The Central Lakes College baseball team played top teams from Texas and Oklahoma to start the 2012 season. Example: March 14 losses by scores of 4-3 and 8-0 to fourth-ranked Tyler, Texas while being outhit, 11-8, in those two battles. Fielding miscues plagued the Raiders (0-16) in most losses against teams playing a lot more games in outdoor baseball weather most of the year. The Raiders led Tyler, 3-2, in the sixth inning of the first game before losing 4-3. Freshman hurler Dustin Motschenbacher of Wadena allowed just five hits and didn’t walk a
batter. Freshman Jared Hoemberg of Bertha had an RBI single and Joe Gaida of Browerville and Baxter sophomore Jaron Hanson collected the
other CLC hits. In the 8-0 shutout loss at Tyler, Melrose sophomore Pete Lucken had two hits for CLC and Gaida,
Parkers Prairie freshman Trey Thompson and Osage sophomore Derek Pihlaja each had a hit against the nation’s
fourth-ranked team. CLC is back in state for a Sunday, March 25 doubleheader vs. Rainy River at the Mall of America Field in Minneapolis, with a 4 p.m. start for the pair of seven-inning games. First home twinbill is April 3 vs. Hibbing at 2 p.m. Other recent losses in the Texas-Oklahoma road trip: March 15, vs. defending national champion Eastfield (Texas) 10-0, 11-1; March 16, also vs. Eastfield 17-2, 14-4; March 17 vs. NE Oklahoma, 7-1, 14-2. The March 12 nine-inning game vs. Paris, Texas was rained out.
