By Mark Zinnel, Buttermaker Reporter The Hadley Buttermakers ended the final week of season play.
Hadley will now prepare for the upcoming First Nite-Gopher League playoff. Hadley will take their number 3 seed form the Gopher League to face the number 6 seed from the First Nite League, Fox Lake Foxes in a best of three series. Game 1 is set for a 7:30 pm start on Wednesday in Truman. Hadley will return home for game 2 on Saturday at 2:00 pm and Game 3, if necessary, on Sunday at 2:00 pm in Hadley. Hadley finished league play with a 12-5 record; 14-7 overall.
Here is the recap from the last two weeks:
SUNDAY (JULY 16) HADLEY 10 vs LAKEFIELD 0 – 7 Innings
The Lakefield Horned Frogs visited Hadley for the season ender with 193 paid fans attending the game on Fan Appreciation Sunday. Tucker Sorenson started on the mound for Hadley.
Lakefield came to play with just 10 players, and they looked like they were up to putting up a tough battle for the Buttermakers when they started the game off with 3 hits off Sorenson. Tucker was able to get out of trouble keeping the Frogs from scoring. The play coming on a throw out at the plate on a throw from Joe Larson to Brent Hokeness. Tucker would have no further problems with the Horned Frog batters as he allowed the Frogs only two additional hits and struck out 10 batters in the 7-inning game.
Hadley would score twice in the 2nd on back-to back doubles from Max Zwart and Brent Hokeness and a sacrifice fly from Danny Blankenship and single from Derek Kluis. The Buttermakers would pick up 2 more runs in the 3rd when Max Zwart would plate two on a bases loaded single. Max Zwart would score Hadley’s 5th run in the 5th inning when he stole 3rd base and came into score when the catcher overthrew 3rd base allowing Max to score.
Hadley would score 4 runs in the 6th on singles from Evan Lenz and Max Zwart, double from Danny Blankenship and a sacrifice fly from Jeremy Steinle to go up 9-0. Hadley would close the game out in the 7th. With the bases loaded and 2-outs Abe Paulzine would get hit on the face by a pitch to force in the winning run.
For Hadley, Max Zwart led the way with 3 hits and 3 rbis. Brent Hokeness would also collect 3 hits. Evan Lenz would get 2 hits, with Alex Petersen, Danny Blankenship and Derek Kluis getting 1 hit each. Danny Blankenship had 2 rbis, with Evan Lenz, Derek Kluis, Jeremy Steinle and Abe Paulzine each credited with 1 rbi. Tucker Sorenson picked up his 4th victory moving his record to 4-2.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 10 11 0 Lakefield 0 5 6
THURSDAY (JULY 13) HADLEY 11 vs JACKSON 1 – 7 Innings
Hadley traveled to Jackson to take on the Bulls in a non-league exhibition game on Thursday. Off-day games usually means most starters are missing from the starting lineups and reserve players are used to fill the lineup. That was the case in Thursday’s game for Jackson while Manager Myron Bennett was lucky to have most of his regular starters available and only had to fill in his starting lineup with a few reserve players; sometimes in positions they normally are not accustomed to. Trent Carlson started on the mound for the Buttermakers.
Jackson would load the bases off Trent in the 1st and 2nd innings, but Trent was able to maneuver out of trouble and held Jackson to only 1 run in the 2nd on a bases loaded walk. Hadley would tie the game up in the 3rd when Derek Kluis led off my walking and would come around to score later in the inning on a sacrifice fly from Tucker Sorenson. Jackson looked like they would take back the lead in the bottom of the inning when they would collect 4 singles off Carlson. However, Jackson ran themselves out of a chance by scoring when they had runners thrown out on the bases. Brent Hokeness threw out a runner trying to advance to 3rd on a passed ball, Trent Carlson caught a runner trying to steal 2nd and Tucker Sorenson threw out a runner at the plate trying to score on a hit.
The game turned for Hadley in the 5th inning. Hadley would get to the Bull pitching when they erupted for 9 runs on 10 hits to go up 10-1. Hadley’s run output forced Jackson to make two pitching changes during the inning. Tucker Sorenson, Evan Lenz, and Brent Hokeness each had 2 hits in the inning and accounted for 6 of the 9 rbis. Hadley’s final scoring came in the 6th when they put together 3 consecutive singles to load the bases. Alex Petersen would hit into a fielder’s choice to score a run to go up-11-1.
