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The recent snowfalls in the Fairbanks area kept the Eielson Ravens from practicing on a baseball field.

However, Saturday’s doubleheader at Arco Field showed that the Ravens benefited from the practices in the gymnasium in Eielson High School and on a corner of the Buck Nystrom football field.

The Ravens rallied to a 7-5 victory over the Lathrop Malemutes in the second game to earn a split and their first win under new head coach Dennis Gould.

“It means a lot to us,’’ Gould said in a telephone interview. “We’re a young team and it’s the first time we’ve stepped on a baseball field this year. It’s always important for us to play hard, play well and represent ourselves.”

It was a hard hit by Ben Lauritzen in the top of the fifth inning that provided Eielson’s first win after Lathrop took the opener 5-1.

The junior third baseman and catcher launched a three-run home run down the left field line with two outs and the scored knotted 4-4.

“He got a hold of it, he got it on the sweet spot (of the bat),’’ Gould said. “He stung it really hard.’’

Lathrop attempted to rally in the bottom of the seventh, making it 7-5 with Bobby Marcinkowski batting into a fielder’s choice to plate L.J. Sotelo, who had reached base on an error.

Lathrop later had two runners in scoring position with two outs. Torgen Soderlund drilled a shot toward the hole but Eielson shortstop Nick Gould moved to his right to field the ball and throw out Soderlund at first to secure the win.

Sophomore pitcher Niko Schafnitz earned the win in a five-inning effort. He struck out six, walked two and gave up five hits and five runs.

Kyle Olson struck out nine over five innings, but took the loss. He gave up seven runs, five hits and three walks.

Austin Samulowitz and relief pitcher Ian Hafner each had a hit and two runs scored, and Brooklyn Panfil contributed a hit and an RBI for Eielson. Olson and Soderlund each had two hits for the Malemutes and Sotelo scored twice.

Lathrop, 2-1 on the season with the first-game win, was sparked by the pitching of Jake Karl.

The sophomore righthander struck out 11 while scattering five hits in a complete-game effort. Karl, who allowed no walks, capitalized on his knuckleball and fastball.

“He had a knuckleball that was up and down and out, and his fastball had good location,’’ Lathrop head coach Sam Morton said by phone. “He was just steady and very efficient.”

Hafner scored on a passed ball for Eielson in the top of the first inning and Lathrop tied it in the bottom half, when Soderlund singled, stole second base and scored on Marcinkowski’s grounder.

Lathrop added three more runs in the fourth and its final tally in the fifth.

The Malemutes generated seven hits, led by Olson’s 2-for-3, one-RBI day and Karl’s 2-for-2 contributions.

Lauritzen took the loss for Eielson, striking out eight and allowing six hits, five runs and a walk over five innings. Seven out of the first 12 batters he faced grounded out to him.

Nick Gould led Eielson with a 2-for-3 production.

West Valley sweeps

West Valley opened its season with a doubleheader sweep of Delta Junction. Both games were by the 10-run rule.

Rex McNeight scored five times and had four hits, as West Valley started the season with a three-inning win in the opener at West Valley High School.

“I told my guys to focus and work on the fundamentals, and they were able to do that,’’ said first-year Wolfpack head coach Dave Hall, who did not want the scores of the games published.

Tyler Bolles threw a no-hitter in his first-inning stint and Elam Howe pitched a one-hitter in the last two innings.

West Valley generated 31 hits off three Huskies pitchers — Gary Olsen-Seville, Chuck Trim and Chris Miller — and six Wolfpack players had at least three hits.

Kyle Lester scored four times and his four hits included a two-run homer in the first. Jeffrey Brooks and Josh Jeffries each had three hits and four runs; Rylin Yauney finished with four hits and four runs and Andrew Wixon chipped in four runs and three hits.

Josh Cory had Delta Junction’s only hit with a single in the top of the third.

No information was reported on the second game.

North Pole baseball

The North Pole Patriots opened their season playing non-conference games in Juneau.

Juneau-Douglas posted an 8-1 win over the Patriots on Friday and an 11-1 win on Saturday.

Details were not available. North Pole also was scheduled to play another team from the Southeast each day, but scores of those games were not available.

North Pole softball

The North Pole girls had the unenviable task of opening the softball season at Juneau on Friday and Saturday.

The Patriots dropped both games, suffering a hard-fought 5-1 decision on Friday and then suffering a 19-4 loss in three innings on Saturday. No other details were available.

The Patriots also were scheduled to play another school from the Southeast, but those scores were not available.

Track meet

A complete wrapup of Saturday’s all-schools track meet will be published in Monday’s Daily News-Miner. The sports editor apologizes for the delay. Results of the Anchorage Invitational also will be published in Monday’s paper.