As one of 10 teams battling for four state tournament spots in Class A, the St. Patrick Irish took another step in the right direction heading into the final portion of the regular season.
The Irish won two games in come-from-behind fashion this past week, defeating Miesville and the Rochester Royals, two teams also in the hunt for four state tournament berths among the 10 teams in Section 1 of Class A.
St. Patrick 17, Rochester 4
The Irish once again found themselves in an early hole in the Sunday, July 13 tilt at Bonin Field, as the Royals led off the game with a solo home run by Logan Milene, and tacked on two more in the frame to make it 3-0 after the top half of the first.
But St. Patrick answered with three runs of its own in the first inning. Ryan Friedges, Ben Taxdahl and Seth Ambroz each drove in a run.
Rochester took a 4-3 lead in the second, but the Irish plated two more runs in their half to take a 5-4 advantage after two innings. Jack Friedges had an RBI single and Ryan Friedges drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
In the fourth inning, St. Patrick struck for two more runs, this time via a Mikey Gottschalk RBI triple. Gottschalk swiped home with a straight steal to give his team a 7-4 advantage. St. Patrick upped its lead to 11-4 in the fifth frame, thanks to RBI walks from Mikey Gottschalk and Jack Friedges, then Ryan Friedges laced a single to score two more for an 11-4 lead after five innings.
The Irish made it 13-4 in the seventh, as Jack Friedges scored on a wild pitch, and Ryan Friedges scored from home on a double steal. In the eighth, St. Patrick loaded the bases, setting up the inevitable win via the 10-run rule. Ryan Friedges hit a grand slam over the center field wall, mercifully ending the contest.
Ryan Friedges was the starting pitcher and went seven innings to get the win. He gave up 10 hits and four runs while striking out 10 Royals. Fritz Meyer pitched in relief recording one strikeout.
Ryan Friedges was 5-for-6 on the day with three runs and eight RBIs. Ryan Wickman scored five runs. Jack Friedges and Mikey Gottschalk scored three times.
Union Hill 5, Faribault 4
The Bulldogs broke a 4-4 tie in the home half of the eighth inning Sunday, July 13, when Nate Lee clobbered a solo home run to center field. The hit was the Bulldogs’ ninth and final hit of the game.
Eric Berg scored in the first inning. Henry Novak crossed the plate in the second and fourth innings. Conrad Masberg scored in the fifth. Novak and Nathan Berg had UH’s only multiple hit day.
Bulldogs’ pitcher Otteson went the first seven innings. He struck out seven, scattered five hits and allowed three runs. Reliever Will Seymour finished up, striking out four and walking a pair of Faribault hitters. The duo and the UH defense stranded seven Faribault runners.
St. Benedict 6, Veseli 2
St. Benedict topped visiting Veseli in a matchup of pitching aces Sunday, July 13.
The Saints’ Alex Mizsak outdueled the Warriors’ Luke Tupy. Mitchell Martin had a two-run single in the first for St. Benedict. Joe Pesta homered in the sixth and Nick Heitkamp plated two with a single in the seventh.
Derek Albers notched the six-out save for St. Benedict.
New Market 12, Morris 3
The Muskies outlasted Morris in the Jordan tournament’s third-place game.
The Muskies overcame an early 3-2 deficit. NM blew the game open late when Gabe Bombadier blasted a ball off the top of the center field wall for a grand slam.
Muskies pitcher Cal Schmelzle went the distance for the win.
Webster 12, New Prague 0
Peter Tveite (two innings pitched), Jackson Renz (four IP) and Ryan Joyner (one IP) shut out New Prague Sunday, July 13. They combined to strike out 13 Orioles and allowed just three hits.
Jordon Huwe hit a three-run home run to cap off a seven-run first inning. Jake Belille had three hits and Will Wareham and Kutter Herzig also had two hits.
Miesville 6, Elko 5 (10 inns.)
The Express battled back from a 4-2 deficit to take a 5-4 lead, but it was an advantage Elko could not maintain in the July 13 extra-inning setback in Miesville.
After Elko erased a 1-0 lead with three scores in the first inning, Elko scored its second run in the third and added three more in the fourth frame for a 5-4 lead. But the Mudhens tied the score at 5-aside in the seventh and won the game in the bottom of the 10th.
