The St. Wendel Saints kept their unblemished Victory League record intact but it took a late-game rally in Aitkin to defeat the Steam 9-8 on Sunday. Trailing 7-5 after 7 innings, St. Wendel scored 4 times in the 8th to rally for the 9-8 win over the Steam.
Aitkin jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st when Nathan Ehnstrom walked with 1 out, followed by a single from Zack Ehnstrom. Landon Janzen then connected for a 3-run blast to put Aitkin up 3-0 after 1.
In the top of the 3rd, the Saints got on the board when Rolando Ramos took a lead-off walk, moved all the way to 3rd on a ground out and then scored on an rbi single by Austin Dickmann to make it 3-1.
The Steam got that run back in the bottom of the 3rd when Nathan Ehnstrom singled, as did Zack Ehnstrom. A walk to Landon Janzen loaded the bases, where a John McGuire sacrifice fly brought in Nathan Ehnstrom to make it 4-1 after 3 innings.
St. Wendel closed the gap in the top of the 4th, scoring twice. Back-to-back singles by Brandon Dickmann and Tanner Tomasek put runners on the corners with no outs. A ground out by Jake Ethen brought home Brandon Dickmann to make it 4-2, and a sacrifice fly by Connor Breth brought home Tomasek to make it 4-3.
In the bottom of the 5th, Aitkin re-established their 3-run lead when Zack Ehnstrom singled and stole 2nd. After Landon Janzen was hit by a pitch, John McGuire singled to drive in Ehnstrom. With 1 out and McGuire at 3rd, Hunter Hills struck out but the 3rd strike was dropped, requiring a throw to 1st. While Hills was retired, McGuire came in to score and Aitkin was up 6-3 after 5 innings.
After a scoreless 6th inning, St. Wendel crept closer in the 7th with a 2-run inning. The inning started with a walk to Tyler Huls, then another to Rolando Ramos. Logan Harren then ripped a 2-run double to make it 6-5. Austin Dickmann then walked, followed by a strikeout of Brandon Dickmann for the 1st out. A Tanner Tomasek ground out put men at 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs with the Saints still down a run. A fly out to right by Jake Ethen kept the Steam in front 6-5 at the 7th inning stretch.
In the bottom of the 7th, Aitkin got a 1-out single from Zack Ehnstrom, followed by an rbi double by Landon Janzen to put the Steam ahead 7-5 after 7 innings.
In the top of the 8th, the Saints struck for 4 runs and grabbed the late-game lead. Connor Breth led off with a single up the middle, followed by a grounder from Aiden Micholski that was misplayed for an error and St. Wendel had runners at the corners with no outs. After Tyler Huls went down on strikes for the 1st out, Rolando Ramos put down a squeeze bunt that drove in Breth to make it 7-6. Micholski moved to 3rd on the play with 2 outs. When a pitch got away from the Aitkin catcher, Aiden Micholski raced home with the tying run to make it 7-7. Logan Harren then came up and smacked a double to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Austin Dickmann then gave the Saints their first lead with an rbi double of his own to make it 8-7, and Brandon Dickmann kept it going with an rbi single to center to make it 9-7.
In the bottom of the 8th, Aitkin got a 1-out walk from Carson Kullhem. A single to right by Logan Olson put the tying run on base with 1 out. Jake Ince then singled as well and the Steam had the bases loaded. A Nathan Ehnstrom sacrifice fly brought in Kullhem to make it 9-8 with runners at 1st and 2nd and 2 outs. Zack Ehnstrom then walked to fill the bases, but the rally stopped there as Austin Dickmann got Landon Janzen on strikes to end the inning and strand all 3 runners.
After St. Wendel went down in order in the top of the 9th, Aitkin had 1 more chance in the bottom of the 9th. John McGuire led off with a single, but then Austin Dickmann got Hunter Hills to hit into a force out at 2nd for the 1st out. Thorin Dunham then walked to put the tying run at 2nd and the winning run at 1st with 1 out. Austin Dickmann then fanned Carson Kullhem for the 2nd out. Dickmann then finished the game by getting Logan Olsen to ground out to 2nd baseman Jake Ethen to end the game with the 9-8 St. Wendel victory.
St. Wendel 9 11 0 – 9
Aitkin 8 11 1 – 8
WP: Aiden Micholski 2IP 1 run 2 hits 0k 0bb
Connor Breth 5IP 6 runs 6 hits 5k 3bb 1hp
SV: Austin Dickmann 2IP 1 run 3 hits 3k 3bb
LP: Thorin Dunham 1IP 4 runs 4 hits 1k 0bb
Zach Ehnstrom 6IP 3 runs 6 hits 1k 5bb
Tanner Hills 1IP 2 runs 1 hit 1k 3bb
Logan Olsen 1IP 0 runs 0 hits 2k 0bb
Saints:
Rolando Ramos 0-2 2bb, sac, rbi, 2 runs
Logan Harren 2-5 2B(2), 2 rbi, run
Austin Dickmann 2-2 2B, 3bb, 2 rbi, run
Brandon Dickmann 2-5 rbi, run
Tanner Tomasek 2-5 run
Jake Ethen 1-4 bb, rbi
Connor Breth 1-3 sac fly, rbi, run
– Tanner Reis 0-1
Aiden Micholski 0-3 bb, sb, run
– Jacob Worlie 0-1
Tyler Huls 1-3 bb, run
Steam:
Jake Ince 1-5
Nathan Ehnstrom 2-4 sac fly, rbi, 2 runs
Zack Ehnstrom 3-3 2bb, sb, 3 runs
Landon Janzen 2-3 Hr, 2B, bb, hp, 4 rbi, 2 runs
John McGuire 2-4 sac fly, 2 rbi
Hunter Hills 0-5 rbi
Tanner Hills 0-3
– Thorin Dunham 0-1 bb
Carson Kullhem 0-3 2bb, run
Logan Olsen 1-5