by Max Mercy

VIRGINIA -- Virginia defeated Proctor, 3-1, in a non-conference baseball game at Stock Field on Mon., April 24, to hand the Rails their first loss of the season. The Blue Devils' Jack Perala earned the win by pitching six and two-thirds innings and allowing one unearned run on four hits and four walks. He had four strikeouts.

Proctor scored its run in the top of the first inning when Luke Nordquist walked with one out, stole second base, and advanced two bases when Zach Gunderson reached on an error.

Back-to-back singles by Virginia's Joe Lackner and Drew Aho to lead off the bottom half of the first frame put Proctor pitcher Zach Gunderson under pressure early, but he responded by retiring the next three batters to end the threat. 

Virginia took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the third. Lackner led off with a double and he scored on Aho's RBI double. Aho reached third on an error on the play and later scored on Nick Pineo's RBI ground out with one out.

The Blue Devils tacked on another run in the fifth. Aho reached on an error, Max Carlson singled, and Aho scored when Pineo also reached on an error.

Perala succombed to the new Minnesota State High School League pitch-count rule after recording two outs to start the top of the seventh. He reached his maximum pitches for a day, 105. Reliever Kody Lindgren earned the save by getting the last out, a line-drive to the shortstop off of Gunderson's bat, after surrendering a single to Bryce Huffman.

Proctor batters managed four hits: a single by Nordquist in the third; a single by Ryan Lear to lead off the fourth; A double by John Aase to lead off the fifth, and Huffman's single in the seventh.

Gunderson (0-1 W-L, 1.17 ERA) allowed one earned run on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts in six innings. He threw 81 pitches for a 13.5 pitch-per-inning tally.

Proctor, now 2-1, plays at home on Thursday in a Lake Superior Conference game against Ashland.