Photo by Jake Olson: Fairmont Post 36 Jr. Legion’s Archer Pomerenke sets to deliver during Tuesday night's contest against Sleepy Eye VFW at Herb Wolf Field. The Cardinals picked up a 5-2 victory, their first win of the summer.

FAIRMONT – Archer Pomerenke set the table for Fairmont Post 36 Jr. Legion’s first win of the summer. Finishing Tuesday’s contest with seven innings of efficient pitching, Pomerenke guided the Cardinals to a 5-2 victory past Sleepy Eye VFW at Herb Wolf Field. Post 36 is now 1-1 after dropping their season opener last Wednesday against USC Legion.

“His [Archer Pomerenke] ball-to-strike ratio was unbelievable; he was always ahead of the count,” Post 36 head coach Josh Peterson said. “We were looking, and he had thrown only about 20 balls heading into the sixth or seventh inning. If you can do that with a defense playing behind you, you’re going to win a lot of games.”

It took Pomerenke a few innings to settle on the rubber. Both of his allowed runs came in the first and third, with back-to-back singles from Jalen Brandl and Anden Braun powering Sleepy Eye to an early one-run lead.

Luckily for the Cardinals, their biggest surge of offensive power came in the home half of the frame. Pomerenke and Eli Sheard were sent home after Caden Wickert drilled a ball to center field for an easy stand-up double. Wickert added one more score after using a passed ball to go the remaining 90 feet.

“Well, Caden [Wickert] had a big game in our first game against USC. He’d been stroking it pretty well, so I wasn’t surprised to see him hit it hard,” Peterson said. “But we’ve got some guys that can hit the ball well, even if we were missing a few players tonight.”

Post 36 again answered to a lone Sleepy Eye score during their turn to bat later that frame. This time, in the bottom of the third, using their speed on the basepaths. Brock Rodning and Preston Geerdes used a pair of previous free bases to work themselves into scoring position, later touching home plate on wild pitches from Caleb Oscarson. A 5-2 Cardinal lead.

Pomerenke surrendered two hits over the final four frames, collecting a total of eight strikeouts on just one walk. A Cooper Walker pop-up to Geerdes at third base sealed the deal for a Post 36 win.

“We’ve got a really young crew with five incoming freshmen,” Peterson said. “But it’s good. These guys are having to play at a high level, and it’s only going to make them better in the long run.”

The Cardinals return to action on Wednesday night with a road trip to St. James, facing off against Jr. Legion Post 33 at 6:00 p.m. Post 36 will stay on the road with its third contest of the week this Saturday against Maple River.