Baseball

       Alden Marsolek pitched a complete game and the Duluth Marshall Hilltoppers shutout the Gobblers Friday night at Woock Field halting the Gobbler win streak at six games. Marsolek allowed just five hits and got all the runs he needed in the top of the first helped by a homerun from Easton Grumdahl. The final was 8-0. Andy Hanson started for the Gobblers and went five innings allowing 8 hits and five runs, but the bats were quiet for the Gobbler offense and the Hilltoppers moved their record to 5-2 on the season. Cole Trotter led Aitkin with a 2-3 night while Nolan Dotzler, Kyler Rikala and Brandon Kunz had the other three hits.

Hilltoppers  8 10 1

Gobblers     0  5 2

WP Alden Marsolek

LP Andy Hanson

      The Gobblers host Proctor on Monday at Woock Field.

      The Aitkin Gobblers remained unbeaten Friday after a 13-6 win over Moose Lake/Willow River in the first of two games played at Woock Field. Karson Hasskamp, on in relief of Brandon Kunz pitched the final four innings to get the win while striking out 8 hitters. Aitkin took a 2-0 lead in the first as Nolan Dotzler singled, Bo Sanford walked, Owen Spolarich was hit by a pitch and Kyler Rikala reached on an error scoring both runs. The Rebels got one run back in the second but Aitkin got two more back in their half. Jack Jacobson reached on an error, Dotzler singled and after a wild pitch Sanford lined a basehit to right to score both runners. MLWR scored four runs in the third to take a 5-4 lead, the big blow being a two-run homer off the bat of Layne Radzak. Aitkin tied the game in the third when Owen Foday running for Rikala, scored on a hit by Jacobson. The Rebels took a 6-5 lead but again the Gobblers came back. They tied it in the fourth on a walk to Sanford, a hit by Cole Trotter, a walk to Spolarich and a single by Aiden Flanagan. Aitkin took a 9-6 lead in the fifth. Jacobson walked, Sanford was hit by a pitch, Trotter reached on an error scoring one and two passed balls brought the other two runners home. The Gobblers put the game away with four runs in the sixth. Karson Hopperstad walked, Jacobson reached on an error, Dotzler singled for a run, Sanford reached on another boot that scored two runs and a wild pitch scored the final run. Dotzler finished with a 3-5 day and also scored three times while Sanford drove in two runs and scored four times on his 1-2 afternoon.

Rebels        6 5 6

Gobblers  13 7 4

WP-Karson Hasskamp

LP-Runo Larson

       The Aitkin JH Gobbler 8th grade baseball team defeated Rush City Friday behind the pitching of Bennett Christy and Logan Henke. Coach Tom Sanbeck, "We struggled some on the mound, but our bats helped us out." The 7th grade beat the Tigers 10-2. Coach Garrett Lee, "Tommy Rono and John Roslin both pitched well and catchers Easton Spolarich and Cal Raushel did a great job behind the plate."

    The Gobbler 8th grade baseball beat Pine City Tuesday 13-2. Coach Tom Sanbeck after the win, "We started hitting early and kept it going throughout the game. Game highlight was an inside the park home run by Luke Jacobson. Madden Dotzler, Borden Melz, Jacobson and Wyatt Sicard all pitched in the victory."

