BUTTERMAKERS HAVE UP AND DOWN WEEK PREPARE FOR PLAYOFFS

By Mark Zinnel - Buttermaker Reporter Hadley ended regular season play by going 1-2. Now it is time to look ahead for the Region 13C playoffs. Here is the week’s recap: Wednesday at Luverne LUVERNE 10 HADLEY 3 Hadley traveled to Luverne to take on the Gopher League leading Redbirds; with an outside chance to earn a bye and avoid a first round play-in series in the upcoming Region 13C playoffs. That would mean the Buttermakers would need to play a perfect game and get the bats going to take down the Birds. Bryce Ahrendt took the mound for Hadley.

The Luverne starting pitcher had the Buttermakers batters baffled from the first pitch. The starter would hold the Buttermakers hitless and strikeout 7 thru the first 4 innings. Luverne would score on the Buttermakers in the 2nd inning. Luverne would pick up 2 hits off Bryce, scoring a run on an infield ground out to go up 1-0. They would add to the lead after Bryce gave up a 2-run homer n the 3rd for a 3-0 advantage.

In the 5th, Hadley was finally able to put 2 runners on base when the Redbird starter walked 2 Buttermakers. However, Hadley was unable to get a hit to score. Luverne would add to their lead in the bottom of the inning. After getting the first two outs, the next Redbird batter would hit a shot back to the mound which Bryce stopped but had trouble finding the ball. Once he picked up the ball his hurried throw to 1st would be off the mark. A single would follow to put Redbirds at the corner. The next batter would deposit Bryce’s pitch over the fence for his 2nd homer of the game and a 6-0 Luverne lead.

Things looked positive for Hadley when they finally got their first hits off the Redbird starter in the 6th. Alex Petersen would lead off with a single. Evan Lenz would then hit a fly ball that dropped in front of the right fielder. With Alex holding, the throw to 2nd base would get there before Alex reached the bag. After a fly ball out, Brent Hokeness would single.

Derek Kluis

Max Zwart would then strikeout. The pitched ball would hit the ground as Max began to run to 1st. The catcher hesitated and then threw down to 1st for the out, but his would be too late and off the mark as Evan Lenz raced home. Danny Blankenship would then double to score Hokeness and Zwart to cut the Luverne lead to 6-3.

Luverne would be come back in the bottom of the inning to score 4 times to push the lead to 10-3 when they got to Bryce with 4 hits resulting in a Hadley pitching change. Max Zwart would get the final out and finished the final 2 innings on the mound for Hadley, keeping the Redbirds scoreless.

Tucker Sorenson would pick up singles in the 7th and 9th innings, but Hadley could not muster any further scoring opportunities, falling 10-3. Bryce Ahrendt was charged with the loss.

Final Box Score R H E Luverne 10 12 1 Hadley 3 5 3 Saturday – vs Marshall 7 Innings HADLEY 21 MARSHALL 2 In the home and home series, the Marshall A’s came to town to take on the Buttermakers on a hot, humid afternoon. Hadley was hoping to exact revenge after losing a heartbreaker to the A’s earlier in the month. The Marshall A’s came to town short-handed and the Buttermakers took advantage of the A’s as the bats came to life as Hadley pounded out 22 hits and scored in every inning but the 1st to easily down the A’s 21-2 in a shortened 7-inning game. Hadley also got a promising performance from sidewinder Owen Gillette.

Owen would put the A’s down in order in the 1st. Hadley would put runners on 2nd and 3rd in their at bat but would fail to plate any runs. Marshall would score first when they plated a run on 2 hits and 2 hit batters, but Owen would strand the bases loaded. In the bottom of the inning, Hadley would score 6 times on 4 hits. Derek Kluis would bring in Buttermakers with a double and Brent Hokeness would triple to score 2. Hadley’s other runs would come off singles by Austin Irlbeck and Danny Blankenship.

