton, 8-3, and Davenport West, 8-2.

Five days after being swept by the Maroons despite allowing only five total runs in the twinbill, head coach Blake Utley’s squad racked up 16 runs and 17 hits. Senior pitchers Drake Miller and Drew Callon did the rest, as the Fort Dodge evened its record to conclude the opening week of the year at 2-2.

“We were able to get the ball rolling and put guys on base. When you do that, good things typically follow,” Utley said. “We strung some hits together. I liked our approach at the plate. The pitching and defense were there against Dowling, but we didn’t get any timely hits. We had better swings (Saturday) and put pressure on (the opposing) defense.”

The River Kings plated two runs right away against Miller, a southpaw. The all-state quarterback settled down from there, though, working six innings. The Dodgers plated two runs in the second, third and fourth innings to pull away.

“We got off to a little bit of a slow start, but you can always count on Drake to keep getting better as the game goes,” Utley said. “He’s going to battle and compete on every pitch. We hit well, we bunted well and we ran the bases well to back him up.”

Callon and junior Brycen Bell had two hits each against Clinton, while sophomore Dylan Zimmermann laced a two-run double. Callon, Bell, juniors Shane Halligan and Mason Bockoven, and freshman Jace Ulrich also drove in runs.

Fort Dodge again fell behind in the opening frame against West, which defeated ninth-ranked Sioux City East the night before at McNeil Field, 8-1. The Dodgers immediately answered, though, as Zimmermann walked with the bases loaded and junior Nick Bice and Bell followed with consecutive RBI singles.

Ahead 4-1 in the fourth, Fort Dodge pieced together another big rally. Bockoven was hit by a pitch to tally a run, and Bice brought a pair home with a single.

Bice, Halligan, Callon and Bockoven finished with two hits each. Senior Anthony Wagner scored three times.

Callon wiggled his way out of a pair of bases-loaded jams and surrendered just a single run, walking two and striking out seven.

“We got a lot of balanced production up and down the lineup, and Drew worked through those innings that make or break you,” Utley said. “He pitched like a senior. West is a solid ballclub; they beat East on Friday and have a lot of strong, athletic kids. Drew just buckled down and got the big out or made the big pitch every time they threatened.”

The Dodgers return to action on Tuesday at Algona. They also visit Boone on Friday.

FORT DODGE 8, CLINTON 3

Clinton 200 001 0 — 3 8 0

Fort Dodge 022 202 x — 8 7 1

WP–Drake Miller (1-1; 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K). 2B–FD: Dylan Zimmermann.

FORT DODGE 8, DAVENPORT WEST 2

Dav. West 100 100 0 — 2 7 1

Fort Dodge 310 400 x — 8 10 1

WP–Drew Callon (1-1; 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K). 2B–FD: Shane Halligan.