By Kip Kovar
It was a tough day to be a district champion Saturday at Veterans Memorial Field in Hutchinson. With four games on the schedule for the day, all four district champions were eliminated as Cold Spring, Delano, Nisswa, and Raymond all took care of business coming off wins on opening weekend. Through five of the eight second-round Class B matchups, the Hutchinson Huskies are the only district champion to reach the quarterfinals, with three more games coming tomorrow.
Cold Spring 4, Red Wing 1 (10 inn.)
When it comes to state tournament time, coming through with clutch hits in big spots is what it’s all about. The Cold Spring Springers know that and have taken that to the next level.
After rallying in the bottom of the ninth in their first game of the Class B state tournament against Union Hill, the Springers got hot late once again as they secured a spot on Labor Day weekend with a 4-1 win over the Red Wing Aces in 10 innings.
Both teams had their chances early on, but neither could take advantage of them. The Springers and Aces combined to leave 18 runners on base through seven innings as the game moved to the eighth in a scoreless tie.
In the top of the eighth, Cold Spring broke through. A solo home run from Brady Schafer gave the Springers a 1-0 lead, but the lead didn’t last long as Red Wing answered back immediately in the bottom of the eighth.
After a hit batter put the tying run on base for the Aces, Zach Harding followed with a single to give them runners on first and third with just one out. A hit batter loaded the bases, but the Springers had a chance to get out of the inning with the lead still intact. A groundball to short presented a double play opportunity, but the throw to first pulled the first baseman off the bag and allowed the tying run to score.
Neither team could push across the go-ahead run in the ninth, sending the game into extra innings. That’s when it was Schafer and the Springers coming through in the clutch once again. After Brad Olson opened the top of the 10th inning with a single, he came around to score on an RBI double from Drew Bulson, which put Cold Spring back in front 2-1. Schafer tagged on two more runs for the Springers with his second home run of the game as they took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the 10th inning.
Red Wing had no answer in the bottom half as Eli Emerson held them in check to send the Springers to Labor Day Weekend.
Schafer had a big day at the plate to help propel Cold Spring to the win. After starting his day 0-for-2, he finished with back-to-back home runs in his final two at-bats and drove in three of the four runs for the Springers. Bulson added two hits of his own and drove in the other run for Cold Spring.
On the mound, Emerson got the win in relief. He went the final two innings and held Red Wing scoreless while allowing no hits and striking out two. Isanti draftee Phil Bray got the start for the Springers and tossed eight strong innings in which he allowed one run off four hits while striking out 10.
For Red Wing, Harding had two of the team’s four hits in the loss. Reid Hartmann and Adam Thygesen each added one hit apiece.
Delano 7, Hinckley 2
Delano manager Steve Eilen is loving the way his team is playing right now and for good reason. Taking on the Hinckley Knights, Eilen’s Athletics continued their impressive play as they secured a spot on Labor Day weekend with a 7-2 win.
It was all about taking advantage of the opportunities presented in front of you, and Delano did just that. After Mason Henry opened the game by reaching on an error, he stole second and advanced to third as the throw went into center field. Henry later scored on a wild pitch to give the A’s a 1-0 lead.
Hinckley answered back in a big way in their half of the first inning. On the first pitch of the inning, Cale Haugen blasted a solo home run to right field to even things up for the Knights.
The early offense continued in the second inning as Delano cashed in on Hinckley’s miscues. Marcus Riewer opened the inning with a leadoff single, and after stealing second, the A’s struck for another run on the third error of the game by Hinckley. A perfect bunt from Drew Dorsey moved Riewer over to third, but a wild throw to first base allowed him to come all the way around to score and put the A’s back in front 2-1. Delano added on one more run in the inning thanks to a two-out RBI single by Henry as they took a 3-1 lead to the bottom of the second inning.
The Knights once again chipped away in the bottom half of the second. A walk and a single by Griffin Stiel gave Hinckley a pair of baserunners, and with one out, a sacrifice fly and RBI from Max Sickler brought the Knights back within a run.
That’s as close as Hinckley would get the rest of the way, as Delano was able to pull away the rest of the way. In the top of the fifth inning, a solo home run from Toby Hanson put the A’s back in front by two, and they only added to their lead the rest of the way. Delano added one more run in each of the sixth, seventh, and ninth innings to seal the win and advance to Labor Day weekend.