Marshall would get their final run in the 3rd on a walk, hit and a Buttermaker fielding error. Hadley would counter with 2 runs on 3 hits to go up 8-2. Hadley would keep the scoring going in the 4th when they batted around to score 5 runs. Hadley put 3 more runs across the plate in the 5th on a double from Jakob Olson and triple from Evan Lenz. Hadley continued to score off the A’s pitching when they brought 12 batters to the plate, collected 7 hits, and scored 5 runs for the 21-2- lead.

Owen Gillette would pitch 6 1/3 innings, allowing 3 hits, striking out 4, walking 2, and hitting 5 A’s batter. Owen would leave the bases loaded with A’s in the 6th inning. Owen would record the first out in the 7th. Peyton Coulter would enter and record the final 2 outs of the game. Owen would earn his 2nd victory.

Every Buttermaker batter contributed to the scoring in the day’s game. Derek Kluis had himself a great game going 5-5 at the plate and recording 6 rbis. Jacob Olson and Irv Irlbeck would get 3 hits and 3 rbis. Evan Lenz and Brent Hokeness had 2 hits and 2 rbis. Abe Paulzine and Bryce Ahrendt recorded 2 hits and 1 rbi with Danny Blankenship picking up 1 hit and 1 rbis and Tucker Sorenson recording 1 rbi. RHE Hadley 21 22 2 Marshall 2 4 2 Sunday – vs Fairmont FAIRMONT 4 HADLEY 1 On Fan Appreciation Sunday, the First Nite League coleader, Fairmont Martins, came to Buttermaker Park to take on the Buttermakers. Hadley was hoping to end league play with a victory. A win for Fairmont would secure a #3 seed in the 13C playoffs. Unlike the hot bats Hadley had on Saturday, they did not carryover to Sunday as the Martin pitchers limited the Buttermakers to a handful of hit as they took down the Buttermakers. Tucker Sorenson took the mound for Hadley.

Fairmont would take the early as they connected a 2-run homerun off Tucker for a quick 2-0 lead. In the 3rd. Hadley would have their best shot to pull even with Fairmont or take the lead. Austin Irlbeck led off the inning with a single to right field. After a strikeout, Evan Lenz would single to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Derek Kluis would fly out. Both runners would move into scoring position on a passed ball. Brent Hokeness would then hit a shot down the left field line to score Irlbeck. Evan Lenz would get held up at 3rd as Fairmont returned the ball back to the infield. Max Zwart stepped up to the plate. Brent Hokeness would steal 2nd to put runners in scoring position. The Fairmont starter would strike out Max to keep the lead at 2-1.

Tucker Sorenson would struggle against the Martins through thru 8th as Fairmont would put runners on base in each inning except the 5th. The Fairmont reliever came into pitch on the 4th and would keep the Hadley bats at bay, allowing only 1 Hadley runner to reach 2nd over that time.

The game entered the 9th at 2-1. The hot weather got to Tucker. A single and a walk would put pressure on the Buttermakers. A wild pitch and passed ball would make things even tougher on Hadley. Max Zwart come in to take over for Tucker. Max would walk the first batter he faced to load the bases. Fairmont would hit a ground ball to short. Hadley attempted a double play to end the inning but the relay to 1st would be too late as a run scored. Fairmont would attempt a stolen base. The throw to 2nd would get by the infielders as another run would come across for a 4-1 lead. Hadley would have one last shot in the bottom of the 9th inning. Brent Hokeness would line a ball down the left field line. Brent attempted to advance to 2nd, but the throw would be on time before he slid into 2nd base for the 1st out. Hadley would follow with two groundouts to end the game.

Tucker Sorenson took the loss to move his record to 4-4. RHE Hadley 1 4 1 Fairmont 4 8 1 Hadley ends the regular league play with a 7-7 record. Hadley will start the Region 13C play-in series this week when they are set to play the Heron Lake Lakers. Game 1 is scheduled for Wednesday night with the site yet to be determined. Game 2 is expected to be played Saturday in Hadley. Game 3 will also be at Hadley, if needed. Check the Fans of the Buttermaker Facebook page, Buttermaker Twitter account or check with Myron at the Hadley Bar for final playoff site confirmation.