Whatever collective hitting problems Anoka-Ramsey had on the 16th day of April, were washed away on the 17th day during a doubleheader sweep of MCAC-Central Division rival Ridgewater College in Willmar.

On this particular Sunday afternoon on the Baker Diamond, Anoka-Ramsey amassed 35 hits in the 14 innings it sent batters to the plate. In the process of pounding out hits, Anoka-Ramsey moved to 3 wins and 1 loss in the Central Division, which assured the team no less than a tie for first place.

The team beat Ridgewater 14-1 in five innings (via the 10-run rule) of the first game, then came back from an early 6-1 deficit to take the second game scheduled for nine innings 13-7.

Unlike its teeth-pulling experiences against M-State 24 hours earlier when driving home runners from scoring position was nearly an impossible, very few runners anywhere on the bases Sunday afternoon were left stranded.

Both Mylo Hommes and Jordan Langness had five hits in the doubleheader, while Mike Zimbeck and the red hot Haven Williams  had four hits. Williams also had a three-run homer during a five-run Anoka-Ramsey first-game, first-inning explosion and finished the day with five RBI.

In game one, left-hander Joe Lewis threw four innings of no-hit baseball. His chance for a five-inning no-hit win was dashed when a Texas Leaguer fell in just behind first base, inches inside the right-field foul line. He lost his shutout moments later when a runner scored from third on a wild pitch.

In game two, Jared Vance was hit hard — eight hits — during the first two innings when Ridgewater jumped to the 6-1 lead. After the second, however, the crafty right-hander settled into a groove and scattered just four hits over the next five innings before giving way to Brent Tholen. The lean and mean Tholen wrapped up the game by pitching a scoreless eighth and ninth.

Meantime in that second game, Anoka-Ramsey started its comeback by scoring two runs in the third inning thanks to an opposite field double hit to the base of the left-field wall by Austin Greiner.

Another run was added in the top of the fifth to cut Ridgewater's lead to 6-4 and three runs in the top of the sixth inning, the last two of which were driven in by Langness, gave Anoka-Ramsey the lead for keeps, 7-6 on its way to the win.