Playing with some swagger
Kilowatts’ Sneller, Knapper combine to shut down A’s bats

Photo by Jake McNeill Granite Falls pitcher Bennett Knapper delivers a pitch from the mound during a baseball game against the Marshall A’s at Richter Field in Granite Falls on Sunday. The Kilowatts defeated the A’s 4-0.
GRANITE FALLS — Despite battling through a 12-inning slog in their win over Sacred Heart on Friday, the Granite Falls Kilowatts didn’t look the least bit fatigued when they hosted Marshall on Sunday afternoon. The pitching duo of Bryce Sneller and Bennett Knapper limited the A’s to one run on the day as they picked up their fourth consecutive win, 4-1.
“It was a little iffy what we were going to do today but these guys have really been stepping up,” Granite Falls manager Mike Richter said of the team’s pitching situation on Sunday after Bennett Knapper pitched against Willmar on Wednesday and Nikson Knapper and Sneller pitched against Sacred Heart on Friday. “I said, ‘Bryce, can you give us something to help start it?’ I was hoping for five, we got into the fifth and had a little trouble there but not bad. Bennett said he was ready to go too, so hats off to him as far as gutting it out today.”
After going 4 2/3 scoreless innings on Friday, Sneller was on again on Sunday. He shut Marshall out for 4 1/3 frames, allowing just two hits before being relieved by Knapper with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth.
“[Sneller] was kind of on a short rest so we knew we were going to have to throw a couple of guys, but he gave us a chance,” Knapper said.
After Sneller got his first strikeout of the day to start the inning, consecutive singles by Ryan VanMoer and Talan Plante and a walk to AJ Toulouse loaded the bases when Bennett Knapper came into the game. The Kilowatts led 2-0 at the time but, with the go-ahead run on third, Knapper locked in and got a strikeout and a ground out to end the frame.
“You could tell [Sneller] was kind of feeling it fatigue-wise, but I knew I was just going to have come in and give us a chance, maybe with a ground-ball double play,” Knapper said. “If we gave up one run or none, I feel like it would have been a pretty successful outing.”
Knapper finished the game going 4 2/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits and a walk. He also struck out a third of the batters he faced, finishing the day with six punchouts.
“If you’re going to be competitive, it all starts with pitching,” Richter said. “That’s what really sets the tone of the game. These young guys have stepped up. They’re all a year older and a little bit more mature and it’s gotten pretty good.”
Nikson Knapper got the Kilowatts on the board in the first inning when he drew a walk with one out. Bennett Knapper was hit by a pitch and a wild pitch advanced the runners into scoring position, where Sneller then drove in Nikson with a sacrifice fly to center field.
Nikson Knapper reached base in each of his four plate appearances on the day, walking in his first two and singling in his last two. Jordan Odegard also reached base three times after getting hit by a pitch, singling and getting walked.
Odegard’s single led off the top of the fourth. He advanced to second when Cody Dahlager walked, stole third and then advanced home on a wild pitch to make the score 2-0.
Charlie Jacobson tossed the first two innings for Marshall. He struck out three batters and didn’t allow a hit during his time on the mound but he walked two batters and hit another while allowing a run.
Mitchell Bouwman was the A’s first reliever of the day. He allowed three runs over his 3 1/3 innings pitched but none were earned. He struck out five batters while allowing four hits and six walks.
When Marshall failed to capitalize on its bases-loaded opportunity in the top of the fifth, the Kilowatts responded with another run in the bottom of the frame. Marshall put two away when Bennet Knapper replaced Nikson on first by reaching on a fielder’s choice and then was caught between the base paths on a pickoff throw from Marshall catcher Talan Plante. Yet, Sneller reached on a walk and Colton Vien reached on an error to put two runners on and an Odegard single drove in a run to make it 3-0.
Marshall scored its lone run of the day in the top of the eighth. Toulouse singled and was replaced on first by pinch runner Cooper Mensink. Mensink got to second on a Chase Douglas single and got to third when Connor Neubeck walked to load the bases with one out. Cody Wichmann hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Mensink but a fielder’s choice prevented Marshall from capitalizing further.
Toulouse’s eighth-inning single was his first since he resumed hitting following an injury during his college baseball season at Waldorf University (Iowa). VanMoer was the only other A to reach base safely twice on the night after walking in the second inning and singling in the fifth for the A’s first hit of the game.
“Just not enough line drives, a lot of pop outs and then putting the ball on the ground,” Marshall manager Ryan Schwagel said of what’s caused the team’s offensive struggles the last two games after they lost 1-0 to Raymond on Friday. “[Granite Falls] played good defense. They had no errors, they threw strikes and they played well enough to win the game. We didn’t.”
Jake Eben tossed the final 2 2/3 frames for Marshall, shutting out the Kilowatts while striking out three batters. He allowed one walk and didn’t allow a hit.
The Kilowatts tagged on one last insurance run in the sixth when Nolan Hildahl walked, advanced to third on wild pitches and scored on a Nikson Knapper single.
Granite Falls improves to 5-5 on the season while Marshall falls to 9-4. Both teams are now tied for third in the Corn Belt at 5-3 in league play, trailing Raymond’s 8-2 record and Bird Island’s 6-1 mark.
“We’re kind of young, so it’s almost like a little bit of swagger when the whole team is doing well,” Bennett Knapper said. “We’re finding ways to win, no matter what the situation is.”
The win is a big step up for the Kilowatts who started the season by dropping five of their first six games. Richter described the win as a quality win against a good team and added that with many of the Kilowatts’ players just a year or two out of high school or college ball, it takes some time to get going.
“I just keep telling them to play for each other. It’s not about anything to do with your individual self, it’s about the team. I think guys are just really playing hard when they’re trying to play for each other,” Richter said. “We’ve got some guys that live out of state or a ways away done by the cities and they just like playing baseball together. That’s the biggest thing. We have a very, very good league and any time you can get a win in our league, it feels pretty good.”
The Kilowatts will host Wabasso for their next game on Sunday, July 14 at 1:30 p.m. Marshall will play again tonight when they head to Minneota for a 7:30 p.m. matchup against the Mudhens. Schwagel said that the A’s have the pitching to compete with anybody but that just hitting more consistently will be key to getting back in the win column.