Going into the Championship game versus McGregor, Floodwood coach Bubba Vance had some advice for his team.
“I am expecting McGregor to come out with a great deal of intensity,” Coach Vance said. “They will play hard.”
McGregor did just that. They scored two runs in the first inning.
At that point Coach Vance gathered his team. “Did you expect this was going to be easy?” he said. “We need to stay focused and have good at bats ourselves.”
Floodwood responded with three runs, and they would pull away for the 11-4 victory in the end.
Hunter Rauvola, Floodwood’s starting pitcher, got the ball rolling for his team. He hit a triple, and Willow Christianson followed with an infield single.
Floodwood took advantage of a hit batter and an error to score three runs in the first. The team followed that inning up with three more in the second and three more in the third. They added two insurance runs in the fourth on a 2-run homer by Shawn Anderson.
McGregor’s two runs in the first inning came about after Tommy Scollard was hit by a pitch and Brandon Fairbanks doubled.
McGregor scored two more in the third inning. Tommy got things going again with a walk, and Cole Hoover executed a perfect bunt single. Chase Hoover then delivered with a double that knocked in his brother Cole.
According to Coach Vance, McGregor made some great improvements, and he credits the effort of the coaches. “Pat [Scollard] and Shawn [Hoover] do a really good job,” he said. “The team applauding us when we received the trophy was really classy. Look for McGregor to have a nice team in the future.”
Coach Vance concluded by pointing out the excellent job by his winning pitcher, Hunter Rauvola. “Hunter shared the pitching duties with Collin [Kemp],” said Bubba. “He struggled early in the season, but came on strong and made giant strides this year.”
Hunter recorded 13 strike outs, had four walks, and gave up just two earned runs. He also contributed a triple and a single at the plate.
Willow Christianson also had a big day at the plate. He was 3-4 with two RBIs.
