DES MOINES — Fort Dodge baseball coach Blake Utley is hoping his team’s mini-road trip to end the week was successful in more ways than one.

The Dodgers (16-9 overall) finished a 12-2 win over Des Moines East on Friday morning in a game that originally started at McNeil Field in Fort Dodge on Monday. Combined with a split of Ottumwa the night before, Utley’s squad returns home with a better record than they left town with on Thursday.

And hopefully a little closer, too.

“We got to our hotel late (after the twinbill against the Bulldogs) and didn’t really get to sleep until after midnight, then we were up early (Friday) with breakfast and out the door by 7:30 (headed to Des Moines for a 10 a.m. first pitch),” Utley said. “We knew it would be a quick turnaround, but the guys were ready to go and showed plenty of motivation and resilience.

“We treated (the make-up game yesterday) like a business trip. We had a job to do, and we took care of it.”

Sophomore Bo Marsh had three hits for the Dodgers against the Scarlets (6-14). Classmate Kolton Schiltz drove in a pair.

Fort Dodge was patient at the plate, drawing eight walks. Senior Royce Pederson received three free passes, and junior Jaxson Dencklau walked twice.

Dencklau and sophomore Tanner Pederson both scored two times.

Sophomore Jayce Skow and freshman Reggie Pederson combined to handle the pitching duties.

“Our pitchers did a nice job, we didn’t force things offensively, and the defense was solid the last two days,” Utley said. “I thought we played well overall both Thursday and Friday.”

Utley also felt like the trip served as a bonding exercise of sorts with a few weeks left in the regular season.

“You tend to follow the same routine with (same-day) road trips, so having an overnight was nice,” Utley said. “We mixed things up a little as far as how we roomed (at the hotel), and it’s good to see the guys together and talking (regardless of class). We stopped to eat and there weren’t many phones out.

“Something like this can build chemistry and bring us together more, which is what you always want to achieve as a program.”

Fort Dodge is at Mason City on Monday.

FORT DODGE 12, DM EAST 2 (6)

Fort Dodge 027 012 — 12 10 1

DM East 011 000 — 2 8 5

WP–Jayce Skow (3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K). SV–Reggie Pederson (3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K). 2B–FD: Kolton Schiltz, Reggie Pederson.