Bulldogs, Indians advance in state amateur baseball

After a dry spell spanning longer than veteran players want to remember, the Union Hill baseball team has enjoyed success at the state amateur baseball tournament. The Bulldogs topped St. Peter Friday, Aug 16, in Belle Plaine.

The Bulldogs, Montgomery and Waterville will be the three area teams in action this weekend at the Minnesota Baseball Assoc.’s State Tournament. Three area teams – New Market, Webster and Elko all suffered tough season-ending losses in the tournament’s opening round.

The Bulldogs have reached the state tournament the last three years but have been unable to escape the first round. Last year’s extra-inning setback was especially painful after battling back from an 8-0 deficit only to fall to Maple Lake, 12-8, in the 2023 state tournament.

“That one hurt,” Steinhoff said. “You need to get out of the first round.”

The Aug. 16 win over St. Peter at venerable Tiger Park in Belle Plaine marked the first state win since 2017, said Dusty Steinhoff, the team’s manager. With that monkey now in the rearview mirror, Union Hill is focusing on the Clinton Cards, a team the Bulldogs have never played and know nothing about. The two teams will meet Sunday, Aug. 25, 4 p.m., at Tiger Park. A win will move the Bulldogs to a clash against the winner of Raymond vs. Young America Friday, Aug. 30, 7:30 p.m., at Irish Yard in Green Isle.

Montgomery, the top-seeded team from Region 3C, will face Waconia, Sunday, Aug. 25, 4 p.m., at the Mini Met in Jordan. The Lakers thumped Hanska, 10-0, in their state tournament opener Friday, Aug. 17.

Union Hill 9, St. Peter 3 Although the Saints struck early, scoring a run in the first inning off two extra-base hits, the Bulldogs battled back with five runs in the third.

UH loaded the bases with a hit from Joe Becker, Eric Berg being hit by a pitch and Conrad Masberg drawing a less painful walk. Another walk and a double from Will Busch, plus a double from Nate Lee, allowed Becker, Berg, Masberg, Nate Osborne and Busch to cross the plate.

The Bulldogs added a run in the fifth and three more in the sixth to close out their scoring. Busch and Lee each had three hits and two RBI for Union Hill. Masberg also had two hits and drove in a run.

Meanwhile, Union Hill hurlers Charlie Otteson, Jake Hemann and Tanner Nordrum combined to allow only eight hits. Otteson walked only one. Hemann struck out six while Nordrum K’d a pair. They stranded eight runners.

Waterville 8, Morris 1 A week after using three home runs to defeat Minnesota Lake in the Region 6C Tournament, the Waterville Indians used a different hitting approach in the first round of the Class C State Amateur Baseball Tournament.

Waterville scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning to break open a close game and go on to win 8-1 over Morris at Green Isle Saturday, Aug. 17. The Indians will now face Region 5C Champion Red Wing Saturday, Aug. 24, 6:30 p.m., in Belle Plaine.

The Indians bunted four straight times during the inning, using the small-ball approach to build their lead.

Dallas McBroom started on the mound and picked up his fifth win in six decisions this summer. McBroom allowed three hits in six innings, struck out six, walked three, and hit one batter. The lone run he allowed was unearned in the third inning when a Morris player reached base on an error and scored a batter later on a Zach Bruns double.

St. Clair draftee Evan Furst was solid in relief, allowing a walk and one hit in three innings. He set down nine of the 11 batters he faced.

Waterville opened the scoring in the first inning on a single by Bladyn Bartelt and a one out RBI double by Luke Sellner. Dalton Grose doubled the Indians' lead with a solo home run in the fourth inning. Ethan Bartelt, Tom Gannon, Bladyn Bartelt, and Josh Cook each collected run-scoring hits in the top of the sixth, increasing Waterville’s lead to 6-1.

In the top of the eighth inning, Gannon was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game and 13th time this season. He later scored on a two out single by Cook and Cook scored on a double by Sellner.

Buckman 8, Webster 1 The Sox ran into a hitting buzzsaw while struggling to put together timely hits themselves Saturday, Aug. 17, at Jordan’s Mini Met.

After the Sox scored their lone run in the third inning, the Billygoats responded with three runs in the home half of the third inning and another five in the eighth inning.

“For seven innings, we competed with a really good Buckman team,” said Webster manager Todd Klehn. “They’ve been a top-five Class C team all year.”

Buckman’s defense was especially gruff, limiting the Sox to just seven hits, but none of them at key moments where Webster was trying to put together a rally.

With two of their top pitchers sidelined, the Sox relied on draftees from Prior Lake. The team battled the Billygoats until a three-run blast in the seventh inning effectively squashed Webster’s hopes.

Lyon’s Pub (Mpls) 6, New Market 5 The Warriors took advantage of New Market pitching and scored four times without a hit, including the game-winner, in the seventh inning.

Six walks and a wild pitch allowed Lyon’s Pub to erase a 4-2 deficit. The Muskies tried to battle back in the ninth inning when Alex Berreth blasted one over the right-center field wall cutting the Warriors lead to 6-5. Lincoln Perry reached base but was unable to advance and tie the score.

Connor Weed scored New Market’s opening run when he raced home from second on Alex Berreth’s base hit. Tony Vocca drove in two runs in the fourth inning giving the Muskies 3-1 lead. In the fifth inning, Jake Lundquist hit a double to right field and scored on Alex Berreth’s base hit to give New Market a 4-1 advantage.

The Muskies finished the game with 10 hits, but were hurt by three errors.

Mpls. Cobras 4, Elko 3 (10 inns.) Although the Cobras tied the game and won it with bleeder hits just over the outstretched gloves of Elko infielders, the tough part of the game for the Express was the inability to come up with clutch hits at key moments in an extra-inning loss at Joe Schlepper Stadium in Shakopee Sunday, Aug. 18.

One stat, perhaps two, tells the story for the Express. Elko stranded 13 runners.

“We left way too many men on base,” said Express manager Terry Fredrickson.

The Express also committed five defensive miscues. Three of the Cobras’ four runs were unearned.

The Express took a 3-0 lead in the third frame. TJ Evanston’s extra base hit to leftcenter field was the big hit in the inning. Chase Hentges drove in the Express’ third run of the inning with a base hit to left field.

Hentges, playing in the same stadium where he played high school baseball had three hits in four at-bats. Ash Larson added three hits and an RBI while T.J. Evanson added two more hits and drove in a run.

Elko pitcher Jake Petricka went six innings allowing four hits and one run. Easton Richter relieved him and scattered four hits. He walked four but didn’t give up an earned run.