Bulldogs drop pair at Kuemper tourney

The Le Mars baseball team dropped a pair of decisions at the the Carroll Kuemper tournament over the weekend.

Facing Class 2A No. 1 Cherokee, the 'Dogs dropped a 14-3 decision during Saturday's opening round.

"Their top four swung the bat," Le Mars coach Trent Eckstaine said of the top of Cherokee's lineup.

The first four hitters in the Braves' lineup combined for nine hits off of starter Aaron Fischer and reliever Chris Eckstaine.

The 'Dogs also struggled defensively as they committed three on the day.

"We had a couple (of errors) in big situations," Eckstaine said. "That was probably one of the worst games we've played in the past two weeks. We couldn't get anything going...(Cherokee) put a drubbing on us."

Keaton Rowe led the Le Mars offense with two runs scored and an RBI double among his two hits. Jay Penning was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Spencer 11, Le Mars 8

The 'Dogs did not fare much better as they lost 11-8 to Lakes Conference opponent Spencer in consolation round action on Sunday.

Le Mars committed six errors to spoil the varsity pitching debut of freshman Austin Homan.

The 'Dogs led 6-4 heading into the fifth inning when the Tigers capitalized on several errors to take the lead.

"It was kind of one of those things," Eckstaine said. "These were probably the two worst games we've played defensively the past couple of weeks. I guess if you have to play not up to par, now is the time to do it."

Homan pitched six innings as he allowed 11 runs - six earned - on 13 hits. He struck out two and walked two.

"I was very pleases with (Homan's performance)," Eckstaine said. "Homan threw strikes, got after it, and we should have played good enough to win the game for him. I'm pretty happy with the way he threw."

Tyler Candor led the offense for the 'Dogs as the senior was 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored.

Fischer was 3-for-3 with a runs scored and Jay Penning was 2-for-4.

Eckstaine noted the struggles of the 'Dogs at the Carroll tournament over the years:

"We just (don't seem to play very well there)," he said. "One of these days we'll get it turned around."

Le Mars (11-11) travels to Spencer in Lakes Conference action on Monday.