It was another powerful day for the Buckman offense as the Billygoats posted 19 hits, including Homers from Ben Thoma and Matt Kummet and 8 doubles as well with 2 each for Thoma and Lane Girtz as they downed the Fort Ripley Rebels 15-11 on Sunday. Buckman needed all of those runs because the Rebels put up a season-high 11 runs on 16 hits of their own against 5 Buckman pitchers.
Fort Ripley got out to a promising start in the top of the 1st against Buckman starter Rylan Robinson with singles from Mason Argir and Wyatt Gabrielson but the inning ended when Goats catcher Matt Kummet threw out Argir as he attempted to steal 3rd.
Buckman wasted no time in getting their offense into gear as Matt Tautges got things started against Rebels starter Tyler Gruye by reaching on an error. Lane Girtz then bashed a double to left and Noah Boser followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home Tautges and give Buckman a 1-0 lead. Ben Thoma then singled to left, scoring Girtz and making it 2-0 after the 1st inning.
Rylan Robinson then came out and had a quick 1-2-3 top of the 2nd, ending things with a strikeout of Riley Derosier.
Buckman put 2 men on base in the bottom of the 2nd on a Braxton Tautges single and a Matt Tautges walk with 1 out, but Tyler Gruye got Lane Girtz to fly to center and Noah Boser went down swinging to keep it 2-0 after 2 innings.
In the top of the 3rd, Rylan Robinson got Nick Jelacie to line out to left, then Liam Becker bounced out to 2nd and Eli Roberts grounded to short for another 1-2-3 inning.
Ben Thoma opened the bottom of the 3rd with a single to right, but Tyler Gruye got Matt Kummet to fly out to right and then enduced Andrew Rueckert to hit into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
In the top of the 4th, Mason Argir led off with a walk and advanced to 2nd on a groundout from Alex Haapajoki. Wyatt Gabrielson then singled to put runners at the corners with 1 out. Bill Sather put the Rebels on the board with a sacrifice fly, scoring Argir to make it 2-1. Jack Tiemann then got hit by a pitch from Robinson and Riley Derosier then singled to center to score Gabrielson from 2nd and tie the game at 2-2.
In the bottom of the 4th, Buckman regained the lead when Pete Herman led off with a walk but was forced out at 2nd on a ground ball from Travis Kahl. Braxton Tautges then singled to left to move Kahl to 2nd and Matt Tautges then loaded the bases with a single to right. Lane Girtz then walked, forcing in Travis Kahl to put the Goats ahead 3-2. Tyler Gruye avoided any further damage by getting Noah Boser to pop up to 3rd and Ben Thoma lined out to center to end the 4th with a 3-2 lead.
In the top of the 5th, the Billygoats turned to the bullpen, bringing in Kenny Morris to relieve Rylan Robinson. Liam Becker led off by getting hit by a Morris pitch, then went to 2nd on a wild pitch. Ben Thoma then came on to take over from Morris and Eli Roberts singled to right to move Becker to 3rd. Mason Argir then walked and the Rebels had the bases loaded with no outs. Alex Haapajoki then delivered a go-ahead 2-run double, bringing in both Becker and Roberts and Fort Ripley had a 4-3 lead with runners at 2nd and 3rd and still no outs. Wyatt Gabrielson followed with another run-scoring single to bring home Mason Argir as the Rebels lead grew to 5-3. Bill Sather kept it rolling with another rbi single as Alex Haapajoki scored and it was 6-3. Ben Thoma finally got out of the inning with a force out at 2nd, a strikeout and a fly out to left as the Goats got off the field but found themselves trailing the Rebels 6-3.
In the bottom of the 5th, Buckman came back with a 1-out double from Andrew Rueckert and a 2-out rbi double from Travis Kahl to make it 6-4 after 5 innings.
In the top of the 6th, the Rebels got that run right back when Ben Thoma struck out Liam Becker but then alowed single to Eli Roberts and Mason Argir. Alex Haapajoki then singled to left to drive in Roberts and give the Rebels a 7-4 lead. Thoma then struck out Wyatt Gabrielson and got Bill Sather to line out 2nd baseman Travis Kahl to end the inning.
In the bottom of the 6th, Matt Tautges led off with a walk aganst Tyler Gruye then Lane Girtz singled to center. Noah Boser then doubled to right to bring in Tautges and make it 7-5. That hit ended the day on the mond for Tyler Gruye, who was replaced by Gus Lund. Ben Thoma followed with a double of his own off Lund as both Girtz and Boser scored and the game was tied 7-7. Matt Kummet then put the Billygoats ahead with his team-leading 6th Homer of the season, a 2-run shot to right to give Buckman a 9-7 lead. The Billygoats would go on to load the bases again in the inning on a Pete Herman single, an error and a walk to Matt Tautges, but Lund got Lane Girtz to fly out to left fielder Bill Sather to end the inning with Buckman leading 9-7.
