Superior 18, Proctor 0
Duluth News Tribune, May 3, 2002

Greg Aker had two doubles and a triple and scored four runs in a five-inning game in Proctor.
Keith Ritsche scored three runs and Mark Erickson limited the Rails to two hits and struck out five.

Superior hammers Proctor
Superior Daily Telegram, May 3, 2002

PROCTOR -- The Superior High School Spartans banged out 16 hits and took advantage of six errors in an 18-0 whitewashing of the Proctor Rails in five innings Thursday evening at Terry Egerdahl Field.

The victory improves the Spartans to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the Lake Superior Conference. Proctor is now 0-2 in the LSC.

Junior lefty Mark Erickson was the winning pitcher for the Spartans, striking out four of the 17 batters he faced and alloweing only one hit.

Erickson, now 2-0 with his second win in as many games, also picked off Proctor's Nate Ellison, who reached on an error with two outs in the third.

"Mark did a great job today," said SSHS Coach Don Dembroski. "It was cold, it snowed a little, it hailed a little. We had those long innings, and yet he was able to focus on his job, keeping the ball down and throwing strikes. Maybe what is most impressive is that he didn't walk a single batter."

The Spartans gave Erickson support right away with four runs in the first inning and 11 more in the second.

In the first, Greg Aker reached on an error to deep center field, Keith Ritsche singled and stole second, and Sean Ross walked to load the bases. Kyle Peterson followed that up with a two-run single. Keith Johnson then hit a one-out grounder to first for an RBI, and then with two outs John Bothun singled to score Ryan Hendry, who was running for Peterson.

In the second, 11 straight Spartans scored on six hits, three walks, and one error. Vince Viggiano reached on an error, Aker doubled, Ritsche walked, Ross doubled, Peterson singled (two RBI), Calore, Johnson, and Bothun singled, Paxton and Viggiano walked, Aker reached on an error, Ritsche added a sacrifice fly, Ross singled, and Peterson added an RBI ground out.

David Hendrickson led off Superior's fourth inning with a double. Ritsche singled, Ross hit a sacrifice fly, Mike Lynch singled, and Hansen notched an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

Superior's final run came in the fifth when Viggiano reached on error, Hendrickson singled and Viggiano scored on Erickson's single.

"The team did a great job of focusing on keeping their intensity up the entire game," said Dembroski. "Sometimes when you jump out to an early lead you can lose focus, stop hitting, fielding, or throwing strikes."

Proctor's lone hit was a two-out single by lef fielder Ryan Anderson.

Aker extended his hitting streak to seven games with a double in three at bats. He also scored three runs.

Other Spartans in the books include: Hendrickson, 2-for-2 (double, run); Ritsche, 2-for-2 (three runs); Erickson, 1-for-1; Ross, 2-for-3 (double, two runs, RBI); Peterson, 2-for-3 (five RBI); Lynch, 1-for-1; Calore, 1-for-2; Hansen, SF, RBI; Johnson, 2-for-4 (three RBI, run); Bothun, 2-for-2 (run, stolen base); Paxton, run; and Viggiano, three runs scored.