Elko outhit Miesville, 6-4. Both teams committed three errors.
Webster 17, St. Benedict 3
Webster trounced St. Benedict Saturday, July 12, at The Ben. The Sox smacked four home runs in the rout.
Nick Dorfman pitched five innings giving up one unearned run for the Sox to get the win.
Jake Belille hit two home runs. Kutter Herzig and Peter Tveite also hit home runs. The Sox pounded out 21 hits and cruised to the win in seven innings.
Jordan 7, New Market 1
An under-manned Muskies team took one on the win Saturday, July 12, to the Brewers at their tournament.
Scott Lyden paced NM with two hits. Pitcher Carter Thiesen took the loss.
St. Patrick 8, Miesville 5
Miesville jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after the first inning, paced by two home runs. But the Irish chipped away and came out victorious in the July 11 game at Bonin Field.
The comeback began in the third inning. St. Patrick scored four times, highlighted by Seth Ambroz's two-run home run. Miesville added one in its half of the third for a 5-4 advantage, but that would be the end of the Mudhens’ scoring.
In the fourth, Jack Friedges hit a solo home run to tie the game, 5-all. In the fifth inning, Seth Ambroz hit his second homer of the night, this time a solo shot. The Irish would score twice more in the ninth inning for the three-run win.
Korey Dahlberg got the start and win for the Irish, going seven innings. He recorded 11 strikeouts. Fritz Meyer pitched in relief with two strikeouts.
Mikey Gottschalk had three hits, and Ambroz had a double to go with his two round-trippers. Coltin Smith and Jack Friedges each had two hits.
Quinn Kruger took the loss for Miesville.
New Market 10, Green Isle 7
The Muskies rallied from an early deficit, scoring six times in the sixth inning to top the Irish in the Jordan tournament Friday, July 11.
Spencer Kline was the winning pitcher for NM. Connor Weed led the offense with two hits, one a home run.
Montgomery 4, Veseli 3
Veseli jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first and extended it to 2-0 in the third inning before the Mallards started chipping away in the July 11 clash.
In the bottom of the third, a Matt Smith double and Cole Pint single made it 2-1 and the Mallards took the lead in the fifth inning when a two-out single from Dawson Pint brought home Ryan Iverson and Max Krautkremer.
Nolan Readmond kept the Veseli bats quiet pitching the first six innings, allowing just two runs on only five hits. Max Krautkremer pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings before giving way to Matt Smith. A couple of walks and a wild pitch gave Veseli runners one on and two outs when a swinging bunt up the third baseline was not able to be fielded and tossed home in time, tying the game.
The score didn’t remain tied long. Krautkremer singled with one out in the bottom of the ninth, followed by a line drive to right off the bat of Cole Pint the Veseli fielder could not handle put runners at first and third. Johnson singled to right but the runner was caught trying to score for the second out. However, with his brother Cole on third base and Dawson Pint at the plate, an errant breaking ball got past the Veseli catcher, allowing the winning run to the plate in walk-off fashion.
St. Benedict 5, New Prague 2
St. Benedict broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the ninth inning to defeat New Prague Thursday, July 10. Caleb Meyers earned the win and Cole Minnick the save. Meyers and Patrick Simmons each drove in runs in the ninth.
Union Hill 8, Elko 7
The Express enjoyed leads of 4-0, 6-2 and 7-2 but couldn’t hold off the Bulldogs in the July 10 clash at Don Giesen Field.
Union Hill overcame the deficit with four runs in the seventh and two more in the bottom of the ninth inning for the walk-off win.
The ninth inning opened with a pair of walks to Eric Berg and Will Seymour. Nate Osborne singled and Nate Lee walked. A walk to Troy Davis drove in the winning run.
Tomas Lee had two of UH’s nine hits in the win.
Five UH pitchers worked with Tanner Nordrum collecting the win. Elko had five hits in the game and stranded six runners on base.
Prior Lake 7, Montgomery 1
Prior Lake Mudcats scored seven runs in the fifth inning, which helped them defeat the Montgomery Mallards Wednesday, July 9. Cole Clausen singled, scoring two runs, Ben Kelsey hit a sacrifice fly, scoring one run, John Parker singled, scoring one run, Noah Slates drew a walk, scoring one run and Bear Blaney singled, scoring two runs.
