Urbank 0, Le Sueur 2
It was a good old-fashioned pitcher’s duel between the Urbank Bombers and Le Sueur Braves to begin Saturday. The Bombers sent out Alex Koep to the mound while the Braves countered with Logan Feeney.
Both pitchers were locked in, so there weren’t a lot of baserunners to go around. Koep allowed just one run over six innings and struck out six, but Feeney was nearly unhittable.
The Bombers threatened to break a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth after drawing a couple of walks, but Feeney escaped the jam. With two runners on and no outs, he struck out his fourth hitter of the game and then induced consecutive ground balls to get out unscathed.
That momentum carried over to the Le Sueur bats in the bottom of the fifth.
Peyton Tellijohn led off with a double and advanced to third on an unsuccessful fielder’s choice attempt during Tristen O’Brien’s at-bat. With O’Brien safe at first, the Braves pulled off a double-steal and Tellijohn scored the game’s first run after swiping home.
That was all the run support Feeney needed. He pitched a complete game gem, striking out seven hitters and allowing just three hits. The Braves did add an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth and won 2-0.
Le Sueur advances to round two on Aug. 23 at 6:30 p.m. in Brownton.
Hawley Hawks 4, Hanska Lakers 6
Unlike game one on Saturday, both teams cracked the scoreboard in the first inning. The Hawley Hawks and Hanska Lakers met in game two in Hawley’s first-ever state tournament appearance.
Peyton Aas started the game with a single and Oakley Dubord doubled behind him. With one out, Teague Spillum drove both runners in with a single to center.
With two outs in the bottom of the opening frame, Chris Knowles drew a walk and was sent home on Tanner Olson’s RBI double to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Hanska took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Sam Knowles scored the game-tying run on a fielder’s choice and Derek Wilfahrt scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball, taking a 3-2 lead.
The Lakers added another run in the fifth, but the Hawks tied the game at the top of the sixth.
Zach Taft drove in Matt Pearson with an RBI triple and later tied the game after scoring on a wild pitch.
The Lakers got the lead back in the bottom of the sixth on Jake Finstad’s sac fly to center. Hanska added an insurance run in the seventh and won 6-4.
Aaron Portner allowed four runs over 5.1 innings for Hanska. Michael Bouwman entered in relief for Portner and earned the win after striking out five over 3.2 shutout frames. He allowed one hit and walked three.
Gavin Klevgaard was Hawley’s starting arm and he allowed three runs (one unearned) over four innings with four punch outs. Skylar Timmer (L) allowed three runs in three innings. Ethan Ibach pitched a shutout ninth.
*The game between Air Freight and Rochester was postponed until 7:30 PM on Friday, Aug. 22, due to a medical emergency and rain delay.
Pierz Lakers 2, Mora Blue Devils 1
Error hurt the Pierz Lakers early against the Mora Blue Devils, as it appeared the Lakers were poised to take an early lead. But when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Pierz overcame an early deficit to snatch back a 2-1 win.
Mora struck first in the top of the third after escaping a bases-loaded jam the previous half inning.
Pierz loaded the bases despite making a couple of costly baserunning miscues. Ryan Chmielewski got thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double and Brady Petron got thrown out trying to retreat back to third after a ground ball.
But Mora starting pitcher Derek Graves got Kolten Happke to fly out to deep center for the third out as the Blue Devils left the bottom of the second unscathed.
Logan Graves singled with one out during the top of the third and advanced to third on Nathan Nelson’s single. Austin Peterson stepped up to the plate and hit what appeared to be an easy double-play ground ball to shortstop, but Kamden Happke looked to make a throw home instead of trying to turn two, allowing Logan Graves to score on Peterson’s RBI groundout.
An inning later, Carter Petron missed a home run by about 10 feet, but was rewarded with a lead-off double to begin the bottom of the fourth and came around to score, tying the game 1-1.
It took another three innings, but in the bottom of the seventh, Chase Becker drove in David Kroger with an RBI double to capture a 2-1 lead.
Noah Cekalla took over on the mound for Pierz starter Ryan Chmielewski to begin the top of the eighth to save the one-run lead and he came through. The Lakers won 2-1 and advance to round two.
Pierz plays next Sunday, Aug. 24, in Brownton at 11 a.m.
