By AJ Reisetter and Joey Hudson
The Northfield River Rats had a busy week playing two games in as many days. They started with a victory on Wednesday, June 21st over Woodbury, 5-2, behind a complete game from Gabe Heinritz. Thursday they took down Burnsville in Dundas, 9-3, and Grant Hutton went the distance.
Heinritz Complete Game Propels River Rats Past Royals
Speed. Something the team has a lot of, but a few who aren’t known for their speed showed off the wheels Wednesday night on the road.
The River Rats opened up the scoring in the third inning after an error by the Royals’ shortstop put Spencer Mellgren on second base, Aaron Reisetter rocketed a triple to center field that found the fence. to give Northfield the 1-0 lead. It was Reisetter’s first triple of the season (and maybe ever). After another scoreless bottom half, Spencer Mellgren increased the River Rat lead to three. Grant Hutton walked and Daniel Worden reached on an error by the Royals’ third baseman. Mellgren lined a double to left field that scored Hutton from second and the speedy Worden scored from first to give Northfield the 3-0 lead.
In the seventh inning, Jake Geiger led off and reached on a hard ground ball that the shortstop bobbled. Mellgren followed up with a single to right field. Then the madness began. Reisetter hit a hard ground ball to the third baseman, who stepped on third to get Geiger for the second out. He then airmailed his throw to first base, trying to get Reisetter, Mellgren scored on the throw, and Reisetter advanced to third. The first baseman fired a strike to third trying to get Reisetter but it got by him and up the third base line which allowed Reisetter to score on a little-league inside-the-park homerun. After all the commotion Northifled finished the inning with a 5-0 lead.
Moeller hammered a two-run home run in the seventh to spoil Heinritz’s shutout, but Northfield escaped Woodbury with a 5-2 victory to improve to 2-2 on the season.
Another Victory Another Complete Game
Grant Hutton started on the mound for the Northfield River Rats opposite of Burnsville Cobras starter Thomas Shaefers.
The River Rats got out to an early lead in the first when Jake Geiger led off the bottom of the inning with a single and was brought around to score on a Spencer Mellgren groundout.
Grant Hutton got out of a jam in the top of the second when three straight two-out hits loaded up the bases for the two-hole hitter in Burnsville’s lineup, but Hutton was able to get out with a strikeout swinging.
In the top of the third, Burnsville tied it up when Asher Giese led off with a triple to the right field fence and was brought in by Drake Sloan on a base hit past the Northfield shortstop Geiger.
The River Rats exploded in the bottom of the third for five runs. Geiger led off the big inning with a single and was brought around to score when Gavin Novotny singled to right field. Two more scored when Daniel Worden came up clutch with the bases loaded, ripping a ball between the shortstop and third baseman, to increase Northfield’s lead to, 4-1. Worden and Gabe Heinritz both scored when Ryan Cahoon hit a line drive single to center field increasing the lead yet again to, 6-1.
Northfield tacked two more runs onto their total in the fourth when they loaded the bases with one out and Heintriz drove in Geiger and Novotny on a single to left field.
Northfield scored their final run of the game in the sixth when they loaded up the bases with two outs and Spencer Mellgren scored on a wild pitch to the backstop increasing the River Rats lead to, 9-1.
The Cobras got their final two runs of the game in the top of the seventh when Eli Keirstead reached on an error and Asher Giese hit a home run to dead center to bring the final score to, 9-3.
The River Rats move to 3-2 on the season, their first time with a positive record on the young summer season. They will host Hastings at Dundas Memorial Park on Monday, June 26th. You can catch that game and all Legion games on NorthfieldLive.com and stay up to date with all Northfield activities by heading over to NorthfieldLive.com and following us on social media @NorthfiedLive.