Trent Carlson would limit the Bulls to just 4 hits after the 3rd inning. Jackson looked like they would cut the lead under 10 runs to force a game continuance in the 7th when they collected a 1-out double and single, but Trent would once again get out of trouble, getting a strikeout and fly out to end the game.
Trent Carlson and Evan Lenz led Hadley’s hitting attack with 3 hits. Tucker Sorenson, Brent Hokeness and Derek Kluis would each get 2 hits, with Alex Petersen, Avery Weber Abe Paulzine and Jeremy Steinle picking up a hit. Trent Carlson picked up the win to move his record to 1-1.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 11 15 1 Jackson 1 11 3
WEDNESDAY (JULY 12) LUVERNE 10 vs HADLEY 1
Hadley’s quest for 2nd place in the Gopher League standings and a bye in the upcoming Region 13C playoffs flew out the window on Wednesday when Hadley travelled to Luverne to take on the Gopher League leading Redbirds. The Birds took care of the Buttermakers handily10-1.
Sam Erickson took the mound hoping to keep the Buttermakers winning streak going but the Redbirds made things tough on Sam from the start. Luverne would threaten in the bottom of the 1st inning, but Sam would leave Redbirds on the corners to get out of danger.
Hadley would put the first run on the board in the 3rd. With 2-outs, Hadley would load the bases on a hit batter and two singles. Evan Lenz would then come to the plate and rip a solid single to center to score 1-run. That would be it for Hadley as Eric Weineke would fly out to leave the bases loaded. Luverne would come to bat in the bottom of the inning and quickly showed why they were the league leaders. Luverne would get three straight singles to load the bases. The next batter would send a pitch from Sam over the leftfield fence for a grand slam to grab a 4-1 lead. Things did not get any better as Sam would hit the next two batters and give up a walk to reload the bases. A Buttermaker fielding error and a single would give Luverne a 7-1 lead and the Redbirds did not look back.
Hadley could not get anything going the rest of the game as the Luverne pitchers would only allow 3 hits the rest of the game. Luverne would pick up a solo run in the 6th and 2 in the 8th to close out the Buttermakers.
Evan Lenz led Hadley with 2 hits. Tucker Sorenson, Alex Petersen, Jaden Deacon and Derek Kluis all collected 1 hit. Sam Erickson finished the game and took the loss to move his record to 3-1.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 1 6 2 Luverne 10 12 0
SUNDAY (JULY 9) HADLEY 4 vs MILROY 3
Sunday’s game was a battle for 2nd place in the Gopher League standings heading into the final week of league play. The Milroy Irish currently held a 1 game lead over the Buttermakers. The game had a playoff feel to it. The game was expected to be a tough one and the 218 paid baseball fans in attendance were treated to an exciting game. Tucker Sorenson would get the call on the mound to shut down the Irish.
Milroy would threaten in the 1st when they put runners on 2nd and 3rd base, but Tucker would keep the Irish scoreless. For Hadley, Joe Larson would reach on a walk. Tucker Sorenson would replace Joe at 1st on a fielder’s choice. Kyler Deacon would come into courtesy run for Tucker and move to 2nd on a stolen base and then score on an Evan Lenz double.
Both teams would threaten to score in the 2nd, but both starters kept each team off the board. Milroy would tie the game in the 3rd. Milroy would collect two singles and the runners would advance to 2nd and 3rd on a passed ball. Evan Lenz would track down a fly ball to short center with his back to the infield. Evan’s throwback to the plate would be off the mark as the runner crossed the plate. Hadley would collect 3 consecutive 2-out singles to take back the lead. It looked like Hadley was up for a bigger inning as a walk loaded the bases, but an inning ending strikeout would leave the bases loaded.
Milroy would tie the game at 2-2 in the 5th inning on a lead-off double and a single later in the inning. Both teams would put runners in scoring position but were unable to come through with a big hit. The game remained tied at 2-2 until the 8th.
In the 8th, a lead-off walk proved troublesome for the Buttermakers. It looked like Tucker would work his way out of trouble, but Danny Blankenship would mishandle a hot shot at 3rd allowing the runner to score for a 3-2 Irish lead. In Hadley’s at bat in the 8th’ Austin Irlbeck would get a 2-out double. Alex Petersen would then hit a pop up to the infield that would be dropped. However, Milroy would retrieve the ball and get Alex out before he reached 1st and before Austin Irlbeck could cross the plate.
