Baseball Recap: Randolph Picks Up Eighth Consecutive Win

Randolph extended their winning streak to eight on Monday, bumping their season record up to 14-4 in the process. They skirted past the Belle Plaine Tigers 14-12. For the Rockets, this counts as revenge for the 10-0 victory the Tigers walked away with the last time they faced one another back in May of 2024.

As for Belle Plaine, they dropped their record down to 6-9 with the loss, which was their fourth straight on the road. On the bright side, the 12- run performance marked their highest-scoring game to date.

For Belle Plaine's part, Nolan Swenson was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave Swenson a new career-low in walks (zero). He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. That stolen base was his first of the season.

In other pitching news, Belle Plaine got a good showing from Waylon Friendshuh, who struck out seven batters over 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off three hits. Friendshuh has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.

Back at the plate, Treyden Hiles made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and got on base in all five of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and one double. Belle Plaine is 3-1 when Hiles posts two or more runs, but 3-8 otherwise. Bennet Balk was another key player, going 2-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double.

Randolph does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Belle Plaine, they will head out on the road to square off against St. Peter at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The Saints' pitching crew has only allowed 3.2 runs per game this season, so the Tigers' hitters will have their work cut out for them.