       Tuesday was something pretty crazy for the Gobbler baseball team. They were at Pine City for conference play and Aitkin couldn't have imagined how this game would go. The Gobblers knocked out 18 hits on their way to a 26-5 win over the Dragons. Aitkin scored 6 runs in the top of the first but the Dragons came back with 4 of their own. That was just the start as Aitkin scored 17 runs in the second to take a commanding lead. Going back to the first the Gobblers started with a walk to Bo Sanford. Cole Trotter singled, Kyler Rikala singled for a run, Karson Hasskamp doubled for two runs, Owen Spolarich doubled for another, Jack Jacobson reached on an error scoring a run and Aiden Flanagan also reached on a boot to score the 6th run. Here is how the 2nd played out, Sanford reached on an error, Trotter singled and Rikala walked. Brandon Kunz singled, Spolarich singled, Jacobson doubled, Flanagan singled, Nolan Dotzler singled, Sanford singled, Trotter reached on an error, Rikala was hit by a pitch, Hasskamp hit into a fielders choice, Kunz singled, Spolarich reached on an error, Jacobson singled, Flanagan singled, Dotzler reached on an error, Trotter reached on an error, Rikala was hit by a pitch and Karson Hopperstad walked. Aitkin had a slow third inning, getting just two runs. Quinton Christy singled, Dotzler reached on an error, Sanford walked, Eli McNevin singled for a run and Rikala walked for the second run. The Gobblers got one more in the fifth. Andy Hanson singled, Noah Farrell walked, Hopperstad walked and Noah Janzen walked to score the run. Dotzler went the first two innings on the mound giving up four runs, while striking out 3 and walking 1. Hanson followed him for two innings and Owen Foday pitched the final inning. Christy was 2-2, Flanagan, Jacobson and Spolarich were all 2-3 and Rikala, Spolarich and Hasskamp all knocked in three runs as Aitkin moved to 5-0 on the season.

Gobblers    26 18 4

Dragons       5   7 8

WP-Nolan Dotzler

LP-A. Schwarzbauer   

      The Gobbler C-Squad rolled to an 18-1 win over the dragons. Quinton Rikala was 2-4 with three runs scored  while Jayden Janzen was 2-4 and Nolan Aspelin was 2-3 with 3 runs scored. Braxton Falstrom was 1-2 and Garrett Trotter was 1-4 to lead the Gobblers.

        The Aitkin Gobblers moved to 4-0 on the season Monday as they defeated the Rush City Tigers 10-0 at Woock Field. Five Gobbler pitchers held the Tigers to just one hit in the victory with Jack Jacobson picking up the win. Karson Hasskamp, Jacobson and Cole Trotter each went one inning, Owen Foday came on and pitched the 4th and 5th, and Quinton Christy threw the final inning. Aitkin scored two runs in all but the third inning to get the win. They took a 2-0 lead in the first as Nolan Dotzler singled and stole second. Cole Trotter blasted a double to score one run and Hasskamp reached on an error to score the other run. They made it 4-0 in the second as Owen Spolarich singled and stole second, Aiden Flanagan singled and Dotzler singled for both runs. It became 6-0 in the fourth. Dotzler reached on an error, Trotter tripled for one run and the second run scored on a groundout by Kyler Rikala. The 5th inning made it 8-0 as Brandon Kunz singled, Bo Sanford singled, with a run scoring on an error and a single by Dotzler brought home the other run. The game ended as the Gobblers scored twice in the sixth inning. Auscar Cartie reached on a dropped third strike, Quinton Christy walked, Noah Janzen was hit by a pitch, and after a double play, Boyd doubled and the final run scored on a wild pitch. Dotzler finished 3-4 with three runs batted in on the night and Cole Trotter was 2-4 with a pair of runs batted in. The five Gobbler hurlers fanned 12 Tiger hitters in the game.

Tigers        0   1 6

Gobblers 10 10 0

WP-Jack Jacobson

LP B. Nihart

       Aitkin took on C-I in a JV matchup Monday and the Gobblers scored a 13-9 victory. Braxton Falstrom went three innings giving up just 2 hits while striking out 4 and walking 4. Jakob Bollum went 2-3 with a pair of doubles and 4 runs batted in to lead the offense.

      The Gobbler C-Squad beat up on Pequot Lakes at the Hayfield 12-2. The Gobblers scored 4 runs on no hits in the first to get out to a lead. The Patriots got two back in the second, but the Gobblers scored five times in the third. Quinton Rikala, Jayden Janzen, Drew Proctor and Reed Parkin provided the offense in that inning. That made it 9-2 but Aitkin wasn't done. They scored again in the fourth on hits by Jordan Goeritz and Garrett Trotter and then put the game away in the fifth on a walk, single and an error. Hits for the Gobblers came from Parkin who had two hits with Goeritz, Rikala, Janzen, Trotter and Proctor all having one hit in the win.

