MASON CITY — It wasn’t a great start to the seventh inning for Landen Grandors here on Monday, but it was the finish that the Fort Dodge sophomore will always remember.

Mason City trailed 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded and no one out. The first batter had reached on a Grandor’s error, and he walked the next two batters to load the bases.

The FDSH reliever then struck out the next three batters he faced in order to end the rally and secure a road split for his squad with a 5-3 triumph.

“I only remember one other pitcher doing that for us: Ricky Sandquist in a postseason game over 15 years ago,” said FDSH head coach Blake Utley. “Landen finished strong and I’m happy for him.

“Jase (Nekvinda) put us in position to win, but unfortunately, he got hit in the ankle (by a ball) in the fifth and wasn’t able to go out in the sixth.”

Fort Dodge (15-13 overall) lost the opener by a final of 7-3 to the Riverhawks (19-8).

In the finale, the Dodgers had four hits and cashed in on three Mason City errors.

Drew Moritz, Dalton Rosalez, Royce Pederson and Corbin Cooper recorded hits. Cooper had a double and an RBI.

Rylan Kingrey and Jaxson Dencklau drove in runs.

Nekvinda (4-2) picked up the win, going five innings and allowing three earned runs. The sophomore struck out four and walked four.

“That’s the name of the game,” Utley said. “We put pressure on them and turned their mistakes, whether it was an error or a walk into runs. We made their mistakes hurt and we also put people in scoring positions.

“Our seven, eight, nine hitters each drove in runs. It was huge having those come through.”

In the opener, the Dodgers had seven hits by seven different players. Rosalez drove in two runs, while Grant Williams also had an RBI.

Nekvinda, Moritz, Rosalez, Williams, Karch Smith, Kingrey and Dencklau all tallied hits.

The Dodgers are back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Des Moines Roosevelt for a doubleheader. The twinbill starts at 3:30 p.m.