Tucker Sorenson would put the Irish down in order in the 9th bringing Hadley to bat looking to tie or win the game. Milroy made a pitching change. Things started out right for Hadley as Joe Larson reached after getting hit by a pitch. The Milroy Irish right fielder would make two tough catches to stymy the Buttermakers and had Hadley down to their last out. Derek Kluis would single to keep Hadley’s hope alive. Max Zwart would get hit by a pitch to load the bases. The tension elevated in the park. After the next pitch to Brent Hokeness was called a ball, Milroy decided to make another pitching change. Brent Hokeness would end up walking to bring in Joe Larson. Danny Blankenship would step up for a chance for a walk-off win and that is just what he would do as he took a 3-2 pitch for ball four as Hadley would walk off with the 4-3 victory.
Max Zwart and Brent Hokeness had 2 hits for the Buttermakers. Joe Larson, Evan Lenz, Eric Wieneke, Derek Kluis, Austin Irlbeck and Alex Petersen all had 1 hit. Tucker Sorenson went the distance for his 3rd victory striking out 9 and walking 2.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 4 10 1 Milroy 2 10 2
SATURDAY (JULY 8) MARSHALL 16 vs HADLEY 5
Hadley entertained the Marshall A’s out of the Corn Belt League in the 2nd game of the home and home series on a hot Saturday afternoon. Both teams were using younger players in this exhibition game. For Hadley, Abe Paulzine took the mound.
Marshall got to Abe early as they plated 3 runs on 3 hits to jump out fast in the 1st inning. Hadley would put runners on base in their at bat to score one run to trail 3-1. Hadley would tie the game in the 2nd thanks to two Marshall errors and two Buttermaker singles. Marshall would take back the lead in the 3rd on a Buttermaker error and single to go up 4-3. Marshall would score 3 runs in the 5th on a 3-run homer to up the lead to 7-3 The game stayed that way until the 7th when Marshall would score a run off reliever, Takoby Mack to go up 8-3. Hadley tried to make a comeback in the bottom of the inning when they would score twice on a ground out from Derek Kluis and a sacrifice fly from Brent Hokeness. It looked like Hadley was primed to score more but would leave runners at the corner to end their scoring for the day.
Marshall would add a run in the 8th on a solo homerun off Takoby Mack. Marshall would blow the game open in the 9th when they would score 7 runs for a 16-5 final score.
Evan Lenz led Hadley with 3 hits, Brent Hokeness would chip in with 2 hits with Tucker Sorenson, Avery Weber and Jaden Deacon picking up a hit. Brent Hokeness would pick up 2 rbis with Derek Kluis and Evan Lenz each credited with 1 rbi. Abe Paulzine took the loss. Peyton Coulter saw mound duty for Hadley also,
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 5 8 4 Marshall 16 13 4
GAME 1: SUNDAY (JULY 2) HADLEY 7 vs RUTHTON 4
Game 1 of the Sunday pre-4th of July doubleheader had Hadley taking on Gopher League opponent, Ruthton Royals before a crowd of over 150 baseball fans on a scorching summer day. Avery Weber was seeking his second win over the Royals. Just like the game two weeks earlier, the young Royal tam came ready to battle the Buttermakers.
Hadley got on the board early against the Royals. Hadley would score 1 run in the 2nd inning on three singles with Alex Petersen driving in the first run. Hadley would score three times in the 3rd inning on a 2-run double from Danny Blankenship and a run scoring double from Abe Paulzine. Hadley would increase their lead to 6-0 in 4th on 2-run double from Max Zwart.
Avery Weber would have his way with the Royal batters as he kept the Royals scoreless through 5 innings. The Royals would finally get on the board in the 6th inning when they would pickup a double and run scoring single to close to 6-1. Avery would give up a 2-run homer in the 7th as Ruthton closed to 6-3. Peyton Coulter would enter the game in the 8th to relieve Avery and shut the Royals down in order.
Hadley would get an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th on a sacrifice fly from Trent Carlson to improve Hadley’s lead to 7-3. Ruthton would make things difficult for Hadley on the 9th. After giving up a lead-off walk, Peyton would allow 2 singles for Ruthton to close the lead to 7-4. With the tying run coming to the plate, Max Zwart was brought in to stop the Royals comeback. Max would get the job done as he would strikeout the two batters, he faced to secure the 7-4 Buttermaker victory.
