Spring Grove lost two walk-off games, both in extra innings at the Rushford Peterson Tournament on May 13. The Lions opened with a disheartening 3-2 setback against Goodhue before dropping the third-place game 6-5 to host Rushford-Peterson. Spring Grove out-hit both opponents but was foiled by errors against Goodhue and stranded 10 runners versus Rushford-Peterson.
Photo by Lee Epps
SG (8-5) never trailed Goodhue until the final play; the Lions never led R-P but rallied to force an extra inning. Losses to two section rivals should adversely affect the Lions’ postseason tournament seeding.
Due to concerns about inclement weather, all four tourney games were shortened to five innings, but the Lions went into extra innings in both games – seven innings versus the Wildcats and six against the Trojans. Spring Grove was the visiting team (batted first) in each game, and the home team (batted last) prevailed both times.
GAME ONE: Goodhue 3, SG 2
Spring Grove had two more hits (7 to 5), including both extra-base hits, but the Lions also had two more errors (3 to 1). They received no charity from Goodhue freshman left-handed pitcher Hayden Holm, who walked no one while striking out eight. Eight of the nine Grove batters struck out once. But six Lion batters also had base hits. Caleb Griffin went 2 for 4 with a double. Brandon Jahnke (1 for 3) also had a two-bagger.
Back-to-back Lion errors converted a 2-0 Lion lead into a 2-2 tie in the third inning. Then, after three and a half scoreless innings, Goodhue (2-13) scored the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh on a wild pitch with the bases loaded. That was the Cats’ only earned run.
All five runs in the game were scored after two outs. Jaxon Strinmoen singled and scored on an RBI double by Jahnke to put Grove ahead 1-0 in the top of the first inning. It was 2-0 in the third after Caleb Ranzenberger singled, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Ezra Griffin. However, in the bottom of the inning, a single and two Lion errors made it 2-2.
The Lions stranded a runner on third base in the fifth and on second base in the seventh before Goodhue scored the winner with a single, two walks and a wild pitch. Spring Grove starter Jahnke allowed only one earned run while striking out five and issuing four free passes before leaving the mound via the pitch count rule with one out in the seventh inning.
In the other first-round matchup, Hayfield edged Rushford-Peterson, 2-1.
GAME TWO: R-P 6, SG 5
Spring Grove had one more hit (7 to 6), but the Trojans’ Riley Tesch had the only double and used it to score the winning run on a bases-loaded single by Evan Skalet in the bottom of the extra sixth inning. Tesch was also the winning pitcher with two innings of relief. In the top of that frame, Strinmoen had singled and reached third base with only one out. However, he would be one of 10 Lion runners left on base.
Both teams had a four-run inning. The Trojans (6-11) struck first, leading 1-0 after the first inning and 5-0- lead after the second inning. The Lions got one run back with Logan Brumm (single) scoring on Jahnke’s RBI single.
In the next inning (fourth), Grove took advantage of three Trojan errors with three successive singles by Strinmoen (3 for 4, 2 RBI), Ezra Griffin (1 for 3, RBI) and Jahnke (2 for 3, RBI) to score four unearned runs and tie the game at 5-5. The rally ended with the bases loaded and a spectacular catch by the Trojan second baseman Cayden Lea in shallow right field. That saved at least two runs and preserved the tie score. The Lions would not score again.
State-ranked No. 6 Hayfield (10-5) would win the tournament championship with a 6-3 win over Goodhue in the championship game.
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Goodhue 3, SG 2,
SG 101 000 0 = 2–7–3
Gh 002 000 1 = 3–5–1
LOB: SG 6, Gh 7
Stolen bases: SG 3, Gh 3
SG 7 hits (2 doubles, 5 singles): Caleb Griffin 2-4, dbl; Brandon Jahnke 1-3, dbl, RBI; Ezra Griffin 1-4, RBI; Zach Brumm 1-3, 2 steals; Caleb Ranzenberger 1-3, run, steal; Jaxon Strinmoen 1-3, run.
Gh 5 hits (5 singles):
Pitching SG: losing pitcher Brandon Jahnke 6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 W, 1 HB, 5 K; Ty Cleven 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 W, 9 K
Gh Pitching: winning pitcher Hayden Holm 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 W, 8 K
Records: SG 8-4, Gh 2-13
SG LINEUP: p Brandon Jahnke, c Ezra Griffin, 1b Jaxon Strinmoen, 2b Nathan Solberg, ss Ben Udstuen, 3b Caleb Griffin, lf Bryce Berns, cf Zach Brumm, rf Braedon Solie, dh Caleb Ranzenberger, cr Jacob Solum & Logan Brumm
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R-P 6, SG 5
SG 001 400 = 5–7–2
RP 140 001 = 6–6–4
LOB: SG 109, RP 7
Stolen bases: SG 0, RP 1
SG 7 hits (7 singles): Jaxon Strinmoen 3-4, 2 RBI, run, steal; Brandon Jahnke 2-3, RBI; Logan Brumm 1-2, 2 runs; Ezra Griffin 1-3, RBI
RP 6 hits (1 double, 5 singles): Evan Skalet 2-4, 3 RBI; Riley Tesch 2-4, dbl, 2 runs; 10-4, RBI, 2 runs; Creighton Hoiness 1-3, run
Pitching SG: Caleb Griffin 3 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 W, 4 HB, 4 K; losing pitcher Jaxon Strinmoen 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 W, 1 HB, 1 K
Pitching RP : 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 0 ER, 4 W, 3 K
Records: SG 8-5, RP 6-11
SG LINEUP: p Caleb Griffin, c Ezra Griffin, 1b Jaxon Strinmoen, 2b Nathan Solberg ss Ben Udstuen, 3b Brandon Jahnke, lf Caleb Ranzenberger, cf Zach Brumm, rf Braedon Solie, dh Logan Brumm, Gabe Klug & Ty Cleven, cr Jacob Solum & Bryce Berns
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FIRST ROUND: Hayfield 2, R-P 1
Goodhue 3, SG 2
THIRD PLACE: R-P 6, SG 5
CHAMPIONSHIP: Hayfield 6, Goodhue 3
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Spring Grove Baseball 2023 (SEC games in bold)
>>8-5 (7-3 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
Fri. 5-12 Southland, postponed to 5-18
L vs. Goodhue (R-P Tourney) 2-3
L vs. Rushford-Peterson (R-P Tourney) 5-6
Tues. 5-16 Kenyon-Wanamingo
Thurs. 5-18 Southland
Fri. 5-19 Fillmore Central/Lanesboro
Mon. 5-22 at Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons
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B-Team Baseball
>>4 wins, 5 losses, 3 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
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Junior High Baseball
>>3 wins, 11 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
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