WILLMAR -- Over two days of junior college baseball, the Ridgewater Warriors piled up four wins, 40 runs, two no-hitters, three shutouts and a winning poker hand -- four 10s and an ace kicker.
The Warriors pummeled Riverland 10-0 and 10-5 on Saturday after crushing Minnesota West 10-0 and 10-0 on Friday in MCCC Southern Division games at Bill Taunton Stadium.
The ace on Saturday was Zach Etter, a right-handed pitcher from Menagha who didn't allow the Blue Devils a hit over five innings while walking one.
That was in Saturday's first game, giving Dwight Kotila's pitching staff consecutive no-hit shutouts. Ethan Vogt clamped down on Minnesota West late Friday in a five-inning no-hitter.
Saturday's sweep boosted the Warriors to 5-1 in the South and 19-7 overall with the Rochester Community and Technical College Yellowjackets here for two games starting at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
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Ridgewater 10, Riverland 0
The Warriors scored in every inning, including a two-run homer by second baseman Travis Fluck in the fourth. Adam Schieck went 3-for-4, and Steve Boldt doubled and singled off the Blue Devils' Elias Solveling, who allowed 11 hits over 4Xc innings. Schieck singled home his second RBI of the game to end it with two outs in the bottom of the fifth.
Etter relied on his fastball to fan five and allow only two Riverland batters to reach. Etter couldn't remember if he'd ever thrown a no-hitter before.
He played for Iowa Central last year but balked at returning when told he would be only pitching and not playing in the field.
"Dwight had recruited me, too, and I knew here I'd get a chance to both pitch and play a position," said Etter.
Etter played for the Menagha-Sebeka American Legion team that won the Division II state tournament in 2004.
Riverland 000 00 - 0 0 4
Ridgewater 212 32 - 10 11 2
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HITTING - Riverland: no hits .... Ridgewater: Ryan Young 1-for-4; Steve Boldt 2-for-4, 2b; Steve Wetterling 1-for-4; Jacolby Anderson 1-for-4; Travis Fluck 1-for-1, 2-run HR, sac fly, 3 rbi; Erik Dahl 1-for-3, rbi; Adam Schieck 3-for-4, 2 rbi; Matt Sagedahl 1-for-3, 2 rbi
PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Riverland: Elias Solveling (L) 4Xc-1-10-8-4-4 .... Ridgewater: Zach Etter (W) 5-0-0-0-1-5
Ridgewater 10, Riverland 5
Trailing 8-0, Riverland broke through with four runs in the fourth inning to emphatically end the pitching staff's bid for a fourth straight shutout.
The runs were off freshman right-hander Andy Bauer, who went four innings and allowed six hits. Adam Ferrell, who is trying to bounce back from a season-long sore arm, threw a perfect first inning in his first test since March 11.
Matt Sagedahl went 3-for-3 and Steve Boldt homered with one on in the second.
Riverland 000 041 0 - 5 7 2
Ridge. (5-1, 19-7) 140 310 x - 10 10 2
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HITTING - Riverland: Jake Blome 1-for-4, rbi; Elias Solveling 1-for-4; Louis Lang 1-for-4, 2b, 3 rbi; Adam Edge 1-for-3; Steve Hovland 1-for-3; Matt Richter 1-for-2; Jason Castillo 1-for-3 .... Ridgewater: Zach Etter 1-for-3, 2 rbi; Steve Boldt 2-for-4, 2-run HR, 4 rbi; Scott Rambow 1-for-4; Pat Antil 1-for-1; Travis Fluck 1-for-1; Matt Sagedahl 3-for-3, rbi
PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Riverland: Louis Lang (L) 2-4-5-2-2-2, Rob Barslou 4-5-4-4-3-1 .... Ridgewater: Adam Ferrell 1-0-0-0-0-0, Andy Bauer (W) 4-6-4-4-3-6, Adam Nilson 2-2-1-1-0-2
NEXT -- Ridgewater: 2 p.m. Wednesday vs. Rochester (2) at Bill Taunton Stadium
