by Max Mercy

PROCTOR -- Superior scored all five runs in the third inning as the Spartans won a Lake Superior Conference baseball game against Proctor, 5-0.

Drake Samarzia, Derek Fender, and Brandon Wing combined on a two-hit shutout. Samarzia, the winning pitcher, worked the first four innings and allowed two hits. He had eight strikeouts. Fender pitched two innings and allowed two walks with one strikeout. Wing pitched the final inning and allowed one walk.

Samarzia led off the top of the third with a single and he scored from first base on an RBI double by Devin Samarzia. Conner Fonger then reached base on a sacrifice bunt that resulted in a two-base throwing error that plated Devin Samarzia. Isaac Rios kept the inning alive when he reached base on an error with two outs. Dominic D'Auria capitalized on the miscue by driving in both Fonger and Rios with a two-run single. D'Auria reached second on the play due to an error, and he scored the game's final run on an RBI single by Judd Erickson.

Mason Flick (3-1 W-L, 0.69 ERA) was tagged with the loss. He worked the first four and one-third innings and allowed five runs (one earned) on seven hits and one walk. He had seven strikeouts. Cole Johnson pitched two and two-thirds innings of shutout relief. He allowed four hits and one walk with two strikeouts.

Michael LaJoie and Drake Samarzia led Superior with two hits apiece. D'Auria had two RBI.

Blake Koski singled in the second and Austin Parrott doubled in the third for the Rails' hits.

Proctor, now 8-2, is at Cloquet on Thursday, May 10.