There was no letdown for the Pierz Lakers coming into their matchup with Howard Lake. After knocking off one of the favorites in the Class C bracket to reach the quarterfinals, the Lakers kept things rolling with an impressive 5-2 win over the Orphans.
Pierz turned to ace Ryan Chmielewski on the mound, and he did more than deliver. He had Howard Lake searching for answers all game long on his way to picking up the win. He took a no-hit bid deep into the eighth inning before Howard Lake got its first hit of the game with two outs. For the game, Chmielewski went eight innings in which he allowed two runs off one hit while striking out nine and walking four. He also hit two batters.
Scoreless through two innings, Pierz got the bats going in the top of the third. With a pair of baserunners and nobody on, a perfect suicide squeeze bunt from Noah Cekalla got the Lakers on the board. Preston Rocheleau added an RBI single as Pierz took a 2-0 lead heading to the bottom half.
After falling behind 2-0, Howard Lake cut the deficit in half thanks to some aggressive baserunning. After Jake Gruenhagen was hit by a pitch to open the inning, he stole second to put a runner in scoring position for the Orphans. He wasn’t done showing off his speed yet. Gruenhagen swiped third and forced a wild throw in the process that found left field, allowing him to score and put Howard Lake on the board. The Orphans had the tying run at second with nobody out, but Chmielewski and Pierz got out of the inning with the lead intact.
After Howard Lake cashed in on a Pierz miscue in the fourth, the Lakers returned the favor in the top half of the sixth. With two outs and two runners on, two errors on the same play by the Orphans allowed two runs to score as Pierz extended their lead to 4-1.
Pierz added a solo home run in the eighth from Kamden Happke to extend the lead to 5-1 and held on for the win to secure its spot in the semifinals against Roseau.
Roseau 8, Glencoe 7
The Roseau Royals were able to hold off each and every run by the Glencoe Brewers in their quarterfinal matchup. Each time the Brewers chipped away at the deficit, Roseau had the answer when it needed it as they secured their spot in the Class C semifinals with an 8-7 win over Glencoe.
The Brewers struck first after holding Roseau scoreless in the top half of the first. Teddy Petersen was hit by a pitch and then stole second to get into scoring position. Spencer Lilienthal then followed with an RBI single to give his team an early 1-0 lead.
The Royals wasted no time in answering back. After opening the second inning with back-to-back singles, Roseau got back-to-back RBI singles from Eli Wensloff and Alex Wensloff to take a 2-1 lead.
After Glencoe let a scoring chance slip away in the bottom of the second, the Royals added to their lead in the top of the third. An RBI single from Cooper Flaig made it 3-1, and they would go on to add on another run on a sacrifice fly to take a 4-1 lead heading to the bottom of the third.
The back-and-forth affair continued in the bottom half as it was Glencoe’s turn to answer. Petersen opened the inning with a leadoff single and came around to score on a safety squeeze by Nathan Litzau. The Brewers would close the gap to just one on an RBI single from Josh Kraby.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Brewers chipped away at the deficit again. After getting one run back thanks to Roseau’s fourth and fifth errors of the game, the Royals got out of trouble with just the one run allowed as centerfielder Danny Wensloff gunned down a Glencoe runner at third for a double play to get out of the inning.
Despite coming up short, Glencoe had its chances down the stretch. In the bottom of the seventh, the Brewers had runners on first and second with nobody out. They would go on to leave the bases loaded as Roseau clung to a two-run lead.
Even down by three in the bottom of the ninth, Glencoe battled back. A leadoff double from Spencer Lilienthal, followed by a two-run home run from Korey Johnson, got the Brewers back within a run, but that’s as close as they would get as Roseau held once again in a similar fashion to its win over Opole.
For the game, Glencoe left nine runners on base. The Royals were able to hold on for the win despite the sloppy defense at times. They committed five errors, and of the five runs allowed, only three were earned.
Roseau advances to the Class C semifinals Sunday where they will take on the winner of Howard Lake and Pierz.
Le Sueur 6, Regal 2
A good start can do wonders for a team in a big game. That’s exactly what the Le Sueur Braves got in their quarterfinal matchup against the Regal Eagles.
After the bats were held in check for the most part in their first two games of the tournament, Le Sueur got them rolling early as it struck for four runs in the first inning and only added to their lead as the game went on, securing their spot in the semifinals with a 6-2 win over Regal.
The Braves scored just three runs in their first two games despite picking up wins. They struck for four runs alone in the first inning to put Regal in a big hole early on.
Le Sueur added to its lead in the bottom of the seventh as Mitchell Casperson continued his big day at the plate. A two-run home run by Casperson gave the Braves a 6-0 lead heading to the eighth inning. Casperson finished the day 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, two runs scored, two RBI, and a walk.
Regal wouldn’t go away quietly with the season on the line. After pushing across one run earlier on a fielder’s choice, the Eagles put the pressure on in the top of the ninth. A leadoff double from Shane Rademacher gave them some life as he later came around to score on an RBI single from Jordan Beier. After trimming the deficit to four, the Eagles still had two baserunners on base, but Le Sueur’s Ethan Hoffmann would limit the damage to one as the Braves held on for the win.
On the mound, Logan Feeney gave the Braves another great start as he picked up the win. He went seven innings and held the Eagles to one run off two hits while striking out eight and walking four. Hoffmann went the final two innings and allowed one run on two hits.
At the plate, Cole Pengilly, Burke Nesbit, and Tyler Pengilly all added two hits apiece as well.
For Regal, Brayden Skindelien led the charge with two of his team’s four hits. Rademacher and Beier each added one hit apiece.
Le Sueur advances to the Class C semifinals, where they will take on the Hanska Lakers Sunday at 1 p.m. in Brownton.
