Baseball (6/2)

Warriors Post Shutouts in Posting Playoff Wins 

Pitching wins games.  Caledonia baseball turned to its two 6’6” senior throwers in opening round playoff contests.  Combined with some errorless defense, each produced shut-out wins, moving the Warriors in the 1AA third round.  Versus Lake City (13-seed, 5-14) in the 1AA Round of 16, Caledonia (4-seed, 14-6) got a 15-strikeout shut-out win from Garrett Konz on the mound (6 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB).  The Warriors had a three-hit, three-run third inning, as Konz (2-3, R) and Stemper (1-2, RBI, R) each doubled. Tanner Ginther (2-2, RBI) and Jack Schmitz (1-4, 2B, RBI) also drove in runs in the game.  Lake City’s only threat was the fifth when their first two batters reached, but they had just five base runners for the game.   Landon O’Heron (2/3 IP) got the last two outs in a 4-0 Warrior win.  Caledonia (4-seed, 15-6) then hosted Randolph (5-seed, 16-4) in the 1AA second round.  Shawn Bauer’s group avenged a season-ending 4-2 loss to the Rockets in the playoffs last year and a 4-3 loss earlier this year.  Team Cal scored six runs in the second inning, all with two out.  A walk, a single, and a hit batter loaded the bases.  Two runners then plated on wild pitches.  Two more walks loaded the bases again.  Brothers Tanner and Tyson Ginther then authored back-to-back two-run singles.  Defensively, pitcher Reid Klug (7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 6 BB, 6 K, Win) and company stranded Randolph runners in scoring position in four innings.  In the third, catcher Jacob Klug threw to get a key first out at second base on a runner trying to advance, and the inning ended with a 6-4-3 double play, stranding a runner on third.   In the fourth, Tanner G. made a nice catch in foul play behind first for out number two, as a Rocket was then stranded at second.  The Rockets had runners on first and second in the second and sixth innings, but Klug ended each with three (total) strikeouts.  A Randolph runner was also cut down at home trying to score in the first inning.  All the offense, pitching, and defense led to an 8-0 win. Tyson G. (2-4, 3 RBI) and Tanner G. (2-4, 2 RBI, R) contributed five runs batted in.  Schmitz (2-4, 2 R), Konz (2-3, R), R-Klug (1-2, R) and Stemper (1-3, R) helped on offense.  Randolph pitching recorded 11 outs by strikeout to Klug’s six, but the Warriors had 11 hits to the Rockets’ five.   In the third round, Caledonia (4-seed, 16-6) next plays Cannon Falls (1-seed, 17-4), which snuck past 8-seed Zumbrota-Mazeppa 6-5 courtesy of a two-run bottom of the seventh. 

Baseball Playoffs (5/21 – 5/24)

(1A First Round) 11-seed Lewiston-Altura (7-13) 2, 6-seed Fillmore Central/Lanesboro (9-11) 1 (FCL: Joey Pederson 1-3, 2B, RBI, 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, Loss; Thomas Pikula 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  Both teams scored in the sixth.  The Falcons had two hits.  They put a tying runner on in the seventh, but it was erased on the base paths.  FCL finishes at 9-12) 

(1A First Round) 12-seed Houston (7-12) 2, 5-seed Goodhue (8-12) 5 (H: Morgan Rohweder 2-3, 2B, RBI, 6 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 8 K; Dawson Pedretti 1-3, RBI; Zach Olson/Grayden Beckman 1-3, R.  Houston led 2-0 until Goodhue had a five-run fifth.  Both teams had six hits, but Houston had three errors, Goodhue one.  The Hurricanes finish at 7-13)  

(1A First Round) 9-seed Rushford-Peterson (8-12) 1, 8-seed Wabasha-Kellogg (7-11) 4 (R-P: Cole Thompson 1-2, R; Caden Johnson 1-3, RBI, 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, Loss.  Up 1-0, W-K scored three in the sixth via four hits and a pair of Trojan errors.  R-P had just four hits and three came in the seventh inning.  The Trojans finish at 8-13)  

(1A First Round) 14-seed Mabel-Canton (8-12) 1, 3-seed Southland (13-4) 3 (M-C: Isaac Underbakke 1-3, RBI; Bode Weidemann 1-3, R; Nolan Garness 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, Loss.  M-C scored first in the top of the third, but Southland responded with two the following half inning.  Down 3-1, M-C went 1-2-3 in the last two innings.  The Cougars finish at 8-13)  

(1A First Round) 10-seed United South Central (9-10) 1, 7-seed Spring Grove (11-8) 5 (SG: Sam Klug 2-3, 2B, RBI; Ezra Griffin 2-3, RBI; B. Jahnke 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 9 K. Jahnke, while tossing a two-hitter, was in control after pitching his way into and then out of peril in the first half-inning.  The Lions had a three-run third to jump out 4-0) 

(1AA First Round) 11-seed Chatfield (9-11) 2, 6-seed Rochester-Lourdes (12-7) 12 (C: Chase Johnston 1-2, 3B, R, 3 IP, 6 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, Loss; Westin Nolte 1-3, R, 1 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K.  The Gophers finish at 9-12) 

(1AA First Round) 14-seed GMLOK (7-11) 1, 3-seed Pine Island (14-5) 11 [4] (GMLOK: Tyson Stevens 1-3, R, 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K; Blake Hershberger 2 2/3 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, Loss.  The Bulldogs finish at 7-12) 

(1A Second Round) 7-seed Spring Grove (12-8) 4, 2-seed Blooming Prairie (12-5) 5 (SG: Gabe Klug 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K; E. Griffin 2-4, RBI; Ben Udstuen 3 1/3 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 7 BB, 3 K, Loss. The Lions out-hit BP, 7 to 5, but BP pitcher Alex Lea had no walks. BP scored all five runs in the same inning.) 

(1A Elimination Game) 7-seed Spring Grove (12-9) 0, 11-seed Lewiston-Altura (8-14) 6 (SG: Kolton Nerstad 6 2/3 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, Loss.  The Cardinals out-hit the Lions, 11 to 3.  SG finishes at 12-10)