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REL mercies Northern 11-1 in six

Eddie O’Neill/The Daily Mining Gazette Northern Driveline’s Justin Heinonen delivers a pitch during a game against REL-Mohawk Technology Thursday at the Hancock Driving Park.

HANCOCK — As the “new kids on the block” of the Copper Country Twilight League, the boys from Northern Driveline have been trying to find themselves during their inaugural season. While they have put together some games that have been better than others, they have yet to clinch their first win.

Thursday night was no exception for Northern, as they fell to REL-Mohawk Technology, 11-1, in six innings of play.

Northern played REL well earlier in the season and thought they would have a good chance to beat them the next time they met. Their second meeting came and went on Thursday and, unfortunately for Northern, the results stayed the same – another loss.

The game came down to the proverbial bad inning and that was the bottom of the sixth for Northern. Up until then, the two teams were locked in at 4-1 in favor of REL after the first inning. REL pitcher Sam Kariniemi kept his squad in the game by throwing strikes. Justin Heinonen did his best to match Kariniemi’s effort for Northern.

Both teams threatened to score in between the first and sixth innings, but nothing ever materialized.

Travis Pietila started a seven-run rally for REL in the bottom of the sixth with a hard-hit double up the middle. Brent Loukus followed with an RBI single

Rory Anderson stepped to the plate to follow Loukus. After fouling a few balls off, he connected on a fastball and sent it over the fence for a two-run blast.

“It felt great coming off the bat,” said Anderson with a smile on his face after the contest. “That was the story of that inning as we were able to get the bats going and keep going.”

The hit parade continued with base raps by Alan Jurmu and Axsel Loukus, both of whom later crossed home plate.

The Northern defense seemed to fall apart as the inning went on and frustration weighed in after each error. Before they knew it, the 4-1 deficit was suddenly an 11-1 loss.

With the victory, REL moves to 4-2 on the season. The Twilight League will host the annual Leo Durocher Tournament next weekend in Stanton.

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