River Valley League action also.
Irish come up just short vs. Waconia Irish bats were strong against the Waconia Lakers Sunday, June 21, but it wasn’t enough as St. Patrick fell, 9-8, at Bonin Field. Waconia Lakers were the first to get on the board in the first when Matt Mieras hit a sacrifice fly, scoring one run. St. Patrick took the lead in the bottom of the first inning after Ryan Friedges doubled to center field, Kashton Bodden grounded into a fielder’s choice and Tate Marland singled down the right field line each scoring one run. The Lakers flipped the game on its head in the top of the second, scoring five runs on six hits to take the lead, 6-3. The biggest blow in the inning was a single by Justin Schultz that drove in two. The Lakers added three more in the fifth inning of the section seeding game. Jack Friedges hit a 3-run home run in the sixth inning to pull the Irish to within three. The Irish scored twice in the ninth inning, but stranded the tying run at first base and took the 9-8 loss. The loss dropped the Irish to 6-1 in the Section 2 standings. Bryce Anderson earned the win for Waconia. The southpaw allowed 12 hits and six runs over six innings, striking out four and walking three. Zak Endres pitched five innings in relief for St. Patrick. The righty surrendered three hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out nine and walking none. Joe Ackerman took the loss for the Irish. The starter went four innings, giving up seven runs (six earned) on seven hits, striking out seven and walking one. St. Patrick tallied 15 hits in the game. Ryan Friedges, Jack Friedges, and Zach Stroh each collected three hits. Mikey Gottschalk and Tate Marland each collected two hits.
New Market 13, Lakeville 3 The Muskies had three big innings in the truncated win over visiting Lakeville Saturday, June 20. New Market scored three times in the third and six runs in the fourth. The Muskies capped the scoring in the eighth inning to end the game by the 10-run rule. Adam Weed paced the Muskies with seven RBI. Jake Lundquist drove in two more in the win.
St. Patrick 2, Burnsville 1 St. Patrick took Friday’s game in dramatic fashion, with a 2-1 walk-off victory over the Burnsville Bobcats at Bonin Field. The June 19 game was tied at one in the bottom of the ninth when Ian Segna singled, scoring one run. Both teams were strong on the mound. St. Patrick Irish pitchers struck out 15, while Burnsville sat down eight St. Patrick sluggers. St. Patrick opened the scoring in the second after Ian Segna grounded out, scoring one run. Zack Andreasen hit a sacrifice fly, which helped the Bobcats tie the game at one in the top of the third. Fritz Meyer earned the win for St. Patrick. The pitcher allowed no hits and no runs over two innings, striking out four and walking one. Hunter Day took the loss for the Burnsville Bobcats. The hurler went one and two-thirds innings, allowing one run on three hits, striking out none and walking none. Evan Esch stepped on the bump first for St. Patrick. The lefty allowed two hits and one run over seven innings, striking out 11 and walking two. Connor Hartley started for Burnsville and surrendered four hits and one run over seven innings, striking out eight and walking one. Ian Segna led St. Patrick with two runs batted in from the number eight spot in the lineup. The third baseman went 1-for-4 on the day. Ben Taxdahl led St. Patrick with two hits in four at bats. The Irish moved to 6-0 in Section 2.
Webster 6, New Prague 3 The Orioles took a lead late into the June 19 game at Webster but five runs in the eighth inning did them in. Derek Aasen pitched the first four innings and did not allow a run. Kole Wagner came and pitched well allowing just one run through his first three frames. In the eighth, the Sox capitalized on a couple walks, a couple bloopers and a few hard-hit balls. This rally was sparked by three clutch singles in a row from John Checheris, Sam Wareham, and Kutter Herzig. Augie Isaacson, Peter Tveite and Will Wareham all had two hits as well. New Prague’s Anthony Mader and Simon Kajer picked up RBI for New Prague.
