New Market, Faribault qualify for state
The New Market Muskies and Faribault Lakes won their Region 3C playoff games Sunday, Aug. 2, to qualify for the State Class C Amateur Baseball Tournament, which begins August 21 in Cold Spring and Watkins. Four other Dakota-Rice- Scott League teams remain alive in the region playoffs, playing for the final two state berths. Shakopee plays St. Benedict at Veseli Friday, Aug. 7, at 8 p.m. and St. Patrick is at Montgomery at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8. The tournament continues through Friday, Aug. 15, with a final game possible on Sunday, Aug. 16, to determine seeding for the state tournament. Two teams - Union Hill and Lonsdale - were eliminated in loser’s bracket games last week.
Last week’s games
Muskies 4, Coyotes 2 New Market’s Nate Rost pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and cruised from there, as the Muskies defeated Shakopee 4-2 at Elko Tuesday, July 28. Kyle Bergstrom had an RBI single to start the scoring for New Market, then a wild pitch and a bases-loaded hit batter made the score 3-0 after one inning. Rost retired the next seven batters and allowed just two unearned runs in the seventh inning. For Shakopee, Zak Hoffman went 3-for-4 and Alex Johnson took the loss.
Irish 4, Bulldogs 2 Seth Ambroz out-dueled Daniel Feneis as St. Patrick defeated Union Hill 4-2 in Veseli Tuesday, July 28. Each team scored a run in the third inning. St. Patrick took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth, but the Bulldogs tied it in the top of the fifth. Matt and Seth Ambroz each had RBI hits in the bottom of the fifth to put the Irish on top for good at 4-2. Seth Ambroz finished 3-for-4 at the plate with a run, an RBI and two doubles. Matt Ambroz and Jack Friedges each had two hits and Derek Hahn and Colton Borwege both had RBIs. For Union Hill, Adam Gill went 3-for-5 with an RBI, and Eric Bisek had the other RBI. Feneis allowed four runs and nine hits in seven innings while striking out seven. Rick Bell pitched an inning of relief. Seth Ambroz allowed six hits and two runs while striking out 13 in getting the complete game win.
Saints 14, Aces 8 Lonsdale exploded for five runs in the top of the second inning, but saw the lead disappear as St. Benedict scored seven runs in the third as they defeated Lonsdale 14-8 in Veseli Wednesday, July 29. Lonsdale tied it in the fourth, but the Saints took the lead for good with a pair in their half of the inning. Scott Eischens led the St. Benedict attack with two hits and five RBIs. Johnny Dittman had three hits and Nick Heitkamp added two. For Lonsdale, Travis Scheffler had two hits and three RBIs, while Lance Anderson and Jordan Yetzer each had two hits. Michael Pauly took the win on the mound, while Joseph Sabol was tagged with the loss.
Lakers 7, Mallards 1 Faribault took a 2-0 lead in the second inning and that would be all they needed as Matt Lane dominated the Montgomery hitters, allowing just five hits and striking out 13 in a 7-1 win Wednesday, July 29, in Faribault. Montgomery’s lone run came in the seventh inning on an RBI single by Eric Iverson that scored Pat Lloyd. Iverson had two of the Mallards’ five hits. Robbie Marshall took the loss on the mound for Montgomery.
Coyotes 4, Bulldogs 3 Shakopee took a 2-0 lead on a pair of sacrifice flies, then added two in the fifth for a 4-0 lead before holding on for a 4-3 win over Union Hill, eliminating the Bulldogs from the playoffs. Zak Hoffman had three hits and scored a run for Shakopee, while Matt Theis and Alec Pauly both had RBI singles. Cody Pamperin pitched nine innings, allowing seven hits and striking out four. Adam Gill and Matt Beckius both had two hits for Union Hill. Hunter Piehl started and took the loss. Union Hill had trouble getting hits in the clutch, leaving a number of hitters stranded in scoring position.
Mallards 12, Aces 6 Montgomery erupted for nine runs in the fourth inning on their way to a 12-6 win over Lonsdale Saturday, Aug. 1, ending the Aces’ season. Ryan Iverson and John Krocak both homered for the Mallards, with Krocak scoring three runs and driving in four. Montgomery had 19 hits, with eight players getting at least two hits. Pat Lloyd had three hits and Mike Flicek, Ryan Iverson and Tyler Bednar had two RBIs each. Ted Christian started and went five innings for the win, with Robbie Marshall and Mike Flicek each pitching two innings of relief. Lonsdale tried for a comeback, scoring twice in the fifth and three in the sixth, but they would come up short. Ben Lazzari took the loss on the hill for the Aces.
Muskies 7, Irish 3 St. Patrick scored a pair of early runs, but New Market scored three in the third, all courtesy of the long ball. Steve McGuiggan hit a solo homer, Kyle Bergstrom had a two-run blast and Nate Rost hit a solo shot to put the Muskies up 4-2. St. Patrick loaded the bases in the fifth with one out, but reliever Derek Bergstrom induced an inning-ending double play to keep New Market on top. The Irish would cut the lead to 4-3 with a run in the sixth. Bergstrom got the win in relief, while Bill Dunker took the loss for St. Patrick.
Lakers 8, Saints 4 Faribault’s Matt Lane had an RBI single off St. Benedict starter Jeremy Heitkamp in the first inning to start the scoring, and the Lakers added another run in the second. In the fourth, Scott Eischens doubled for St. Benedict and Chris Hartman drove him in with a base hit to make it a 2-1 game. Faribault added three runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to take an 8-1 lead. St. Benedict tried to peck away at the lead, but ran out of time. Evan Knutson had a complete game win for the Lakers.