In the top of the 7th, Buckman handed the ball to Matt Tautges to take over from Ben Thoma on the hill. He got through the inning unscathed, allowing a 2-out double to Nick Jelacie but then striking out Liam Becker on a called 3rd strike.
Noah Boser opened the bottom of the 7th with a walk, followed by a Ben Thoma double to left. Andrew Rueckert loaded the bases with a 1-out infield single. Pete Herman then grounded back to the mound, where Gus Lund fielded the ball and threw home for a force out of Boser, but catcher Wyatt Gabrielson’s throw to 1st in an attempt for a double play sailed down the line for an error, allowing both Thoma and Rueckert to score and giving the Goats an 11-7 lead. Gus Lund then got Travis Kahl to fly out to left to end the 7th with Buckman holding an 11-7 lead.
In the top of the 8th, Matt Tautges struck out Eli Roberts and got Mason Argir to line out Ben Thoma at 1st before giving up a single to Alex Haapajoki. Tautges finished off the inning when Wyatt Gabrielson lined out to shortstop Lane Girtz.
In the bottom of the 8th, Braxton Tautges led off with a double to right, followed by a walk to Matt Tautges. Lane Girtz then doubled to left to bring in Braxton Tautges and make it 12-7. With Aiden Robinson pinch-running for Matt Tautges, Ben Thoma smashed a 3-run Homer to center to score both Robinson and Girtz and make it 15-7. It was Thoma’s 5th Homer of the year and his 5th hit of the game, and also gave him 6 rbi’s for the game. Rebels reliever Alex Haapajoki then struck out pinch-hitters Eric Buffington and Ben Mott to end the 8th with Buckman leading 15-7.
Fort Ripley wasn’t done just yet. In the top of the 9th against new pitcher Noah Boser, Jack Tiemann singled with 1 out, then a 2-out hit-by-pitch to Nick Jelacie and a Liam Becker single loaded the bases. Eli Roberts then launched a Grand Slam Homer to right to make it 15-11 before Buckman brought Matt Tatuges back in to get the final out, which he did on a Mason Argir grounder back to the mound, sealing the Billygoats 15-11 win, their 10th consecutive victory.
Fort Ripley 11 16 3 – 11
Buckman 15 19 0 – 15
WP: Ben Thoma 2.0 IP 4 runs 7 hits 3k 1bb
Rylan Robinson 4.0 IP 2 runs 4 hits 2k 1bb 1hp
Kenny Morris 0.0 IP 1 run 0 hits 0k 0bb 1hp
Matt Tautges 2.1 IP 0 runs 2 hits 2k 0bb
Noah Boser 0.2 IP 4 runs 3 hits 1k 0bb 1hp
LP: Gus Lund 2.0 IP 4 runs 5 hits 1k 2bb
Tyler Gruye 5.0 IP 7 runs 11 hits 1k 4bb
Alex Haapajoki 1.0 IP 4 runs 3 hits 2k 1bb
Billygoats:
Matt Tautges 1-2 4bb, 2 runs
– Aiden Robinson 0-0 run
Lane Girtz 3-5 2B(2), bb, 2 rbi, 3 runs
Noah Boser 1-4 2B, sac fly, bb, 2 rbi, run
Ben Thoma 5-6 Hr, 2B(2), 6 rbi, 3 runs
Matt Kummet 2-5 Hr, 2 rbi, run
– Eric Buffington 0-1
Andrew Rueckert 2-5 2B, 2 runs
– Ben Mott 0-1
Pete Herman 1-4 bb
Travis Kahl 1-5 2B, rbi, run
Braxton Tautges 3-5 2B, run
– Rylan Robinson
– Kenny Morris
– Andy Winscher
– Todd Robinson
Rebels:
Eli Roberts 3-6 Hr, 4 rbi, 3 runs
Mason Argir 2-4 2bb, sb, 2 runs
Alex Haapajoki 3-5 2B, 3 rbi, run
Wyatt Gabrielson 3-5 rbi, run
Bill Sather 1-4 sac fly, 2 rbi
Jack Tiemann 1-4 hp, run
Riley Derosier 1-5 rbi
Nick Jelacie 1-4 2B, hp, run
Liam Becker 1-4 hp, 2 runs