        The Gobbler's 8th grade baseball team took care of C-I Monday 17-1. Zac Raushel, Logan Henke, Braedyn Lee, Hayden Cluff and Zac Prethish all pitched for the Gobblers and the guys played a good game of defense and hit well.

       Karson Hasskamp stroked a single in the bottom of the eighth inning to score Aiden Flanagan with the winning run in a 6-5 victory Thursday over the visiting South Ridge Panthers. Flanagan reached on an error at third and reached second before Hasskamp's winner sent the Gobblers and their fans home happy.

      The Panthers scored first as they put up four runs in the third inning. Aitkin got one run back in their half as Auscar Cartie singled and later came home on a double by Nolan Dotzler. The Gobblers scored twice in the fourth to make it 4-3. Cole Trotter reached on an error, Bo Sanford singled, Trotter scoring on an error, Owen Spolarich singled and Sanford came home to make it a one-run game. South Ridge made it 5-3 but again the Gobblers charged back to make it close. Aiden Flanagan singled and Karson Hasskamp slashed a double to make it a 5-4 game. Aitkin would tie things in the bottom of the seventh. Jack Jacobson reached on an error at short, stole second and came home on a triple by Trotter. The winning run was at third with nobody out but a flyball to center and the ensuing throw to the plate was good enough to nail Trotter and keep the Gobblers from scoring the deciding run. A strikeout ended the inning, and the two teams went to the eighth inning. The Panthers failed to score, setting the Gobblers up for a big finish. Brandon Kunz went the final 3 1/3 innings on the hill striking out 7 taking over for starter Andy Hanson who struck out 5 in his 4 2/3 innings. Neither pitcher walk a hitter in the game. Hasskamp was 3-4 with a pair of runs batted in, Trotter was 2-4 with a run knocked in and Dotzler had one hit and one run batted in.

Panthers    5 6 7

Gobblers   6 11 3

WP Brandon Kunz

LP Kingsley Archambault

        The Gobbler JV scored seven runs in the second inning and Jakob Bollum pitched five innings of two-hit ball as Aitkin scored an 8-0 win over the Panthers. Bollum didn't walk a hitter in the complete game shutout and struck out 12 to pick up the win. Aitkin took a 1-0 lead after one then plated seven runs in the next inning to put the game away. Eli McNevin, Jayden Janzen, Levi Paulbeck, Noah Farrell and Andy Hanson each had one hit and the Gobblers took advantage of several Panther miscues in the field in the victory.

     The Aitkin Gobblers opened their home season with a crazy game Tuesday but they ended up with a 14-13 victory over the Braham Bombers. Karson Hasskamp climaxed a six run sixth inning with a base-loaded triple to tie the game at 13-13 and soon after scored the winning run on a wild pitch.

     The Gobblers took a 3-0 lead in the first. Nolan Dotzler single, Jack Jacobson doubled over the center-fielders head for one run, Kyler Rikala singled for another and Tyler Boyd, running for Rikala, scored on a wild pitch. The Bombers scored twice in the second, then put up eight runs in the third to take a 10-3 lead. Aitkin made it 10-6 in their half of the third helped by another Jacobson hit, a single by Cole Trotter, a hit by Rikala, one run scored on a groundball by Noah Janzen, Brandon Kunz was hit by a pitch and Aiden Flanagan produced a run with a sacrifice fly. The Bombers made it 13-6 in the fourth inning, but the Gobblers bounced back with two runs of their own. Dotzler was hit by a pitch, Jacobson had a hit and Trotter doubled for a pair of runs. It was 13-8 to the bottom of the sixth when the Gobblers struck oil. They scored six times to take a 14-13 lead. Jacobson reached on an error, Trotter doubled for a run, Rikala doubled for another then with the bases loaded later in the inning Karson Hasskamp tripled to clear the bases and tie the game. He then scored on a wild pitch to put the Gobblers in front 14-13. Eli McNevin, the fifth Gobbler of the night got the first two outs of the seventh but after a walk, Dotzler came on to get the final out, but, not before the Bombers put runners at the corners. A ground ball back to Dotzler ended the contest after over three hours of play.

