AURORA- The North Woods baseball team closed out its regular season schedule last week with a pair of Thursday losses in games relocated to synthetic turf fields due to weather-related field conditions.
When the Grizzlies faced Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin on the artificial field at Mesabi East in Aurora, it was the second game of the day for the Grizzlies.
North Woods sent hurler John Warren to the mound, and the Titans rocked the sophomore early by batting around the order and scoring five runs in the top of the first.
But Warren and the Grizzlies gamely fought back, holding the Titans scoreless over the next four innings as they tried to work their way back into the game.
Levi Chaulklin got things rolling for the Grizzlies in the bottom of the first with a single, followed by a walk for Talen Jarshaw and a single by Cedar Holman to load the bases. Patience at the plate paid off for Warren, who drew a walk to bring Chaulklin home for the Grizzlies’ first run.
Trailing 5-1 going into the bottom of the fourth, North Woods struck again. Louie Panichi smashed an RBI double, bringing home Carson Johnson all the way around from first. Chaulklin found himself in the mix again, lacing a sharp single to center field that scored Panichi to pull the Grizzlies within two at 5-3.
The first two Titans batters reached base in the sixth, one after being hit by a pitch and the other on a bunt, and Warren handed the ball off to Jarshaw. GNK would put more runners on base and scored four in the frame for a 9-3 cushion.
Dawson Stavenger responded for the Grizzlies with a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth. A walk by Johnson gave the Grizzlies runners at first and second with Panichi coming up. The Titans switched pitchers, but that didn’t faze Panichi, who hammered the ball to center field for a double, scoring two runs. Chaulklin hit a grounder to third that should have been an easy out, but the throw was wide and got past the first baseman, allowing Chaulklin to move to second as Panichi scored. The three-run burst by North Woods closed the gap to 9-6.
Confident after their four-run sixth, the Titans kept on rolling in the seventh, demoralizing the Grizzlies with five runs. With the game now well out of reach, the Grizzlies went down quietly in the bottom of the seventh for the 14-6 loss.
Deer River
The Grizzlies’ first game of the day was against Deer River, played on the turf at Rock Ridge High School.
Chaulklin went all the way on the mound for the Grizzlies in this one, with the Warriors jumping out on top with two runs in the first. Deer River added a run in the third, and starter Ben Storlie was a puzzle the Grizzlies couldn’t solve as they failed to score in the 3-0 loss.