Rugby Clarence Larson American Legion Post 23 baseball started its season off with a 7-1 win against Rolla Fred C. Wagner Post #235 at home on Rugby’s Johnsen Field June 7.

Pitcher Brody Schneibel and the Rugby defense battled Rolla pitcher Isaac Herbel and his team for seven innings, with Rugby nearly nabbing a no-hitter before a double by Rolla’s Nicholas Mears broke through to set up an RBI in the seventh inning.

Schneibel helped Rugby build its lead early, putting away batters with little trouble in the first inning. At Rugby’s first at-bat, Logan Harner kick-started the offense with a line-drive base hit. Harner kept moving from there, taking two more bases on missed pitches.

A sacrifice fly from Jacob Ripplinger brought Harner home for Rugby’s first run.

At the top of the next inning, a few pitches by Schneibel went astray, loading bases with walks before he sent three strikes across the plate with Herbel at bat.

Bases on balls and an error against Rolla put Rugby runners on base. Ripplinger batted in Harner again. Schneibel batted Ripplinger in. Pitches began to bounce off batters’ bodies and helmets. With the bases loaded on balls, a fourth run for Rugby walked across the plate.

In the fifth inning, Schneibel batted in a fifth run for Rugby. Rolla shored up its defenses and ended the inning.

Ripplinger landed a base hit to deep center field, then moved one base on a wild throw before another missed throw brought him sliding home.

A base hit by Taytum Risovi set up another RBI by Schneibel.

With the game’s end in sight, Rugby Coach Travis Risovi replaced Schneibel with third base player Taytum Risovi.

“Brody did have a no-hitter going into the last inning, and you can get to 120 pitches, but it’s in the summer, but I would hate to see him throw too much too early and his arm is sore for the whole summer,” Travis Risovi said after the game.

Schneibel, a recent Rugby High graduate, will play football and baseball at Minot State University.

One walk to Rolla batter Michael Counts put one on base. Two outs later, Mears’ double gave Rolla a last chance. Batter Dylan Hanson brought Counts in for Rolla’s only run.

After the game, Risovi said Rugby’s Legion baseball season seemed off to a great start.

“They have a couple of new kids on the Rolla team,” he said. “The Belcourt kids co-op with them in the summertime for Legion baseball. We don’t get to see them during our regular season because they play Class A ball. They did really well.”

Rugby would travel to Velva, Cando and Bottineau for its next five games.

Risovi said the players on those teams would be familiar rivals. The Rugby High School Panthers baseball team had battled each team during their regular season.

Late in May, North Star of Cando denied the Panthers a berth in the North Dakota State Class B High School Baseball Tournament. The Bearcats would finish that tournament ranked fifth in North Dakota.

“It’ll be one of those things again,” Risovi said. “It’s a good rivalry we have going against them, and hopefully, we can find a way to get a couple of wins against them this summer.”