The Le Mars Community baseball team ended their season after a hard-fought 5-3 loss to the eighth-ranked MOC-Floyd Valley Dutchmen in Orange City on Friday night.
As the eight seed in the bracket, Le Mars was predicted to take the loss and put up little to no fight. The Bulldogs were not satisfied with that prediction and gave the Dutchmen all they could handle in the postseason opener. Head coach Kendall Candor says he was very proud of the effort his guys put forth.
Brett McInnis was a large reason Le Mars stayed competitive in the game. He pitched the entire game allowing four hits, five runs, and 12 strikeouts in the loss. His 12 strikeouts brought him within three of tying Le Mars’ single season record as well. Coach Candor says McInnis has been a steady arm for his staff and is one he has relied on all year.
Le Mars was down 5-0 going into the top of the sixth inning when they batted through their order and scored three runs in that inning. All nine hitters hit the ball well in that inning and gave the Bulldogs a chance to score. Coach Candor says that is what it takes to have success offensively.
Le Mars will graduate just one senior from this year’s team with Isaiah Tolzin being the only one on the roster. Coach Candor says Tolzin’s leadership was super beneficial to this team.
The Bulldogs end the season with a record of 8-26 on the season. With a lot of young talent on the team, the Bulldogs have the pieces to make a step forward next year. Coach Candor says he hopes the guys take advantage of the offseason to get better before next summer comes around.
MOC-Floyd Valley advances to play Sioux Center in the substate semifinal round on Monday night in Orange City.
