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The Vermilion Ironhawks beat both the snow and a couple of opponents to climb back over the .500 mark.
Improved pitching was the key to a four-game winning streak - with doubleheader sweeps over both Mesabi and Central Lakes.
The community college baseball games came prior to Sunday’s snowfall and both were on the artificial turf at Aurora.
Sophomore Jerron Turney fired a one-hitter with eight strikeouts in a March 20, 3-1 win over Mesabi, while freshman Colbie Parker got his first college win as the Ironhawks took the opening game of the twinbill 10-1.
On Saturday, seven Vermilion pitchers combined to hold Central Lakes to seven hits as Vermilion won 7-5 and 6-3.
The four-game winning streak gave the Ironhawks an 8-7 overall record as nonconference play continued this week in Des Moines, Iowa, and doubleheaders with Minnesota West and Rochester.
Northern Division play begins next weekend, back in Aurora, with a four-game series against defending division champion Itasca.
If the Ironhawks are to contend in the division and get back to the regional playoffs after a one-year hiatus, they’ll likely need continued growth from a young pitching staff and a starting lineup that at times includes eight freshmen.
“We’re a young team but I like the way this group is coming along,” said head coach Tom Coombe. “Our pitchers really struggled in Florida, but bounced back against both Mesabi and Central Lakes.
Turney issued a first-inning walk against Mesabi but didn’t yield a free pass the rest of the way, recording the program’s first complete game mound win since 2023.
Sophomore centerfielder Nick Berglund, who is hitting a team-high .467 with 10 stolen bases, scored once and drove in a run to help back Turney.
Catcher Martin Cubillan (.421) also drove in a run and another scored on the back end of a double-steal.
In the opening game, Cubillan homered and finished with four runs batted in, while leadoff man Andrew Ritter (.405, 13 runs scored, eight stolen bases) scored twice. First baseman TJ Frein added two hits and Jake Lehman drove in two runs.
That was plenty for Parker, who allowed three hits and struck out four in five innings. Dylan Schroeder finished up with four strikeouts in two innings.
Saturday’s doubleheader began in chilly conditions, with a first-pitch temperature of just 26 degrees.
Vermilion starter Andrew Melgeorge walked six and left the game in the third, but Schroeder and fellow freshman Jo Jo Taverna limited Central Lakes the rest of the way.
Cubillan’s fifth-inning double drove in Berglund and put the Ironhawks in front to stay, and Taverna struck out the side in the seventh.
Berglund again swung a hot bat, going three-for-four with two runs scored and two RBI.
Freshman outfielder Cole Smith singled twice and knocked in two runs, and Parker tripled in a run. Charlie Mohr added a single and an RBI.
In Saturday’s finale, Vermilion pitched by committee, with starter CJ Styron fanning four in two shutout innings.
Jake Thome followed with two effective innings, while Xavier Ibarra followed and went to the sixth, when the Raiders loaded the bases with no outs.
Enter freshman Dylan Spears, who worked out of the jam in the sixth and retired the side in order in the seventh.
Earlier, Frein delivered a key two-run single, and both Ritter and Mohr wound up with two hits.
