Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Jack McEvoy of St. Edmond tags Pocahontas Area's Chase Cook on Thursday at Rogers Park. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

Both Aaron Davidson and Mike Szalat walked out of Rogers Park here Thursday night feeling good about their respective teams.

Davidson’s Pocahontas Area squad picked up a 2-0 victory over St. Edmond, scratching across both runs in the top of the seventh.

Ryan Anderson tossed a one-hitter for the Indians, striking out eight on the mound to give his coach a win in his final game in hometown.

Davidson, a 1995 St. Edmond graduate, will become the new principal at Fort Dodge Middle School in the fall.

“It’s always emotional coming back here and coaching, but definitely a little more this time,” Davidson said. “And I think it really was for my boys (Jace and Christian).

“We didn’t play perfect, but we got the win and that’s really the most important part.”

Anderson, a junior, was in a zone from the start. He didn’t allow a hit until Jack McEvoy connected on a double in the sixth, walking three batters on the night. Anderson struck out the side in that inning.

“Ryan really hit his spots,” Davidson said. “Our pitching staff has done a great job this year of throwing strikes and our defense has backed them up.”

Jace Davidson, a senior who will play basketball at Morningside College in the fall, was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk for PAC (13-3 overall). Christian Davidson, a sophomore, reached base twice on walks, stealing second and scoring a run.

Trey Oehlertz drove in a run and both Anderson and Gavin Ehn had base hits.

For the Gaels (5-6), McEvoy reached twice, with Connor Bocken and Jackson Kochendorfer also working walks. Kochendorfer pitched all seven innings, scattering five hits with a strikeout and four walks.

“That’s a really good Pocahontas Area team that we went up against,” Szalat said. “The top of their order is tough, and I thought Jackson did a great job limiting them.

“You never want to lose, but when you play the game right and limit the mistakes, you can learn so much from a night like this.”

Pocahontas Area returns to Twin Lakes Conference action vs. Emmetsburg on Friday, while St. Edmond is back in North Central Conference play at Humboldt.

POCAHONTAS AREA 2, ST. EDMOND 0

Pocahontas Area 000 000 2 — 2 5 0

St. Edmond 000 000 0 — 0 1 3

WP–Ryan Anderson (3-1, 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 8 K, 3 BB). LP–Jackson Kochendorfer (0-2, 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 K, 4 BB).

2B–PAC: Jace Davidson; SE: Jack McEvoy. RBI–PAC: Trey Oehlertz.