Evan Lenz led Hadley’s hitting with 3 hits. Derek Kluis, Max Zwart, Danny Blankenship, and Abe Paulzine all added 2 hits each. Tucker Sorenson, Brent Hokeness and Alex Petersen each had 1 hit. Avery Weber would pick up his 3rd victory to move his record to 3-0. Avery record 7 strikeouts against the Royals. Max Zwart earned his 2nd save of the season.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 7 14 2 Ruthton 4 10 1
GAME 2: SUNDAY (JULY 2) HADLEY 5 vs JACKSON 1
Game 2 brought the First Nite League second place Jackson Bulls to the ballpark for the nightcap. Games against these two teams are always unpredictable. Tucker Sorenson was given the mound assignment to shutdown the veteran Bull squad.
Hadley would jump out early on the Bulls when they plated 3 runs in the 1st inning. After Evan Lenz led off reaching on a walk, Joe Larson would single. Hadley would attempt a double steal that would be successful. It looked like Jackson would escape without Hadley scoring after the Bull starter got the next 2 Buttermakers on strikeouts. Max Zwart would get hit to load the bases. Bull killer, Danny Blankenship would step up a hit a double off h the leftfield fence to clear the bases. Hadley’s final scoring would come off the bat of Lincoln Graven in the 4th inning when he sent a pitch over the leftfield fence for a 2-run homer giving Hadley a 5-0 lead.
Tucker Sorenson was in the groove against the Bull batters. Tucker would work his way out of trouble the entire game; giving up only1 Bull run on a 7thinning solo homerun. Two double plays would help Tucker get out of trouble in the early part of the game. Jackson would put two runners on base in both the 8th and 9th inning, but Tucker managed around things as he went the distance in the Buttermaker 5-1 victory.
Brent Hokeness picked up 2 hits for Hadley with Joe Larson, Max Zwart, Danny Blankenship, and Lincoln Graven all picking up 1 hit. Tucker Sorenson moved his record to 2-2 for the season. Tucker would strikeout 12 Bull batters and walking only 2.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 5 6 2 Jackson 1 7 0
FRIDAY (JUNE 30) HADLEY 4 vs. PIPESTONE 3
Hadley entertained Gopher League opponent, Pipestone A’s in a Friday Night Special. Pipestone would come to town with just 9 players. Most people would think that the Buttermakers would have no problem with the short-handed A’s, but the A’s gave the Buttermakers more than they wanted in a tough, hard fought, exciting contest. Sam Erickson took the mound for Hadley to attempt to shut down the A’s for the second time this season.
Sam would keep the A’s hitless through the first three innings. Hadley had a chance to open the scoring in the 3rd. Kyler Deacon would lead-off with a single but would be thrown out trying to steal 2nd. Evan Lenz would double. Evan would attempt to turn the hit into a triple, but he would be called out at 3rd on a close play. Hadley would follow with a walk and single but would be unable to score.
Pipestone would score first in the 4th. After getting the first out, Sam would surrender a solo home run to left for a 1-0 Pipestone lead. Hadley looked positioned to tie things up in the bottom of the inning when Brent Hokeness doubled and then advance to 3rd on a wild pitch, but Hadley was unable to bring him in.
Pipestone would threaten in the 5th. Pipestone’s lead-off batter would single to left and advance to 2nd after Lincoln Graven mishandled the ball. An A’s single would put runners at the corner. The next batter would hit a hard ground ball to Danny Blankenship at 3rd. Danny would get the runner from 3rd in a rundown and apply the tag. Erickson would get two fly ball outs to end the A’s threat. Hadley would finally get things rolling in the bottom of the 5th. Evan Lenz would lead-off with a single and come around to score when Tucker Sorenson deposited the ball over the rightcenterfield fence for a 2-1 Buttermaker lead. Hadley would get three straight single to load the bases. Lincoln Graven would hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Hadley’s 3rd run of the inning.
Pipestone would chip into Hadley’s lead in the 7th. With one out, Pipesotne would single. A sacrifice bunt would move the runner to 2nd and then come into score on a single to cut Hadley’s advantage to 3-2. In the bottom of the inning, Hadley would load the bases with 1 out on a Pipestone fielding error and two walks. Alex Petersen would step and hit into a 5-2-3 double play to squelch the scoring opportunity.
Pipestone would get a leadoff double in the 8th, but Sam Erickson would get an inning ending double-play on a line out to Evan Lenz to end the A’s threat to tie the game. Hadley would go down in order in the bottom of the inning as the game moved to the 9th.