Riewer had a big day at the plate to help lead the A’s to the win. He finished with a three-hit day and scored two runs to help spark the offense. Hanson added his solo home run while Delano had six other players with a hit, as it got contributions from all over the lineup.
On the mound, the A’s turned to Watertown draftee Jackson Hunter, who came through once again with a strong outing. He went eight innings in which he held the Knights to just two runs off four hits while striking out six. In two state tournament starts so far, Hunter has allowed just three runs and eight hits while striking out 11 in 17 innings of work for the A’s. Nick Hays closed things down for Delano with a scoreless ninth inning in relief.
The A’s advance to Labor Day Weekend, where a matchup with former North Star League rival Hutchinson awaits them.
Nisswa 8, Fergus Falls 2
The Nisswa Lightning are known for their ability to knock the cover off the ball. They wasted no time in proving that to be true.
Taking on Fergus Falls, Nisswa had the bats rolling early and often as they cruised to an 8-2 win over the Hurricanes to secure their spot on Labor Day weekend.
It took just seven pitches for the Lightning to grab the lead. After Spencer Flaten led off the inning with a double, Nate DeChaine followed that up with an RBI double of his own to give Nisswa an early 1-0 lead. Jeremiah Piepkorn added another for his team with an RBI single, and the Lightning took a 2-0 lead to the bottom of the first inning.
As quickly as Nisswa showed how dangerous the bats can be, it wasted no time in showing off their defense as well. On a deep fly ball, Nisswa’s left fielder Brett Jenkins robbed Carter Thielke of a home run after leaping at the wall and making the catch.
After the great catch by Jenkins, the Lightning kept adding to their lead in the top of the second. DeChaine stayed red hot at the plate as his second double of the game plated another run to give Nisswa a 3-0 lead.
Fergus Falls held the Lightning off the board in the top of the third, but the top of the fourth inning was when things got away from them. After an error kept the inning alive, Nisswa tagged on five runs, all of which came with two outs, to extend their lead to 8-0. Fergus Falls would cut the deficit to just six with a run in each of the seventh and eighth innings, but the big deficit was too much to overcome.
It was a tough loss for the Hurricanes, who out-hit the Lightning 13-12 but came up short. Fergus Falls left 13 runners on base as they struggled to find the clutch hit.
Blaine Hardy earned the win on the mound for Nisswa. He tossed five shutout innings while scattering five hits and striking out eight. Alex Hensch and Alex Hexum each added two hits apiece as well.
Nisswa advances to the Class B State quarterfinals, where they will take on the Cold Spring Springers Saturday, Aug. 30 in Brownton at 4 p.m.
Raymond 6, St. Stephen 2
Looking to keep their Cinderella run alive, the St. Stephen Steves just couldn’t deliver the big hit. Taking on the Raymond Rockets, the Steves struggled to find the clutch hit all game long while their opposition managed to in a tough 6-2 loss.
St. Stephen came into the District 4B with just two wins under its belt, but that didn’t stop it from making a postseason run. Not only did the Steves qualify for the state tournament out of a loaded district featuring teams like Nisswa and Buckman, but they won the whole thing.
Early on, it looked like St. Stephen was going to strike first in their first at-bat of the game, but it was unable to capitalize on the scoring chance. After Raymond’s Dreyer Homan got out of trouble in the bottom of the first to keep the game scoreless, the Rockets went to work in the top of the second. Tyler Steen reached on an error to open the inning, and Eli Nelson made St. Stephen pay. On a 1-1 count, Nelson belted a two-run home run to give the Rockets a 2-0 lead.
Letting scoring chances slip through was a common theme for the Steves in the loss. They left 11 runners on base as Raymond found a way to get out of trouble time and time again.
The Rockets weren’t satisfied with a two-run lead after two innings. They added on one more run in the fourth and sixth innings to stretch the lead to four, and that was enough to secure a spot in the Class B state quarterfinals despite a late push by the Steves.
St. Stephen cut the deficit in half with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, but that’s as close as it would get as the Rockets would hold on for the win. They answered back in the bottom of the top of the seventh with the two runs of their own to push the lead back to four, and that was too much for the Steves to overcome.
Raymond advances to the state quarterfinals with the win, where it will take on the winner of Maple Lake and Young America.
