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Bulldogs jump out to big lead, fend off WCHS on baseball diamond

ALGONA – In a large hole early, the Webster City baseball team dug its way out and made Algona sweat before ultimately losing a close decision here Monday night.

The Bulldogs (7-2, 2-0 NCC) raced out to a 6-0 lead after two innings, but had to hang on late to trip up the Lynx, 6-5.

It was the fourth straight loss for WCHS, but head coach Mark Fisher says it was a step in the right direction.

“I thought we showed great improvement from Friday and Saturday,” he said. “This was one of those nights where luck played a large part in the outcome.”

The luck came in the form of Algona finding the holes with grounders that turned into hits, which translated into runs. WCHS sophomore pitcher Cameron Moen needed 43 pitches to get out of the first and second innings, but settled down and needed just 54 more over the Bulldogs final four at bats.

Moen allowed nine hits and struck out five. WCHS (2-5, 1-2 NCC) made five errors that translated into two unearned runs.

“Cam really only gave up one hard-hit ball all night,” Fisher said. “He really did a heck of a job, especially as the game wore on.

“Defensively we played better, but we still made a few untimely errors. It’s still a game we should win if we make the routine plays.”

Collin Besch earned the win on the mound for Algona. He came on in relief of Quinton Nielsen in the third inning and worked into the seventh. Alex Remy picked up the two-out save; he got Ty Schnathorst to line out to right field with Jordan Tanner representing the tying run on second base.

Algona out hit WCHS, 9-4. Blake Elsbecker had the Bulldogs’ only extra base hit, while Corey Wagner had the lone one for the Lynx. Both were doubles.

Romel Martinez, Max Hackbarth and Dylan Steen added singles for the Lynx. Hackbarth and Steen drove in one run each.

“Offensively we looked better than the boxscore indicated,” Fisher said. “Most of our hits were hard hit balls and we also had a lot of very hard hit outs, too. We still had a few too many untimely strikeouts and still need to put more consistent at bats together, but it was a step in the right direction.”

WCHS will be back at home this evening to take on Humboldt at 7:15 p.m.

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