Pipestone would get the leadoff runner on base off a Derek Kluis fielding error. The runner would advance to 2nd on a stolen base. After getting an out, Pipestone would get a single to tie the game forcing a Buttermaker pitching change. Max Zwart would come in and struck out the next two A’s batter to bring the Buttermakers to the plate with a chance to win. With 1-out, Derek Kluis would single and advance to 2nd on a wild pitch. Max Zwart would work the count in his favor forcing the A’s to intentionally walk Max bringing Brent Hokeness to bat. Brent would come through as he singled to leftfield. The ball would hop by the leftfielder allowing Derek Kluis to race home for the walk-off 4-3 Buttermaker victory.
Brent Hokeness led Hadley’s hitting attack with 4 hits. Evan Lenz added 3 hits, Tucker Sorenson had 2 hits with Max Zwart, Eric Wieneke, Derek Riley, Kyler Deacon, Danny Blankenship, getting 1 hit each. Max Zwart earned the victory for Hadley for his first victory.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 4 14 2 Pipestone 3 8 1
SUNDAY (JUNE 25) GAME 1 HADLEY 13 vs WORTHINGTON 2 – 7 INNINGS
Game 1 had the Buttermakers entertaining the Worthington Cubs in Gopher League action. Hadley was hoping for a little retribution on the Cubs after Worthington upset the Buttermakers 2-1 in the season opener.
Avery Weber got a second chance to take down the Cubs. Hadley would have little trouble with the Cubs as the Buttermakers had their bats heat up.
Hadley would score twice in the 1st inning. After Evan Lenz and Tucker Sorenson would reach on walks and move up a base on a passed ball; Eric Wieneke would single to score two. Hadley would get their bats going in the 3rd inning as Hadley would score 6 runs on 4 hits. The big hit coming from Alex Petersen when he hit a 2-run homer to end the Buttermaker 6 run output. Hadley would get double happy in the 4th inning. Austin Irlbeck, Evan Lenz, and Tucker Sorenson would hit back-to-back-to back doubles to start things off. Eric Wieneke would hit a ball off the fence, but he would be thrown out at 2nd base to end the streak. Hadley would go on to score 3 runs, but leave the bases loaded. Hadley would score their final runs in the 5th when they would score twice on a sacrifice fly and bases loaded walk.
Avery would keep the Cubs bats at bay. Avery would give 2 solo homeruns for the Cubs scoring, limiting the Cubs to just 6 hits while striking out 6 Cubs batters. Trent Carlson came into relieve Weber and allowed the Cubs 1 hit and keeping Worthington from scoring in the 13-2 victory. Avery’s record moves to 2-0.
On the hitting side, Brent Hokeness, Eric Wieneke, Tucker Sorenson, and Danny Blankenship would collect 2 hits. Austin Irlbeck, Evan Lenz, Max Zwart and Alex Petersen would each pick up a hit. Eric Wieneke led Hadley in rbis with 4, Alex Petersen and Max Zwart had 2, with Evan Lenz, Danny Blankenship, Brent Hokeness, Tucker Sorenson, and Brody Wixon all credited with 1 rbi.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 13 12 2 Worthington 2 7 2
SUNDAY (JUNE 25) GAME 2 HADLEY vs MOUNTAIN LAKE – 7 INNINGS
The young Mountain Lake Lakers came to Hadley to take on the Buttermakers in Game 2 of the double-header. Just like Game 1, Hadley had no problems with the Lakers. Sam Erickson was given the pitching duty to face the young Lakers.
Hadley had an opportunity to score in the 1st inning but would leave runners at the corners. In the 2nd inning, Hadley finally put runs on the board. Hadley would score 3 runs from singles by Alex Petersen and Derek Kluis and a sacrifice fly by Tucker Sorenson.
Hadley would break the game open in the 3rd inning. Hadley would score 11 runs on 10 hits, bringing 15 batters to the plate. The big hits come from the young Buttermakers. Lincoln Graven would bring in 4 runs on a 2-run double and 2-run triple. Derek Kluis would bring in 2 on a double. That would end the Buttermaker scoring for the game.
Sam Erickson would limit the Lakers to just 4 hits in the 5 innings he pitched, allowing no runs to pick up the victory to move his record to 3-0. Brody Wixon finished the game for Hadley on the mound. Mountain Lake was able to score 3 runs off Wixon in the 7th on 3 hits.
