Coming off last weekend’s tournament title in Grand Rapids, the International Falls VFW baseball team played at home for the first time this season and split a doubleheader Tuesday against the Grand Rapids Grey.
In the first game that counted for tournament seeding purposes, the Falls defeated the Rapids Grey, 5-1.
Wyatt Ulrich recorded the complete-game pitching victory working all seven innings, allowing a run on two hits with two walks while striking out seven.
“Wyatt always pitches it good,” said Falls VFW head coach Eric Walls. “I always like throwing him out there (on the mound), because I know he’s going to throw it over the plate.
“He doesn’t throw super hard, but he’s going to throw strikes, and they’re going to put it in play, and it allows us to play some defense. He did a great job (Tuesday).”
Both of Rapids’ hits with the run came in the top of the first inning.
The Falls tied the game in the bottom of the first when Ulrich and Jack Mellstrom opened the inning with singles and Kevin Kilbride brought Ulrich home on a sacrifice fly to center field.
In the bottom of the third, the Falls had four consecutive singles by Ulrich, Mellstrom, Kilbride and Ben Humbert and took a 3-1 lead.
Falls’ final two runs crossed the plate in the fifth inning following a double by Jack Bartkowski.
R. Grey 11, I. Falls 10
The lead see-sawed in the second game, in which the Falls had a number of reserve players see action, when the Rapids Grey scored four runs in the top of the seventh to defeat the Falls, 11-10.
“In those game twos, we get a lot of guys into the lineup that haven’t played probably as much as some of those (starting) guys during the high school baseball season, but they played very well,” Walls said.
The Falls used multiple pitchers in the second game, starting with Bartkowski.
Max Vergeldt threw in relief before Mellstrom came in to pitch in the top of the seventh after two batters walked on base with no outs. The Rapids Grey then strung together three hits as part of the four-run inning.
The Falls left two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh and was unable to score in the final time at-bat after Bartkowski walked and Vergeldt singled to lead off the inning.
The twin bill split gave the Falls an overall season record of 5-3. Falls’ next home games are Monday in a doubleheader against Ely starting at 4 p.m.
Game one
I. Falls 5, R. Grey 1
R. Grey 1-0-0 0-0-0 0 — 1
I. Falls 1-0-2 0-2-0 X — 5
Game two
R. Grey 11, I. Falls 10
R. Grey 0-2-0 1-3-1 4 — 11
I. Falls 0-2-0 3-2-3 0 — 10
