Elijah Solum was Spring Grove’s first batter and also the last. He led off for the Lions in the first inning with a home run and then with his final swing, singled in the winning run for a come-from-behind walk-off 7-6 home win over Mabel-Canton on May 2. In between, Solum (3 for 5) ignited a two-out rally with a single that tied the score at 5-5. He had three of the Lions’ five hits.
Photo by Lee Epps
Mabel-Canton out-hit Spring Grove 7 to 5, but the Lions benefited from 10 free passes (seven walks, three hit batters), while Mabel-Canton received only a pair of free passes (two walks). Both squads had four costly errors, each of which contributed to runs for the opponent.
The two starting pitchers turned in strong performances, but neither was the pitcher of record. In six innings, Cougar Jordan Larson gave up only four hits and struck four with three walks. There were five Lion runs, but only two were earned runs. In six innings, Lion sophomore Brandon Jahnke struck out 11, walked only two and allowed five hits. And like Larson, gave up five runs, but only two earned runs.
The pitch-count rule ushered both Jahnke and Larson off the mound at the end of the sixth inning with the score tied, 5-5. Ben Udstuen came in for the Lions in the top of the seventh and gave up two hits while striking out two Cougar batters. Tyler Larson drove in the go-ahead run, but it would not have scored had it not been for two Lion errors.
Spring Grove, which had fought back from a 5-2 deficit, was once again trailing going into the bottom of the seventh. After the first three Lion batters drew walks and a force-out at the plate, Braedon Solie drew a fourth walk to tie the score, 6-6. After a strikeout, Solum came to the plate with two outs and the bases still loaded. His single into the outfield scored Udstuen (the winning pitcher) with the winning walk-off run.
Solum’s first-inning, 300-foot blast over the left field fence was Spring Grove’s first over-the-fence home run at Blayne Onsgard Memorial Field in four years. The Lion lead went to 2-0 in the next inning with a Jaxon Strinmoen single, a hit batter and two sacrifices – a bunt by Zach Brumm and an RBI flyball to centerfield by Solie.
But the Cougars bolted out in front with a five-run third inning, The rally began following two strikeouts and no one on base. Three straight singles from Cayden Tollefsrud, Isaac Underbakke and Tyler Larson tied the score at 2-2. A walk and two Lion errors brought home three more unearned runs for a 5-2 Mabel-Canton lead.
Despite a sparkling catch by Cougar centerfielder Riley Snell, Spring Grove would score one run in the bottom of the inning with a walk, two hit batters and a sacrifice fly by Strinmoen. Mabel-Canton still led 5-3. After a single by Caleb Griffin and two Cougar errors, the Lions were back within one run, 5-4, after five innings. A single by Solum and two more errors tied the score in the bottom of the sixth. The two starters departed the mound, and it was on to the final seventh inning.
The game began with two excellent defensive plays – a leaping grab by Udstuen at shortstop and first baseman Strinmoen retreating to catch a foul ball. For Mabel-Canton, Snell had two exceptional catches in centerfield in the same inning. Fred Williams had a great retreating grab in left field, and Tyler Larson saved a run with a third-out grab of a line drive at third base.
It was the third walk-off loss in the last four games for the hard-luck Cougars (2-9, 2-5 SEC) while the Lions improved to 5-2 (5-2 SEC). Since Spring Grove revived its stand-alone baseball program in 2016, the Lions have won 12 of the 13 games versus Mabel-Canton. It will be a quick turnaround after this game with the teams meeting two days later in Mabel.
The Spring Grove B-team (3-3-2) won 5-4, while Mabel-Canton swept both junior high games.
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SG 7, M-C 6
M-C 005 000 1 = 6–7–4
SG 111 011 2 = 7–5–4
LOB: SG 7, M-C 5
Stolen bases: SG 4, M-C 4
SG 5 hits (home run, 4 singles): Elijah Solum 3-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 runs; Jaxon Strinmoen 1-1, RBI, 2 runs; Caleb Griffin 1-3, 2 runs, 2 steals.
M-C 7 hits (7 singles): Tyler Larson 2-4, 2 RBI, run, steal; Fred Williams 1-2; Jordan Larson 1-3, rum, 2 steals; Isaac Underbakke 1-4, RBI, run; Hayden Erickson 1-3; Cayden Tollefsrud 1-4, 2 runs, steal;
Pitching SG: Brandon Jahnke 6 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 11 K, 2 W; winning pitcher Ben Udstuen 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 W
Pitching M-C: Jordan Larson 6 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 4 K, 3 W; losing pitcher Isaac Underbakke 0 2/3 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 K, 4 W
Records: SG 5-2 (5-2 SEC); M-C 2-9 (2-5 SEC)
SG LINEUP: p Brandon Jahnke, c Ezra Griffin, 1b Jaxon Strinmoen, 2b Nathan Solberg, ss Ben Udstuen, 3b Caleb Griffin, lf Zach Brumm, cf Elijah Solum, rf Braedon Solie, cr Jacob Solum, pr Logan Brumm, ph Gabe Klug
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Spring Grove Baseball 2023 (SEC games in bold)
>>5-2 (5-2 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
Thur. 5-04 at Mabel-Canton
Fri. 5-05 Lyle/Pacelli
Mon. 5-08 Wabasha-Kellogg
Tues. 5-09 at Houston
Fri. 5-12 Southland
Sat. 5-13 at Rushford Invitational: 10 a.m. vs. Hayfield; noon vs. Goodhue
Tues. 5-16 Kenyon-Wanamingo
Fri. 5-19 Fillmore Central/Lanesboro
Mon. 5-22 at Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons
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B-Team Baseball
>>3 wins, 3 losses, 2 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
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Junior High Baseball
>>3 wins, 7 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
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