The Rainy River Community College baseball team split two games against two different teams Sunday at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud.

In the opening contest against Northland, the Voyageurs found themselves down 8-1 after five innings, before rallying in the final two frames to win, 9-8.

“This win was a total team effort,” said RRCC head coach Josh Koenig. “We got out to a slow start as we have in previous games so far this spring. However, the difference (Sunday) was that we never gave up.”

Pitcher Reece Lanier battled through some adversity with the assistance of his teammates, both defensively and offensively, and recorded his first collegiate win on the mound.  

Ty Paddock had the game-winning hit to score Max Gonzalez in the bottom of the seventh.  Paddock led the Voyageurs at the plate by going 3-4 with an RBI and a walk.  

Josh McInnes, Gonzalez, and Chandler Ticknor each recorded two hits in the game. Riley Acra, Dominic Casareto, Bryn Redhead and Gabriel Santos Muniz each added a hit. McInnes and Redhead both had 2 RBI.

 SCTCC 3, RRCC 2

In the second game against St. Cloud Technical and Community College, the Voyageurs trailed until the top of the fifth when Ticknor doubled to get things going in the inning.  

With two outs, McInnes hit a 2-run home run — the first of the season and his collegiate career — to give the Voyageurs a 2-1 lead.  

Redhead and Angel Hernandez Jr. also each collected a hit in the game.  

However, St. Cloud Tech hit a triple with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and then scored on a two-out error, before manufacturing a run in the bottom of the seventh for the victory over the Voyageurs.  

Paddock pitched all seven innings, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits in the loss.

“As a coaching staff, we are very pleased with how we played overall (Sunday),” Koenig said. “It appears that we have learned from some of the mistakes that we made during spring training in Florida and that improvement is the key.  

“In order to be where we want to be at the end of the season (qualifying for the State Tournament), we will need to continue playing like we did (Sunday).”

The Voyageurs are now 3-7 overall. Their next action will be at the Metrodome this coming weekend when they play a pair of doubleheaders. RRCC faces Anoka-Ramsey on Saturday and then plays Central Lakes on Sunday.

Game one results

N.land  3 0 3 0 0 2 0 — 8  7  3  

RRCC    0 0 0 0 1 5 3 — 9 14  3                  

Game two results                                                          RRCC    0 0 0 0 2 0 0 — 2  4  2

SCTCC  1 0 0 0 0 1 1 — 3  5  0