By Mark Zinnel- Buttermaker Reporter Sunday’s double-header dealt a blow to the Buttermakers’ in the hopes of capturing the Gopher League title. The Buttermakers had hoped to get away with one victory for the day, but things did not go as planned. Here is the week’s recap:
GAME 1: MILROY 7 HADLEY 3 Game 1 for the day was a chance for the Buttermakers to get a strangle hold on the Gopher League title against a gritty Milroy Irish team. A victory would give Hadley a 2-game lead over the Irish and a 1-game advantage over Luverne, but a loss would give the Irish the advantage over Hadley in tie-breaker criteria. Lefty ace, Tucker Sorenson started on the mound to pave the way for Hadley. But Milroy had other plans.
Just like last Sunday’s game, Hadley found themselves working from behind. Milroy got right to work in the 1st inning when they scored 3 runs on 2 hits to go up 3-0. The Irish starting pitcher kept Hadley’s bats silent as he limited them to only 2 hits through the first 4 innings. Whereas Milroy would put runners in scoring position throughout the next 6 innings, but Tucker would keep the Irish from increasing their lead.
Hadley’s first real threat to score came in the 6th when Alex Petersen walked and Teague Meyer doubled with 2 outs. Joe Larson would ground out to end the threat. Hadley would finally get on the board in the 7th when Bryce Ahrendt hit a solo home run.
Trevin Prins took over on the mound in the 8th. After recording the first out, Trevin would walk the next three Irish batters, forcing Manager Myron Bennett to make a pitching change as Lincoln Swanjord entered the game. Irish would get two singles off Swanjord as their lead swelled to 6-1. Hadley would start off the 8th with two straight hits. A sacrifice fly from Krew Schneider would cut the deficit to 6-2.
Milroy would pick up a solo run in the 9th to go up 7-2 off Max Zwart. Hadley would try to make a comeback as they loaded the bases with three straight hits to start off. Milroy would coax a double play as a run scored and then fly out to end the game with Hadley on the short end, 7-3.
Max Zwart led Hadley with 3 hits. Teague Meyer and Abe Paulzine collected 2 hits each with Alex Petersen, Jakob Olson, Krew Schneider, and Bryce Ahrendt each with 1 hit. Tucker Sorenson took the loss.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 3 11 1 Milroy 7 12 1 GAME 2: MARSHALL 14 HADLEY 11 The Marshall A’s came to Hadley for the second game in the home and home series. Game 2 would turn into a slugfest as Hadley out hit the A’s, but Marshall came away with more runs for the victory. Brody Wixon started on the mound for the Buttermakers.
Marshall would jump out to a quick 2-0 lead after the top of the 1st inning. Hadley looked unphased as the Buttermakers would get a 3-run homer from Jakob Olson to take a 3-2 lead. The lead did not last long as Marshall would get a double and a single to tie the game after 2 innings. The game went back and forth from this point. Marshall would take back the lead on a 2-run homer in the 4th to go up 5-3. Lincoln Graven hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the 4th to start things off. After an Alex Petersen double, Teague Meyer would single to tie the game at 5-5.
Owen Gillette took over for Wixon in the 5th. Marshall would get 3 hits off Owen and scored four times, highlighted by a 3-run homer to go up 9-5. Hadley came back with 4 of their own to tie the game again. Krew Schneider led off with a solo home run. Hadley would then pick up 3 runs on 6 additional hits to even things up at 9-9. Hadley had a runner cut down at the plate or Hadley would have taken the lead. A 2-run homer off Gillette in the 6th put Marshall back on top at 11-9. Marshall would add to their lead in the 8th when they scored 3 more runs to go up 149. A Buttermaker fielding error contributed to Marshall’s scoring effort. Abe Paulzine came in to squelch the A’s from scoring any further. Hadley would try to strike back in the bottom of the 8th. After a lead-off strikeout, Hadley would get three straight singles to score a run. Lincoln Graven would get hit to load the bases. But Hadley could only get another single to score just 1 more run to trail 14-11. Hadley could not make a comeback in the 9th as Marshall left with the 14-11 win.
Teague Meyer, Lincoln Graven, Krew Schneider, and Jakob Olson led Hadley with 3 hits each. Danny Blankenship and Trevin Prins had 2 hits with Tucker Sorenson, Skyler Feikema, Alex Petersen, and Dugan Kluis all with 1 hit. Teague Meyer, Danny Blankenship, Skyler Feikema, Trevin Prins, Dugan Kluis and Alex Petersen had Hadley’s other rbis. Owen Gillette was charged with the loss.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 11 19 4 Marshall 14 15 2 Hadley will have 3 games this week as the season winds down. On Wednesday, Hadley will travel to Jackson to take on the Bulls in an important game for tournament seeding. Both teams head into the game tied in the loss column, a win or loss may mean a first round bye or a play-in game for either team.
On Friday, Hadley will head to Windom in a non-league game. Both games are at 7:30. On Sunday, it is Fan Appreciation Day as Hadley will entertain the Pipestone A’s at 2:00 pm.
