The Golden Rams opened the 2022 season with a double header split versus Itasca. Anoka-Ramsey won game one in relatively easy fashion, by a score of 9-1. Game two saw the Golden Rams struggle defensively, ultimately losing 11-3. Head Coach, Jason Saulsbury, commented after the game, "Overall I am happy with our overall performance for the day. We had to get the nerves out of the way to start, but as soon as that first pitch was delivered, I felt we were in a good spot physically and mentally. Obviously game one when our way in grand fashion. All three facets of our game (offensive, defensive, and pitching) were firing on all cylinders. Game two was rough. Our defensive came up short and we allowed too many unearned runs. It will be something we will look to focus on and clean up in practice, so we will be ready to go when we hit the Minnesota side of our schedule."
Game One: Anoka-Ramsey 9 – Itasca 1
The Golden Rams easily did away with Itasca Community College 9-1 on Wednesday, March 2nd. In the second inning, Itasca Community College got their offense started when they scored one run on a Jack Dommeyer double. Anoka-Ramsey battled back and took the lead with two runs in the third inning, where Blake Ramberg tripled on the first pitch of the at bat and Landon Seibel singled, each of them driving in a run. Seibel also hit a two run homer in fifth inning. The Golden Rams notched four runs in the seventh inning. Anoka-Ramsey's batters contributing to the big inning included Drake Locklear, Derek Heldman, and Mike Schroer, all driving in runs in the inning. Brayden Buttweiler earned the victory on the pitcher's mound for the Golden Rams. The lefty allowed five hits and one run over five innings, striking out one and walking zero. Brandon Klink and Dillon Stai entered the game out of the bullpen and helped to close out the game in relief. Riley Resnick took the loss for Itasca Community College. Anoka-Ramsey racked up eight hits on the day that saw Locklear, Seibel, and Benji Bruce each have multiple hits for Anoka-Ramsey CC.
Game Two: Anoka-Ramsey 3 – Itasca 11
Game two turned out to be a long day for Anoka-Ramsey, as they fell to Itasca Community College 11-3. The Golden Rams opened up scoring in the second inning when Nolan Chandler drew a walk, scoring one run. However, Itasca Community College took the lead for good with five runs in the third inning. In the third Cade Marquardt singled on the first pitch of the at bat, scoring two runs, Kodi Miller singled on a 1-0 count, scoring one run, and Dawson Stevens homered on a 3-2 count, scoring two runs. Sam Peterson pitched Itasca Community College to victory. The lefty allowed three hits and zero runs over four innings, striking out five and walking one. Drew Jones took the loss for Anoka-Ramsey. The pitcher went two innings, allowing six runs on four hits. Jack Dommeyer started the game for Itasca Community College. Dommeyer lasted three innings, allowing one hit and three runs while striking out five Jake Kouri went 2-for-4 at the plate to lead Anoka-Ramsey in hits. Itasca Community College tallied seven hits in the game. The Golden Rams committed 3 errors on the day, that lead to five unearned runs.
