Irish, Saints eliminated, Mudcats advance at State
The Prior Lake Mudcats were the only one of three Dakota-Rice-Scott League teams to win their first-round game at the Minnesota Class C Amateur Baseball Tournament over opening weekend.
The Mudcats claimed a 4-1 win over Foley to advance to the tournament’s second round.
Meanwhile, St. Patrick’s bats were silenced in a 4-0 loss to Cold Spring and St. Benedict lost a heart-breaker on a walk-off home run in a 3-2 loss to Waterville.
The tournament continues this weekend with second round games. The Mudcats will face Fergus Falls Saturday, Aug. 24, at 11 a.m. in Delano while New Market, which had a bye in the first round, will take on Luverne at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 25, in Maple Lake.
Rockies 4, Irish 0 Ryan Hennen allowed just two hits and struck out nine as the Cold Spring Rockies defeated St. Patrick 4-0 in the tournament’s opening game Friday, Aug. 16, in Delano. Calvin Kalthoff drove in three of the four Cold Spring runs. After three scoreless innings, both teams threatened and came up scoreless in the fourth. Cold Spring loaded the bases with nobody out on two hits and a walk. St. Patrick starter Nick Spitt answered the challenge by striking out the next two batters, then getting the third out on a grounder to short. St. Patrick put the leadoff runner on in the fifth via a hit batter, then an apparent double play ball took a bad hop off the shortstop’s face to put two runners on with nobody out. However the next two batters couldn’t advance the runners, then Jack Friedges was caught stealing to end the threat. Cold Spring scored twice in the fifth and twice more in the seventh, and that was the only offense they would need. Seth Ambroz and Matt Ambroz had the only two hits for St. Patrick. Spitt pitched 4-2/3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits in taking the loss. John Krocak, draftee from Montgomery, went 2-1/3 innings, and also allowed two runs and four hits. Zach Seurer pitched the final two innings, allowing just two hits.
Mudcats 4, Lumber Jacks 1 After taking a 1-0 lead in the first, Prior Lake scored three runs in the third to take a 4-0 lead in their first round game against Foley Saturday, Aug. 17, in Maple Lake. Manager Greg Faue hit a sacrifice fly for the inning’s third run, putting his team in command. The Mudcats had scored a run in the first inning with the help of an error. Corbin Cross had three hits and Luke Weber and Faue had two hits each for Prior Lake. Ben Morrison struck out eight and allowed just five hits against the Lumber Jacks.
Indians 3, Saints 2 St. Benedict experienced the highs and lows of sports in just a few minutes in their 3-2 loss to Waterville Sunday, Aug. 18, in Delano. Tied 1-1 in the top of the eighth, St. Benedict loaded the bases and scored on a fielder’s choice when Jonathan Huss was called safe at the plate in a disputed call. But Waterville’s Riley Schultz ended the game with a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Indians the 3-2 win. St. Benedict scored the game’s first run in the top of the third, with two walks and an error loading the bases and another walk bringing in Jeremy Heitkamp. Waterville’s Nolan Grose homered in the fourth to make it a 1-1 game. Nick Heitkamp, Andrew Huss and Carter Johnson each had one hit for St. Benedict. Tanner Oakes started and went five innings for St. Benedict. Trey Kocher pitched three innings and took the loss. Dalton Grose started for Waterville and went two innings, walking six. Luke Sellner pitched six innings, allowing just two hits and Bladyn Bartelt got the win, pitching a scoreless ninth.
RESULTS AND SCORES Class C Results Luverne 4, Carver 3 New London-Spicer 2, Howard Lake 0 Avon 3, Lake Henry 1 Watkins 2, Stark 0 Marble 4, New Munich 3 Sauk Centre 5, Green Isle 3 Lake City 7, Fort Ripley 5 Waterville 3, St. Benedict 2 Bird Island 1, Dumont 0 Prior Lake 4, Foley 1 Cokato 3, Sleepy Eye 0 Cologne 5, Hadley 2 Perham 6, Maple Lake 5 (12 innings) Cold Spring 4, St. Patrick 0 Buckman 14, Stewartville- Racine 6 Isanti 5, Morristown 0
Second round schedule at Delano
Friday, Aug. 23 Isanti vs. Young America, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 24 Prior Lake vs. Delano, 11 a.m. Cold Spring vs. Farming, 1:30 p.m. Sauk Centre vs. Sartell, 4:30 p.m. Bird Island vs. Jordan, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 25 Watkins vs. Morris, 11 a.m. New London-Spicer vs. Mora, 1:30 p.m. at Maple Lake Friday, Aug. 23 Marble vs. Hutchinson, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 24 Cologne vs Nisswa, 11 a.m. Lake City vs. Fairmont, 1:30 p.m. Waterville vs. Bluffton, 4:30 p.m. Cokato vs. Bemidji, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 25 Avon vs. Red Wing, 11 a.m. Buckman vs. New Ulm, 1:30 p.m. Luverne vs. New Market, 4:30 p.m. Perham vs. Raymond, 7 p.m.