Veseli 7, Lonsdale 3 The Warriors jumped out to the lead in the top of the first inning of the June 21 tilt after Karder Schmoll singled, scoring one run, and Sam Gilles grounded out, scoring two runs. Ross Beumer homered to right field, scoring two runs in the bottom of the eighth for the Aces. Nate Picka earned the win for Warriors. The hurler allowed five hits and three runs (two earned) over eight innings, striking out eight and walking none. Brandon Tande took the loss for Lonsdale. The pitcher went five innings, surrendering six runs (four earned) on seven hits, striking out three and walking two. Gilles threw one inning of no-run ball for the Warriors in relief. The righty allowed one hit, striking out one and walking none. Veseli accumulated 11 hits in the game. Gilles went 2-for-5 at the plate to lead the Warriors in hits. Bennet Gjerde, Schmoll, Nate Friedges, Gilles, and Jacque Jones each drove in one run for Warriors. Beumer led the Aces with two runs batted in. The left-handed hitter went 1-for4 on the day. Kellen Jirik, Brad Davis, Ike Pint, Beumer, Tegan Mellgren, and Wade Gilbertson each collected one hit for Lonsdale. Veseli travels to Prior Lake Mudcats tonight, Thursday, June 25, 7:30 p.m.
New Prague 12, Gaylord 2 The Orioles dodged the rain and defeated the Islanders in seven innings Wednesday, June 17 in New Prague. Gavin Bergman hit a tworun home run in the first inning to put the O’s on the board. Eric Wagner had two hits and drove in two runs as well. Jake Deutsch had a bases-loaded double to score two runs. Jake Zweber knocked in the game ender with his first career hit to out the O’s up 10. Bergman threw the first five innings and Brayden Pakiz the last two innings.
PL Mudcats 5, Montgomery 4 (11 inns.) A resilient comeback effort fell just short as the Mallards dropped a grueling 11-inning, 5-4 decision on Sunday afternoon. The Mallards struck first in the top of the first inning when Ryan Iverson launched a solo home run to put Montgomery on the board early, 1-0. However, the visitors answered immediately in the bottom half of the frame, striking for two runs to pull ahead 2-1 before tacking on single runs in the second and third to extend their lead to 4-1. Max Krautkremer got the start on the mound for Montgomery, anchoring the defense after the rocky start. Krautkremer battled through 6 tough innings, scattering eight hits and allowing only one earned run while striking out four to keep the Mallards within striking distance. Trailing by three in the sixth, the Mallards staged a rally to pull completely even. Iverson got things started by drawing a walk, and Matt Smith was hit by a pitch to put two runners aboard. Cam Noland then stepped into the box and lined a sharp RBI single to bring home Iverson. Moments later, Dawson Pint drove a line-drive single to plate Smith, and Dylan Westerman followed suit with an RBI groundout to push across Noland, locking the game in a 4-4 tie. From there, it turned into a classic bullpen duel. Derek Christenson entered in relief for Montgomery and put on a stellar performance, keeping the opposing hitters off-balance by tossing 4.2 frames and striking out four. The contest stretched deep into extra innings before the Mudcats finally managed to break the deadlock in the bottom of the 11th, manufacturing the game-winning run to secure the 5-4 walk-off victory.
PL Mudcats 11, Montgomery 2 Despite a resilient push at the plate late in the contest, Montgomery suffered an 11-2 defeat on Friday night, June 19. A tough defensive day and an early offensive surge from the visitors proved too much to overcome. Prior Lake jumped out to a quick start in the top of the first inning, using a string of timely extra-base hits to build an early 3-0 advantage. PL continued to pad its lead over the middle frames, adding runs in the third and sixth to push the gap to 5-0. The Mallards struggled to find an answer for the visitors’ starting pitcher, who stifled the lineup over six scoreless frames while racking up 12 strikeouts. The Mallards continued to battle and finally broke through in the bottom of the ninth. Matt Smith kickstarted the frame with a walk and came around to score alongside Keegan O’Meara. Ryan Iverson and Kyle Hintz each drove in a run for the offense to trim the final deficit, but the damage was already done. Brandon Gentz got the start on the bump for Montgomery, battling through 6.0 tough innings while surrendering 12 hits and striking out four. Jackson Sirek worked the final three frames in relief out of the bullpen. At the plate, the Mallards collected six hits on the night, spearheaded by a multi-hit performance from Cam Noland.
Webster 11, Union Hill 2 On the mound, Peter Tveite got the nod for Webster, tossing seven strong innings of shutout ball Sunday, June 21, allowing only two hits against a strong Union Hill lineup. John Checheris cleaned up in relief for Webster. Offensively, the Sox bats stayed hot. The Webster offense recorded 14 hits and tallied 11 runs. Jordon Huwe and Peter Tveite each had solo homers, adding to their strong offensive seasons. Jake Ekness, Augie Issacson and Will Arendt each had doubles in multi-hit efforts.