Three local teams end season at Class C State Tourney

Three of the four teams from the DRS Amateur Baseball League were eliminated in the first round of the Class C State Tournament last weekend.

Kimball defeated Union Hill (3-0), Luxemburg downed St. Benedict (5-2), and Bemidji ended New Prague’s season (12-3).

St. Patrick is the lone team remaining from Region 3C. They received a first round bye and will play Austin Saturday, Aug. 28 at 11 a.m. at Waconia. Austin defeated Paynesville (6-2) in the first round game.

In the New Prague loss, Bemidji used a draftee pitcher to shut down the potent Orioles offense.

Andrew Pugliano of Dilworth pitched eight innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits. He struck out 12 and walked only two.

Only three New Prague players were able to get a hit off Pugliano.

Bryce Novak finished the game with three hits in three at bats and scored a run. He was one of two players in the first round to hit 3-for-3.

Paddy Timmer added two hits, a walk, and a run scored. The other hit came off the bat of Jake Deutsch, who also walked and scored a run.

Novak was the starting and losing pitcher for the Orioles. He lasted four innings, allowing four runs on six hits. Prior Lake draftee Ben Morrison allowed seven runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. Bemidji scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Nate Picka of Veseli gave up one run in 1/3 of an inning.

Bemidji advances to the second round to play the Region 4A Champion Milroy Yankees 1 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 29 in Waconia.

One big inning was what it took to help Luxemburg down St. Benedict Saturday.

The Saints scored in the opening inning before the Brewers scored one in the fourth and four in the fifth to pull out the win.

Nick Holland allowed two earned runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings. Matthias Duevel gave up one run on one hit in 1/3 of an inning. Nolan Eschew added three shutout innings and Cody Pirkl pitched to one batter in the eighth.

The Saints finished the game with six hits, two off the bat of Eischens. Zach Bakko, Nick Heittkamp, Derek Albers, and Jonathan Huss added one hit each. Bakko and Mitchell Martin scored the St. Benedict runs.

Union Hill pitcher Conrad Masberg, Ross Beumer of Lonsdale, and Adam Fjerstad of Lonsdale pitched well enough to win in their game against the Kimball Express. But the offense couldn’t figure out Kimball winning pitcher Ben Johnson.

The Union Hill trio allowed only two earned runs on nine hits and struck out nine. Masberg went 5 2/3 innings, giving up the three runs on seven hits. Beumer pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings and Fjerstad added one scoreless inning.

Johnson was just a bit better, pitching a complete game allowing five hits, two walks, and striking out 10.

C. Masberg led the Bulldog offense with two hits. Derek Masberg, Jack Giesen, and Nate Lee had the other hits.

Kimball advances to play Region 16A champion Alexandria Black Sox on Saturday, Aug. 28 in a 4:30 p.m. game at Waconia.