Valley City fell victim to a dominant pitching performance by Fargo South’s Carson Shiek, who struck out nine Hi-Liners en route to a 6-2 win for the Bruins.

On the other side of the diamond, it was a tough luck pitching day for Ethan Miller who pitched better than the six earned runs he allowed but ultimately took the loss after five solid innings. The first inning saw Miller make a great snag on a hot shot up the middle before he lost his footing and threw the ball away, trying to double-off the runner getting back to first base. The error allowed the runner to reach second and then reach third after a balk on the ensuing pitch, which set up a productive out to give the Bruins the early 1-0 lead.

The bottom of the second saw Miller again fall victim to bad fortune. After allowing one run to score after a groundout to short, it appeared as if he was going to work out of the jam after forcing a weak groundball. However, a defense miscue allowed an infield single, which drove in the runner from third, and a two-out double would give the Bruins a 4-0 lead.

The third inning saw Valley City come out swinging. Miller started the inning with a single before Jack Samuelson launched his first home run of the season to pull the Hi-Liners within a pair. A single by Corbyn Powell brought the tying run to the plate with no out, but two groundouts and a strikeout would halt the Hi-Liner momentum.

The Bruins added two more runs in the fourth after a line drive up the middle got past Trevor Fetsch’s diving glove, giving them another four-run advantage. Shiek finished off the game by striking out a pair of batters in the seventh and getting Miller to pop out to shortstop to seal a 6-2 win for the Bruins.

The Hi-Liners will take a day off tomorrow before taking on the Red River Roughriders on Thursday at 5:00 PM at Charlie Brown Memorial Field. That game can be heard live on 1490 AM/ 96.3 FM KOVC and online at NewsDakota.com.