The Spring Grove boys used a big five-run inning to upend state-ranked No. 4 Fillmore Central/Lanesboro, 6-4, on May 19, Senior Day and the final regular-season home game at Blayne Onsgard Memorial Field. The win assures the Lions finishing at .500 or better for the season.
Photo by Lee Epps
Through the first five innings, the non-conference encounter was a pitchers’ duel between Lion Ty Cleven and Falcon Levi Rogers. The Falcons threatened with two hits (double, single) but did not score in the first half-inning. But the Lions did score after their first two batters, Caleb Griffin and Jaxon Strinmoen both singled with two stolen bases by Griffin in between. FC/L, with an unearned run, tied it at 1-1 in the third without a hit, taking advantage of two walks, a hit batter and a Lion error.
The Falcons stranded runners on base in each of the first five innings, helping preserve the 1-1 stalemate until the bottom of the sixth. Spring Grove, after four hits through the first five frames, exploded with four hits in one inning to score five runs for a sudden and stunning 6-1 lead. The big blow was an RBI double from Zach Brumm, followed soon by a two-RBI single by Cleven. And the Falcons had only one more inning to recover.
FC/L did indeed answer with three runs – all without a hit (two walks, a hit batter and an error). But the Lions held on to improve to 9-7, while FC/L returned home at 13-5.
Spring Grove out-hit the visitors, 8 to 5, but received very little charity. There was only one FC/L error and only one walk while Rogers and reliever Dillon O’Connor combined to strike out eight. Both Strinmoen and Ezra Griffin batted 2 for 3, drove in a run and scored a run. For FC/L, Bryce Corson opened the game with a double. The other four hits (all singles) came from four different Falcon batters.
Cleven, able to pitch his way out of trouble, was the winning pitcher. It was the third straight game in which the Lion defense came up with a double play. There were Falcons on second and third bases with no outs when Brandon Jahnke fielded a ground ball and stepped on third base for a force-out before throwing out the batter/runner at first base. A fly ball to centerfield ended the Falcon fifth inning with the score still tied, 1-1.
O’Connor, while playing catcher, made an outstanding catch of a foul ball for the first out in the Lion sixth. But the next six Lions’ all reached base during the game-changing, five-run flood. O’Connor would finish the inning on the mound. He recorded the first out at catcher before finally (five runs later) getting the second out with a strikeout.
Since Spring Grove resurrected the baseball program in 2016, the Lions and Falcons have played six times with each team winning three. Spring Grove won the B-team game, 7-6, while FC/L swept both junior high games.
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SG 6, FC/L 4
FC/L 001 000 3 = 4–5–1
SG 100 005 x = 6–8–2
LOB: SG 3, FC/L 7
Stolen bases: SG 3, FC/L 1
SG 8 hits (double, 7 singles): Jaxon Strinmoen 2-3, RBI, run, steal; Ezra Griffin 2-3, RBI, run; Zach Brumm 1-3, dbl, RBI, run; Caleb Griffin 1-2, run, 2 steals; Ty Cleven 1-3, 2 RBI; Nathan Solberg 1-3
FC/L 5 hits (double, 4 singles):
Pitching SG: Ty Cleven 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 HB, 5 W, 6 K, win; Ben Udstuen 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HB, 0 W, 0 K
Pitching FC/L: Levi Rogers 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 W, 7 K, loss; Dillon O’Connor 0.2 IP 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 W, 1 K
Records: SG 9-7, FC/L 13-5
SG LINEUP: p Ty Cleven, c Ezra Griffin, 1b Jaxon Strinmoen, 2b Nathan Solberg, s Ben Udstuen, 3b Brandon Jahnke, lf Caleb Griffin, cf Zach Brumm, rf Caleb Ranzenberger, dh Logan Brumm, cr Jacob Solum
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Spring Grove Baseball 2023 (SEC games in bold)
>>9-7 (7-4 SEC)
W at GMLOK 15-4
W vs. Houston 10-2
L at Southland 4-5
Fri. 4- 21 (at Austin) Blooming Prairie, canceled
Mon. 4-24 Rushford-Peterson, canceled
W vs. Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons 14-4
W vs. GMLOK 6-2
Sat. 4-29 (at Minneapolis) Martin County West, canceled
L at Lyle/Pacelli 1-3
W vs. Mabel-Canton 7-6
W at Mabel-Canton 12-5
L vs. Lyle/Pacelli 0-7
W vs. Wabasha-Kellogg 7-3
W at Houston 4-1
L vs. Goodhue (R-P Tourney) 2-3
L vs. Rushford-Peterson (R-P Tourney) 5-6
L vs. Kenyon-Wanamingo 1-2
L vs. Southland 0-5
W vs. Fillmore Central/Lanesboro 6-4
Mon. 5-22 at Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons
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B-Team Baseball
>>6 wins, 5 losses, 4 ties
L at Caledonia 4-14
T at GMLOK 3-3
L vs. Houston 3-6
T at Southland 0-0
W vs. Houston 8-5
W vs. GMLOK 4-2
L at Lyle/Pacelli 4-7
W vs. Mabel-Canton 4-2
W at Mabel-Canton 9-0
T vs. Lyle/Pacelli 10-10
L at Houston 1-6
L at La Crescent-Hokah 5-7
W vs. Kenyon-Wanamingo 6-5
T vs. Southland 2-2
W vs. Fillmore Central/Lanesboro 7-6
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Junior High Baseball
>>3 wins, 13 losses
L vs. Mabel-Canton
L vs. Mabel-Canton
L vs. GMLOK
W vs. GMLOK
L vs. Houston
L vs. Houston
W vs. GMLOK
W vs. GMLOK
L at Mabel-Canton
L at Mabel-Canton
L vs. Houston
L vs. Houston
L at Houston
L at Houston
L at Fillmore Central/Lanesboro
L at Fillmore Central/Lanesboro
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