BASEBALL: Bemidji busts out of skid, dominates Apollo in all phases

BEMIDJI — It’s been a curious conundrum, that of the Bemidji High School baseball team.

The shine of a 10-0 start wore away with six straight losses, which was a head-scratching reversal of the team’s red-hot trajectory early in the season. But thanks to Tuesday’s 8-0 win -- a sorely needed one at that -- over St. Cloud Apollo at the BSU baseball field, the Lumberjacks feel like they’re finally trending forward again.

“A lot of the things we were doing well early in the year showed up again today,” BHS head coach Mike Fogelson said. “Our belief the whole time has been that everything was still there, we were just struggling. It was nice to see some of those things get back on track.”

Bemidji dominated in all facets. They scored in all but one inning, belted two home runs, stole seven bases, flashed the leather in the field and racked up 14 strikeouts from the pitching mound.

“I don’t care what the score would have been, we just really needed a win today. Obviously, it was nice to play really well along the way,” Fogelson said. “We played a really clean game in the field, ran the bases really well. Isaiah (Biehn) took the ball, and he did a great job.”

The Jacks (11-6) hadn’t won a game since Biehn tossed a perfect game two weeks ago. He wasn’t quite as unhittable on Tuesday, but he still dominated from the rubber.

“Hopefully it’s a trend in the right direction, and I’m sure it is,” Biehn said of the win. “Some of the teams we played (during the losing streak) were some of the top-ranked teams in the state. We’re still competing really well.”

Bemidji jumped out to a quick lead and kept building. In the first frame, Ben Corradi singled in Biehn and then scored on Aaron Heger’s sacrifice fly. An inning later, Biehn belted a two-run homer over the tall wall in left, and Brandon Lussier followed with a towering solo blast in the third.

“Oh man, that was fun,” Biehn said. “It was like the beginning of the season, when we had our 10-game win streak. We’re starting to steal tons of bases again, getting the hits, getting those RBIs and getting the pitching great again.”

Biehn took care of business on the mound, too, striking out 14 Eagles and keeping them off the scoreboard by mixing speeds to keep batters off balance all game.

Sometimes players get called upon in a time of need, but this time around, Biehn made the call himself.

“He called me at 11:30 last night,” Fogelson said. “He said, ‘I’m pitching tomorrow.’ I said, ‘OK, you’re pitching.’ He did a great job.”

Two Lumberjack runs came in during the fourth inning, off Biehn’s sac fly and Corradi’s fielder’s choice. For good measure, Corradi scored in the sixth inning to run the score to 8-0.

Biehn had to escape a few jams, as well. He stranded a pair of baserunners in each the third and sixth innings to hold St. Cloud Apollo (3-13) at zero. Biehn came one batter shy of a complete game and overcame five hits and two walks by striking out 14 of the 27 batters he faced.

Ethan Biehn needed just one pitch to induce a flyout to center field for the final out of the afternoon.

Isaiah Biehn finished 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs, while Corradi had a two-hit, two-RBI day, as well.

“It feels great, especially (after) losing all those games in a row,” Isaiah Biehn said of the win. “It’s like the start of the season again, so hopefully we can go in the right direction with that.”

Bemidji will next travel to St. Cloud Tech for a 5 p.m. game on Thursday, May 20.

Bemidji 8, St. Cloud Apollo 0

SCA 000 000 0 -- 0-5-1

BHS 221 201 X -- 8-7-1

WP: I. Biehn (6.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 14 K)

LP: Brito Ruales (4 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 K)

1/5: Bemidji senior Brandon Lussier (13) puts the ball in play in the sixth inning against St. Cloud Apollo on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at the BSU baseball field. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

2/5: The Lumberjacks celebrate after a home run from Brandon Lussier (13) in the third inning against St. Cloud Apollo on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at the BSU baseball field. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

3/5: Bemidji’s Ty Lundeen (19) hits a single in the sixth inning against St. Cloud Apollo on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at the BSU baseball field. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

4/5: Bemidji sophomore Ethan Biehn (4) evades the tag and scores in the fourth inning against St. Cloud Apollo on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at the BSU baseball field. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

5/5: Bemidji sophomore Ben Corradi (34) steals second in the fourth inning against St. Cloud Apollo on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at the BSU baseball field. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)