ROCHESTER -- Riverland Community College baseball coach Scott Koenigs has discovered an alarming trend.

The Blue Devils, after competing to within two runs in openers of three consecutive doubleheaders, shut it down in the second game and have subsequently started the season 0-6.

The most recent set of setbacks came Tuesday afternoon in Riverland's MCCC South Division debut at Rochester Community and Technical College. The Blue Devils saw a 4-2 lead slip away in a 7-5 loss in the opener, and Dan Huber's no-hitter ripped Riverland in five innings, 10-0, in the second game.

Riverland lost a pair of one-run games in two non-conference doubleheaders to start the season, and true-to-form the second game of Tuesday's twinbill was a one-sided contest. Huber struck out eight and walked one as Rochester swept the league doubleheader.

The Blue Devils (0-6, 0-2) host Ridgewater (10-3, 2-0) in their home-opener Friday at 2 p.m. at Riverland Community College in Austin.

Only five of the Yellowjackets' 10 runs came earned to Riverland pitchers in the second game. Mike Haugen suffered his second loss of the season after an up-and-down three innings. Curt Peterson's relief effort could not quell the Yellowjackets, who scored 10 runs on eight hits with six Riverland errors and six walks.

Huber walked Jeff Geisler with two outs in the top of the first inning, but that would be it for Riverland. Geisler stole second before getting thrown out trying to take third on a pitch in the dirt.

Rochester's Matt Ingle went 2-for-2 with two runs batted in and three runs scored to highlight the second game. Derek Willis was 2-3 with three runs.

Not close enough

A three-run outburst in the fifth inning gave the Devils a 4-2 lead, but Rochester rallied back with five runs in the bottom half for a 7-4 advantage. Geisler, after throwing 8 1/3 innings Sunday at Waldorf, went three innings in relief of Clint Ripley and took the loss.

Ripley threw 54 pitches in three innings before his bout with tendinitis in his pitching elbow pushed him from the mound. Geisler gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out five.

Riverland rallied for the lead with two hits and two sacrifice flies off starter Brendan Huewe, who went the distance in the victory. Matt Dixon's leadoff double started the rally, and Haugen was plunked by the next pitch.

Nate Vollbrecht's sacrifice bunt worked for a hit to load the bases, and Jamie Morrison hammered a fly ball to deep center field that Willis tracked down. All three runners advanced, opening first base for Derek Bonser to take an intentional walk. Geisler skied out to right for the second run, and a double steal by Bonser and Vollbrecht accounted for the third run.

Rochester strung together five hits in its five-run fifth.

Riverland countered with two singles to start the sixth, but the Yellowjackets' defense -- flawless in the doubleheader -- kept the runners stranded. In all, the Blue Devils left 10 men on base in the opener.

Morrison scored Riverland's fifth and final run of the day after a leadoff single in the seventh. Geisler doubled down the right-field line and Todd Walerak grounded out to second for the RBI.

Boxscores:

Game One

RiverlandRochester

Dixon 3b4110Willis cf3111

Haugen c3210Ingle 2b4000

Vollbrecht ss3110Huewe p2000

Morrison lf3121

Wright cr0100

Bonser 2b3011Schmchr ss3111

Geisler p3011Huber ss4221

Walerak rf3001Cordie 1b3000

Peterson cf3010

Sikkink pr0000

Ripley 1b3010Rugg c3022

Hauan cr0100

Quade rf2000

Rsmsen lf3121

Totals28594Totals27786

Riverland0010301--591

Rochester011050x--780

E--Dixon. LOB--Riv 10, Roch 8. 2B--Dixon, Geisler, Schumacher, Huber, Rasmussen. SF--Morrison, Geisler. SB--Morrison, Bonser, Wright, Huber, Rugg, Rasmussen.

IPHR ERBBSO

Riverland

Ripley312232

Geisler, L 0-2375535

Rochester

Huewe, W795535

WP--Ripley 2. PB--Haugen. IBB--Bonser (by Huewe). HBP--Vollbrecht (by Huewe), Haugen (by Huewe).

Game Two

RiverlandRochester

Morrison lf2000Willis cf3320

Vollbrecht ss2000Ingle 2b2322

Geisler cf1000Huewe ss1111

Bonser 3b2000Schmchr dh3011

Dixon c1000 Pearson pr0100

Walerak 2b1000Cordie 1b2100

Haugen c2000 Cohn 1b0000

Ripley 1b1000Rugg c2010

Peterson p1000 Uptadel cr0100

Wchmann rf1000Hauan 3b2001

Wright rf2011

Rsmssn lf3000

Totals14000Totals201086

Riverland00000--006

Rochester2215x--1080

E--Dixon 2, Peterson 2, Haugen, Vollbrecht. LOB--Riv 0, Roch 5. 2B--Willis, Huewe, Rugg. SF--Hauan. GDP--Schumacher. SB--Ingle 3, Geisler. CS--Geisler.

IPHR ERBBSO

Riverland

Haugen, L 0-2345255

Peterson2/345310

Bonser1/300000

Rochester

Huber, W500018

WP--Haugen. PB--Dixon 3.