Hi-Liners Respond in a Big Way, Roll Past Kidder County 13–3

After dropping three straight in past few games, Valley City baseball didn’t ease into this one—they came out hunting.

The Hi-Liners jumped on Kidder County early and never let them breathe, cruising to a 13–3 win in a game that felt over long before the final out. From the first inning on, the tone was clear: aggressive at the plate, pressure on the bases, and no waiting around.

It started with Jack Samuelsen, who ripped a triple to spark the offense before scoring on a wild pitch to give Valley City the early lead. From there, the Hi-Liners turned up the pressure—steals, aggressive base running, and forcing mistakes. An error brought in another run, and James Schwehr followed with an RBI double to stretch the lead to 3–0 before Kidder County could settle in.

The second inning is where things broke open.

Valley City strung together quality at-bats up and down the lineup, consistently putting the ball in play and capitalizing on every opportunity. Hits from Corbyn Powell, Leighton Hendrickson, Chase Coghlan, and Luke Praska fueled a big inning that pushed the lead out of reach. It wasn’t just power—it was execution. Situational hitting, smart baserunning, and constant pressure turned a good start into a runaway.

That approach was noticeable from the jump. After the recent skid, the Hi-Liners looked like a team determined to flip the script—attacking early in counts, swinging at strikes, and dictating tempo instead of reacting.

On the mound, James Schwehr was in control all afternoon. He worked efficiently, filled the zone, and kept Kidder County off balance, allowing Valley City to play clean, confident defense behind him. It was the kind of outing that should’ve ended in five.

That’s where the only frustration came in.

A three-run fifth inning from Kidder County extended the game, something that likely didn’t sit well in the Valley City dugout. With the game already in hand, it was a lapse that prevented a clean, shortened finish—but not one that changed the outcome.

Valley City added one more in the bottom half and closed it out from there.

The bigger takeaway is this: this looked like a reset.

Aggressive. Confident. Connected.

Exactly what you want to see from a team trying to get back on track.

The Hi-Liners now sit with a recored of 4-3 on the season going on the road this Saturday at Thompson. Then they begin a 3 game home stretch next week at Charile Brown Memorial Field.

Photos courtesy of Alyssa Thomsen Photography