Photo by Sam Thiel Granite Falls’ Christian Kanten fires a pitch during their game against Raymond on Sunday. The Kilowatts fell to the Rockets 12-0 in seven innings.

GRANITE FALLS – After falling short against Minneota on Friday, the Granite Falls amateur baseball team looked to bounce back against the Raymond Rockets on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately for the Kilowatts, they ran into a buzzsaw of a starting pitcher in Cole Christensen, he tossed a two-hitter en route to an 12-0 victory over Granite Falls in seven innings.

Neither team could find the groove to start, as both pitchers settled into their respective zones in the first couple of innings. The Rockets then broke out the offense to begin the third, using a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases with no outs before an RBI single and a fielder’s choice quickly made it 2-0.

Raymond wasn’t done there, loading the bases once more before back-to-back RBI singles and a walk brought in three more runs and extend its lead to 5-0. A couple of innings later, the Rockets struck again, this time using a walk and a pair of singles to bring in a run before a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly pushed Raymond’s lead to 8-0 after five.

A two-run double and an RBI single in the top of the sixth later helped make it a double-digit advantage for the Rockets.

The Kilowatts would finally get another runner on the basepaths in the bottom half of the frame on an infield single from Tom Lindstrom, but couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity. After Raymond added a run in the top of the seventh, Granite Falls had a chance to answer thanks to a one-out double from Cam Vien, but Christensen quickly retired the next two batters to end the game.

Christian Kanten took the loss on the mound for the Kilowatts, going 3.2 innings while allowing five runs on 10 hits and striking out two.

Granite Falls will face Sacred Heart on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Raymond 12, Granite Falls 0 (7 innings)

Raymond 005 033 1 – 12 18 0

Granite Falls 000 000 0 – 0 2 1

HITTING: Granite Falls (Cam Vien 1-2; T. Lindstrom 1-1).

PITCHING (IP-R-ER-H-BB-SO): Granite Falls (C. Kanten 3.2-5-4-10-3-2; Lindstrom 3.1-6-6-8-3-1).