By Rocky Huline, AlbertLeaTribune.com

AUSTIN &8212; For the past two weeks, the Blue Devils baseball team has been shoveling snow off of their field. So it came to a surprise when their coach called them up Thursday morning to play a game on that field.

The Blue Devils (8-3 overall) responded with two wins over Wisconsin Western Technical College of La Crosse, Wis. by scores of 5-2 and 2-0 Thursday at Riverland.

In the 2-0 victory, Brandon Huhn of Appleton West got his second straight shutout as he allowed just two hits, while striking out seven in seven innings of work.

WWTC had runners on first and second with one out in the first inning after a single and an error, but the Blue Devils turned a double play to end the threat. Huhn allowed just one hit the rest of the way and WWTC never had a runner in scoring position again.

&8220;I loosened up as the game went on and I was able to locate a little better,&8221; Huhn said. &8220;Everything went well. My deuce had good bite and my changeup had good drop.&8221;

While Huhn dominated on the mound, the Blue Devil offense struggled as it mustered just five hits. It scored both of its runs on the first inning when sophomore Pat Wolard knocked in Chris Lindemann with a double and Kyle Starkey hit a sacrifice fly. Wolard, who also hit a double in the third inning, had his first inning hit bounce off the left field wall.

&8220;I&8217;d like to get a little more pop here or there,&8221; he said. &8220;But that&8217;ll come around. I thought the first one I hit was gonna go out, but I didn&8217;t get under it enough.&8221;

The cold weather had some impact on the hitting, but Riverland head coach Scott Koenigs said there was another factor.

&8220;We didn&8217;t hit the ball like we can,&8221; he said. &8220;We made contact, but we didn&8217;t hit the ball as hard as we have. I think the guys get a little bit relaxed when Brady (Banse) and Brandon are pitching because (winning) has been the result all year,&8221; he said.

Part of the struggle in Riverland&8217;s hitting came due to an injury outfielder Kyle Starkey suffered in the first game, when he slammed into the fence.

&8220;Kyle had runners in scoring position a few times and didn&8217;t get that hit that he&8217;s been getting. He was struggling with his back and we&8217;ll have to see how he&8217;s doing,&8221; Banse said.

Banse got his fourth win of the season in Riverland&8217;s 5-3 win.

After going six strong innings, WWTC loaded the bases on Banse in the seventh inning with one out and Riverland leading 5-2. Wolard came in to get the last two outs on a strikeout and a groundout to end the game.

At the plate, Wolard was 2-of-3 with an RBI in the first game and Andy Van Remortel was 2-of-4 with a double.

As Banse pitched against WWTC, Huhn was able to get a peek at his opponents&8217; lineup.

&8220;Brady and I are very similar and we&8217;ve got a lot of the same stuff,&8221; Huhn said. &8220;I saw what their hitters did to him, so maybe it was an advantage for me.&8221;

According to Koenigs, the Blue Devils are off to their best start in years. He said the team has an optimistic feeling as it prepares for

four games in Riverland this weekend.

&8220;There&8217;s a little bit of a confidence in our team this year and sometimes it&8217;s a little too much. But they do feel we&8217;re gonna win games,&8221; he said.

The Blue Devils will host Vermilion for a double header Saturday and Anoka Ramsey for a double header Sunday. The times of the games are not yet determined, but they likely will play early afternoon on Saturday and late afternoon on Sunday.