The Le Mars Community baseball team started their 2024 season with a losing doubleheader sweep at the hands of third-ranked Bishop Heelan on Monday night.
Things got ugly fast for the Bulldogs who dropped game one by a score of 13-1 in five innings. The Crusaders only needed 10 hits to score those runs because they were helped by eight walks from Bulldog pitchers. Head coach Trent Eckstaine says that was what started the snowball rolling down the hill.
Game two saw the Bulldogs stay much more competitive but ultimately fall by the score of 4-3 with the tying run on third base to end the game. The offense had its opportunities but failed to make the most of them throughout the game. Hampered by 13 total strikeouts, Coach Eckstaine says his offense did not look very aggressive at the plate.
The bright spot on the night was the relief pitching the Bulldogs got in game two. The efforts of Carter Baumgartner and Sy Bixenman in the final four innings kept the Bulldogs in the game. Coach Eckstaine says they did what they had to do which was throw strikes to avoid hurting themselves.
In the end, this was games one and two out of 34 regular season games giving the Bulldogs plenty of time to work things out. Coach Eckstaine says that time will only be helpful if his guys use it wisely.
Le Mars will take on a top-15 team in Class 3A on Friday when they head to Harlan to take on the Cyclones.