Ben Morrison earned the win for PL. The starting pitcher surrendered seven hits and zero runs over eight innings, striking out three and walking two. Ted Christian took the loss for the Ducks. The hurler went two and two-thirds innings, surrendering seven runs (four earned) on five hits, striking out four and walking six. Jonah Saad appeared in relief for Prior Lake Mudcats.
Blaney, Clausen and Caden Quinn collected two hits each for the Mudcats. Blaney and Clausen each drove in two runs for Prior Lake. The Mudcats had patience at the plate, accumulating seven walks for the game.
Montgomery Mallards amassed nine hits in the game. Ryan Iverson led Montgomery Mallards with one run batted in. The infielder went 1-for-4 on the day. Chris Johnson went 2-for-2 at the plate to lead the Montgomery Mallards in hits. Montgomery turned one double play in the game.
Prior Lake 12, Lonsdale 1
The Prior Lake Mudcats won big over Lonsdale Aces 12-1 on Tuesday, July 8.
The Mudcats opened the scoring in the first after Charlie Bredeson homered to right field, scoring two runs. A single by Bear Blaney extended PL’s lead to 3-0 in the top of the second inning.
The Mudcats piled up nine hits in the game. Blaney, Jerad Lehrer and Noah Slates each collected two hits for PL. Noah Slates, Charlie Bredeson, and Caden Quinn each drove in two runs for the Mudcats. Ben Kelsey paced Prior Lake with two walks. Overall, the team had patience at the plate, tallying six walks for the game. Prior Lake didn't commit a single error in the field. Zach Johnson had the most chances in the field with five.
Lonsdale’s Tegan Mellgren, the number nine hitter, led the Aces with two hits in two at-bats. Lonsdale turned one double play in the game.
Nick Albee earned the win for the Mudcats. The righty gave up three hits and one run over six innings, striking out four and walking two.
Issac Pint took the loss for Lonsdale Aces. The starting pitcher went three and two-thirds innings, giving up five runs (three earned) on six hits, striking out six and walking one. Jake Garfield pitched one inning of no-run ball for the Prior Lake Mudcats in relief. The hurler gave up zero hits, striking out one and walking none.
Union Hill 11, Norwood 0
The Bulldogs outhit Norwood,14-4, on the way to a big win July 8 at Don Giesen Field.
UH took a 3-0 lead in the second inning and never looked back. Jack Becker opened the inning with a home run. Jonny Connelly and Eric Berg also scored in the inning.
Nick Giesen and Tomas Lee crossed the plate in the fourth. They both scored twice in the game.
Eric Berg finished the game with three hits for UH. Conrad Masberg and Michael Beckius had multiple hits in the win.
On the mound, a trio of Union Hill hurlers – Masberg, Joe Becker and Will Seymour – allowed only four hits. They walked one and struck out four Indians.
Cannon Falls 4, Montgomery 2
The Mallards traveled to John Burch Park in Cannon Falls for a non-league game vs the Bears Monday, July 7, and couldn’t muster enough offense, losing 4-2.
Montgomery got RBI singles in the fourth inning from Derek Christenson and Brandon Gentz in the seventh, but were unable to push across additional runs in the seventh inning, despite having the bases loaded and only one out.
Christenson, Gentz and Nolan Readmond handled the pitching duties for the Mallards with six Ducks collecting hits on the night. Pat Lloyd, Nate Blaschko, CJ Worm, Christenson and Gentz all collected singles while Dawson Pint smacked a double.
Webster 7, Lonsdale 0
The Sox enjoyed strong pitching in the July 6 win over the Aces. Peter Tviete (one inning pitched), Jackson Renz (four IP), Ryan Joyner (three IP) and Jacon Hammer (one IP) struck out 12 Lonsdale hitters and giving up no hits.
Tveite hit a solo home run. Jake Belille had three hits and Peter Grassl had two hits for the Sox.
Webster 11, Shakopee 2
Nick Dorfman pitched six innings giving up one unearned run and striking out 10 Coyotes in the July 1 victory.
Webster had 15 hits, led by Kutter Herzig going 5-for-6. Jake Ekness and Tveite both had two hits as well.