by Max Mercy

Matt Morris and Jake Malec combined on a two-hit shutout as Proctor defeated Hermantown, 5-0, in a Lake Superior Conference baseball game at Hermantown on Thursday, May 19.

Morris (4-2 W-L, 1.87 ERA) picked up the win with six innings of work. He allowed two hits and four walks with seven strikeouts. Malec pitched a perfect seventh inning with one strikeout.

Proctor took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. John Aase led off with a double, and Matt Sievert and Bryce Huffman walked to load the bases. Luke Nordquist singled for an RBI, scoring Aase, and Nathan Carlson hit into an RBI fielder's choice, scoring Sievert.

The Rails concluded the game's scoring in the fourth. Nordquist reached on an error to start the inning. Matt Tracey was hit by a pitch with two outs. Malec then knocked in Nordquist with a single and was followed by a two-run single by Morris.

Malec and Nordquist had two hits apiece and Morris had two RBI.

Malec played in his 91st career varsity game, which tied the Proctor High School record set by Jimmy Merling in 2013.

Losing pitcher Jesse Jaques allowed five runs (two earned) on five hits, three walks, and a hit batsman in four innings. He had six strikeouts. Wyatt Sonneson pitched three shutout innings in relief.

Proctor is now 11-4. The Rails are back in action on Saturday in the Mike Bugliosi Wood Bat Tournament in Hibbing.