The Saints would get their best opportunity to score when they had two runners in scoring position in the 1st inning. But Syverson escaped trouble when he forced Reed Butz to ground out to 1st base. An Aanderud two-out walk in the 2nd inning was the only thing the Saints could muster until the 9th as Syverson would set down 19 consecutive Saints batters after that walk.
The Mudcats would have their chances as well. In the 4th, the Mudcats would have runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs but Johnson escaped unscathed as he struck Sam Moser out looking. A misplayed line drive by Karges resulting in a two-base error in the 6th would be stranded as Johnson struck out the next two hitters.
The Mudcats would get serious traction going in the top of the 9th but would begin with controversy. Isaac Howe lifted a fly ball to center and Karges and Butz ran into one another with Karges making the catch. After a conference between the two umpires, the catch stood. Syverson then would help his own cause with a single, followed by Johnson hitting Hayden Netland with a pitch. But Johnson would persevere and strike Moser out looking again before Syverson mistimed Johnson’s timing to the place and took off for 3rd but Johnson stepped off and was caught stealing at 3rd to end the inning.
Aanderud opened the 9th for the Saints with a single. Gage Wherley moved Aanderud to 2nd with a well-executed sacrifice bunt. Karges then singled to left and as Aanderud got the stop sign, the left fielder bobbled the ball just far enough and Aanderud beat the throw with a head-first slide to give the Saints their 6th win of the season.
Johnson picked up the win for the Saints with a complete game shutout as he only gave up three hits, four walks, a hit batter, and a career-high 17 strikeouts on 141 pitches. Karges, Aanderud, A.J. Casario, and Andrew Schaan had the four Saints hits on the day. Syverson was the hard-luck loser for the Mudcats as he also went the distance giving up four hits on one unearned run with only one walk. Syverson’s knuckleball would stymie the Saints bats as he bested Johnson in the strikeout column with 18 strikeouts of his own.
The Saints improve to 6-3 on the season with their next action being the first-ever Rally in the Valley Classic this coming Friday through Sunday. The tournament features the Saints along with the Cass County Catfish, Dilworth Raildogs, East Grand Forks Mass, Fargo Mets, Jamestown Hounds, Mayville Red Caps and Velva Effertz Key Ranch.
The Mudcats move to 4-6 on the season with their next action being Wednesday night as they travel to Enderlin to take on the Indies.