No. 4 ROCORI Takes Down No. 3 Detroit Lakes In Opening Round of Section 8-3A Playoffs

DETROIT LAKES -- The ROCORI Spartans baseball team kicked off play in the Section 8-3A Playoffs on the right foot on Tuesday, June 1 against Detroit Lakes.

The fourth-seeded Spartans hit the road to take on the third-seeded Lakers at Washington Park, with ROCORI pulling out with a 9-4 victory to advance in the winners bracket in the Section 8-3A Playoffs.

In the win, the Spartans tallied two runs in the first inning, two runs in the second inning and added four runs in the fourth inning and one more in the fifth to record a total of nine runs on 10 hits.

At the plate, Jack Spanier finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBI and Brady Linn went 1-for-3 with two RBI to lead ROCORI. Connor Clark went 2-for-4 with one RBI, Joel Sowada went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, Jayden Philippi went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and one RBI and Brady Blattner added one hit, one run scored and one RBI for the Spartans.

On the mound, Blattner threw a complete game to pull away with the victory in the opening game of the section playoffs, giving up just six hits and three earned runs while striking out one.

With the victory, ROCORI advances to host No. 5 Alexandria, which beat No. 2 Bemidji by a score of 4-2 on Tuesday, June 1, in the winners bracket portion of the Section 8-3A Playoffs at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Cold Spring Baseball Park.

To view the full Section 8-3A Playoff bracket, click here.