John Stark hosted Pembroke on a sunny but very windy Wednesday afternoon for a baseball and softball doubleheader. Both baseball teams battled until the end after Pembroke roared back from a six-run deficit in an eventual 7-6 Stark win, and Stark’s softball bats swung for the fences in a dominant 15-2 victory.

BaseballJohn Stark 7, Pembroke 6

The Generals were active on base, making life very difficult for Pembroke’s infielders. With nine hits, including a solo home run by senior Joey Dykstra, John Stark built a solid 6-0 lead going into the fifth inning.

In the fifth, the Spartans found their groove at the plate, and three straight singles drove two runs in to inch closer to the lead.

In the sixth, four straight walks drove one Pembroke run in, and the top two batters in the lineup, senior Owen Stewart and junior Zachary Bemis, hit hard line drives that fell in the outfield to score the other three runners.

Stark, led by coach Dennis Pelletier, is headed in the right direction, and he said that small errors and pitching fatigue played a big role in the lead’s collapse. He thinks the Generals can do even more, but this game will be a good learning experience for when things get tight later in the season.

Stark’s lead collapsed, but it managed to hold the bleeding at four runs and take its chance in the bottom of the inning. It paid off, and one last run got the Generals the win to stay undefeated at 6-0.

“Records don’t matter when you get into games, especially with these local teams,” Pelletier said. “I feel very good. I think it did remind them that you can’t lose your focus a little bit.”

SoftballJohn Stark 15, Pembroke 2

John Stark’s bats got hot early and did not stop in this game. The Generals didn’t strike out once, kept swinging and stayed solid defensively despite Pembroke getting many runners on base.

The Generals have now matched their win total from last year, and much of that is thanks to the return of junior pitcher Kira Linstad, according to Stark coach Denis Kolehmainen.

“We’re playing well; we play great defense,” he said. “When we’re hitting, we’ll hit hard right at someone, and they’re finding the little gaps.”

The Generals had 10 hits, including four doubles, and also had 10 walks to score many runners. For Pembroke, the work in progress is still coming along defensively, as a few dropped balls and miscommunications led to easy runs for Stark.