Brent Hokeness led Hadley’s hitting attack with 3 doubles. Lincoln Graven collected 3 hits and would end up a homerun short of hitting for the cycle. Derek Kluis and Tucker Sorenson would both add 3 hits each. Trent Carlson would chip in with 2 hits with Evan Lenz, Max Zwart, Austin Irlbeck and Alex Petersen all collecting 1 hit. Lincoln Grave would get 4 rbis, Derek Kluis had 3 rbis, Evan Lenz had 2 rbis and Tucker Sorenson, Max Zwart, Danny Blankenship, Trent Carlson, and Alex Petersen all recorded 1 rbi.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 14 18 0 Mountain Lake 3 9 1 WEDNESDAY (JUNE 21) WINDOM 2 vs HADLEY 1 – 10 INNINGS
Wednesday had the Buttermaker heading to Island Park to take on the Windom Pirates in a Gopher-First Nite League matchup. Whenever these two teams matchup, the ballpark is full of energy, tension, and the excitement of a playoff game. Wednesday night’s game was no exception as the Buttermakers fell to the Pirates in tough, hard-fought game, 2-1, in 10 innings. Wednesday night’s game proved to be a true pitcher’s duel. Tucker Sorenson started on the mound for Hadley as he faced 2-time tourney draftee, Luke Gilbertson.
Hadley started off the game by scoring right off the bat. Joe Larson would lead-off the game with a double and come around to score on a Max Zwart single. Tucker Sorenson proved that he was up for the contest as he struck out 5 of the first 7 Pirate batters. Hadley looked primed to add to their lead in the 2nd inning when Alex Petersen led off with a double, but Hadley was unable to move Alex any further.
Windom would tie the game in the 3rd inning. After a lead-off bunt single, a successful sacrifice bunt would move the runner to 2nd base. The next batter would hit a pop up over 1st base that 2nd baseman, Evan Lenz would call for in foul territory. The ball would pop out of his glove and land in foul territory. The umpire called the ball fair as the runner would come around and score and the batter advanced to 3rd.
Both teams had an opportunity to add runs in the 5th inning. For Hadley, Austin Irlbeck would reach on an infield ground out when the pitcher missed the bag. Austin would move to 2nd on a sacrifice bunt and advance to 3rd on a wild pitch. Tucker Sorenson would hit a hard ground ball back to the mound. Austin would get caught in a rundown and be tagged out to thwart the scoring opportunity. Windom would get a double and single to lead off the bottom of the inning, But Tucker Sorenson would record two strikeouts and shallow fly ball to keep Windom from scoring.
The game would remain tied into the 8th inning as the tension amped up. The Pirates positioned themselves to take the lead in their at bat in the 8th. Windom would load the bases on two singles and a Buttermaker fielding error with only one out. Tucker Sorenson would remain composed and strikeout the next two Pirate batters to leave the bases loaded and game tied.
In the 9th, Alex Petersen would reach on a Pirate fielding error. Abe Paulzine would advance Alex to 2nd on sacrifice bunt. Alex would steal 3rd base. However, 2 infield ground outs would leave Alex stranded at 3rd. In Windom’s at bat, Tucker Sorenson would get the first two outs easily. A single and a walk would put the winning run-on 2nd base with the Pirate leading hitter due up. Hadley would choose to intentionally walk the batter to load the bases and leave it up to Tucker. Tucker would get it done as he would strike out the next batter looking, once again leaving the bases full of Pirate runners, and moving the game to extra innings.
Joe Larson would lead-off the 10th with a double. Tucker Sorenson would put down a sacrifice bunt. Windom chose to attempt the out at 3rd and the throw to 3rd to get Joe Larson out would be on time for the out on a close play. After Evan Lenz struck out, Max Zwart would single to center. Tucker Sorenson would attempt to move to 3rd. The outfield throw would be off mark and head to the Buttermaker dugout fence. Tucker would pop up and run home. The Pirate pitcher would be backing up the play and get to the ball as it hit the fence and the throw to the plate with Tucker sliding home. On a controversial call, Tucker would be called out for the 3rd out. In Windom’s at bat, the lead-off hitter would single, forcing a Buttermaker pitching change. Max Zwart would come into pitch. The next batter would put down a successful sacrifice bunt moving the winning run to 2nd base. On a 2-2 count the next batter would single up the middle and Austin Irlbeck’s throw to the plate would be too late as Windom walked off with a thrilling 2-1 victory.
Joe Larson and Max Zwart led Hadley with 2 hits each. Evan Lenz, Austin Irlbeck and Alex Petersen recording Hadley’s other hits. Tucker Sorenson took the hard-luck, disappointing loss despite striking out 15 Pirate batters and walking 5. Tuck’s record moves to 1-2.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 1 7 2 Windom 2 9 2
