Rockies' Jake Brinker throws strong outing in win over Nicks

St. Cloud Times

COLD SPRING − Starting pitcher Jake Brinker was perfectly fine sitting in the Cold Spring Rockies dugout for a longer period of time as the Rockies put some runs on the board early in the game.

As he stepped onto the mound in the top of the second, he focused on his pitches and locations for the majority of the game.

He pitched seven innings of dominant baseball and it helped lead the Rockies to a 7-4 win over St. Nicholas Nicks on Friday night to kick off the Fourth of July weekend.

Jake Brinker pitches for the Cold Spring Rockies oduring the game against the St. Nicholas Nicks Friday, July 1, 2022, in Cold Spring.

"It took a little bit to get comfortable [on the mound]," Brinker said. "But once they got the two runs in the first, everything started working out with my pitches and their locations. It's really nice to get some early runs on the board."

The Rockies started off the season, like most Minnesota teams, with many delays due to the weather. With the cold temperatures and the constant rain for the months of April and May, Cold Spring had to reschedule some games near the end of May and into June.

Cold Spring started off the season with some tough losses and needed to regroup for the month of June. Now, the Rockies are starting to get all of the aspects together and it's allowing for some big wins near the playoffs.

Jordan Neu of the Cold Spring Rockies tries to turn a double play as Dylan Rausch of the St. Nicholas Nicks slides into second during the game Friday, July 1, 2022, in Cold Spring.

The pitching, defense and offense have started to lock in more and the confidence is rising in the Rockies dugout with each game. Cold Spring is near the top of its division and look to have a good shot of getting a good seed for the league playoffs.

"We've had a good balance between our offense and defense recently and I'm just hoping it continues to build," Brinker said.

That balance was shown on Wednesday night against the Nicks as the Rockies jumped on the scoreboard right away. The first two batters reached base to give Austin Dufner an opportunity to knock in some runs.

He took that opportunity and hit a double into centerfield to score Tyler Geislinger and David Jonas to make it a 2-0 lead heading into the second inning. Once again, Cold Spring capitalized in the second with an RBI single from Geislinger to score Brady Linn and make it a 3-0 game.

Tyler Stanwick of the St. Nicholas Nicks tries to tag Brady Linn of the Cold Spring Rockies during the game Friday, July 1, 2022, in Cold Spring.

The Nicks tried to keep it close by taking advantage of a couple errors from the Rockies in the top of the third to make it a 3-2 ballgame. Cold Spring wanted to open up the game more and found its opportunity in the bottom of the fifth.

The first five batters reached base as Alex Geislinger hit a two-RBI double to knock in Tyler Geislinger and Jonas to increase the lead to 5-2. Cold Spring wasn't done in the inning as Jordan Neu hit an RBI single and Calvin Kalthoff hit a sacrifice fly to bring in a couple more runs and make it a 7-2 lead.

"It's always nice to see runs on the board for a pitcher," Brinker said. "I trust my defense to make plays and they helped tonight to earn this win."

Alex Geislinger of the Cold Spring Rockies celebrates with teammates after scoring a run during the game against the St. Nicholas Nicks Friday, July 1, 2022, in Cold Spring.

That comfortable lead allowed Brinker to continue being dominant and Trevor Lardy to close out the game. Brinker threw seven innings giving up two unearned runs, four hits, one walk and eight strikeouts. Lardy ended with two innings pitched while allowing two earned runs, three hits, one walk and two strikeouts.

The win on Wednesday helps put the Rockies in good position in the Central Valley League North. Cold Spring is looking to earn either the No. 1 or 2 seed for league playoffs with the hope of earning a spot in the Region 11C Tournament.

Cold Spring has four more games left before league playoffs and two of them are against league opponents. The Rockies will stay at home for its next opponent as the Clearwater River Cats come to Cold Spring at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Then, Cold Spring will play its final three games on the road. First, the team goes up against the Watkins Clippers on Sunday, July 10. Then, the Rockies head to the Richmond Royals on Saturday, July 16, and the final game is at the Kimball Express on Sunday, July 17.

Calvin Kalthoff connects on a pitch for the Cold Spring Rockies during the game Friday, July 1, 2022, in Cold Spring.

Brian Mozey is the high school sports reporter for the St. Cloud Times. Reach him at 320-255-8772 or bmozey@stcloudtimes.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrianMozey.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to sctimes.com today.