The Oakes Tornadoes could not overcome Central Cass’s Carter Vrchota as he pitched a complete game shutout and struck out 16 Tornadoes. The first inning presented Oakes with their best opportunity to score after a leadoff walk by James Throener saw him reach scoring position with one out.

However, back-to-back punchouts sealed the Tornadoes’ fate in the inning, stranding Throener at third to end the inning. Brogan Roney would toe the slab for the Tornadoes to begin the game, as he and Maasjo traded zeros for the first two and a half innings.

In the bottom of the third, a pivotal error came back to bite the Tornadoes after a low throw allowed the Squirrels to load the bases with one out. Maasjo then hit a slicing RBI single to right center, as Tristen Peterson just missed bringing it in on the run. The single opened the way for the Squirrels to push across three more runs, sending nine men to the plate before the inning ended.

More zeroes would be exchanged through the next couple of innings, with neither team generating much offense in the swirling wind conditions. Central Cass would tack on one more run in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 5-0 lead after Vrchota singled to drive in Cole Holzer.

Any dreams of a late rally were quickly extinguished by Maasjo, who proceeded to strike out the side to end the game, picking up the complete-game shutout win. The next game for the Tornadoes will be on April 15th against the Northern Cass Jaguars.