     The offense produced 11 hits in the game, led by Trotter who was 3-4 with three runs batted in. Rikala was 3-3 and knocked in two runs, Jacobson was 3-4 with four runs scored and a run batted in. Trotter, Noah Farrell, Quintin Christy, Levi Paulbeck, McNevin and Dotzler all toed the rubber in the win.  

Bombers    13  5 5

Gobblers    14 11 4

WP Levi Paulbeck

LP  E. Belden    

       The Gobbler JV also posted a win, 7-3 over the Bombers. Quinton Rikala picked up the win on the mound going two innings while striking out 3 hitters. Karson Hasskamp had a triple while Jayden Janzen had two hits including a three-run blast over the left center field fence. Noah Farrell also had a triple in the win.

      The Aitkin JH Gobbler baseball teams headed for Braham Tuesday. The 7th grade came away with a nice 10-1 win. According to Coach Garrett Lee, "Tommy Rono and Easton Spolarich both pitched and did well. The whole team worked hard and played well." The 8th grade won 12-2. Coach Tom Sanbeck, "Wyatt Sicard, Luke Jacobson, Logan Henke and Mike Olsen all pitched, and the offense hit the ball and ran the bases well. A very good outing for the first game of the year."

      The high school baseball season should get underway soon and you know what that means....walk-up songs for Gobbler hitters. First though we took a look back at the 80's when walk-up music got its start with "Wild Thing" by the Troggs, made famous in the movie Major League. Many think that Derek Jeter was one of the first major league players to use a tune as he strode to the plate to "This us how we do it" by Montell Jordan.  Teammate Mariano Rivera wasn't too far behind with "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. Later on it was Bryce Harper with "Flower" by Moby, Trevor Hoffman had "Hell's Bell's by AC/DC and Chipper Jones had "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne as the hall of famer moved to the plate. How about the Twins in 2026, Byron Buxton uses "Jamming" by Bob Marley and the Wailers, Kody Clemens has "Tequila shots" by Kid Cudi, Ryan Jeffers uses "Duffle Bag Boy" by Playaz Circle and Taylor Rogers has "The Chain-2004" by Fleetwood Mac. Now let's have some fun. We asked some of this year's Gobblers what their walk-up music will be this season.

Brandon Kunz-"Hate it or love it" by 50 Cent

Karson Hopperstad-"Just the way you are" by Milky

Quintin Christy-"Keep their heads ringing"-Dr. Dre

Owen Spolarich-"Here comes the money"-Shane McMahon

Auscar Cartie-"Father, stretch my hands"-Kanye West

Noah Janzen-"Double Bubble Trouble-MIA

Coach Jeremy Janzen if he had one-"Welcome to the Jungle"-Guns 'n Roses

     Now let's have some more fun. Turn the clock back to 1967 and see what some of the walk-up songs might be for that team. Remember, I didn't actually get the info from these players; I just came up with songs from that year that might be fit their personality.

Warren Nelson-"Silence is Golden"-Tremeloes

Dave Yattaw-"There's a kind of Hush"-Hermans Hermits

Keith Isaacson-"Let's live for Today"-Grass Roots

Randy Conner-"The Beat goes on"-Sonny and Cher

Bob Olsen-"Gimme a little Sign"-Brenton Wood

Dick Beyreuther-"I dig Rock and Roll Music"-Peter, Paul and Mary

Warren Lofgren-"I got rhythm"-Happenings

Jerry Borgman-"She's rather be with me"-Turtles

     Are you ready, here comes my walk-up song from 1967-"Light my Fire"-Doors

    Well, we had a little fun with this because we didn't have walk-up music back then, but it sure has added some excitement and fun to the game, right down to the high school teams.