By Mark Zinnel, Buttermaker Reporter The Hadley Buttermakers did what they needed to do to end their regular season, going 2-1 for the week to secure a first round bye in the Region 10C playoffs. Here is the week’s recap:
WEDNESDAY: HADLEY 7 JACKSON 3
In a dogfight for a first round bye in the upcoming Region 10C tournament, Hadley’s first mission of the week was against the Jackson Bulls; whom the Buttermakers share similar record in the loss column. A loss for either team would be devastating and most certainly mean having to be relocated to the play-in round. A victory would earn a week off. Manager Myron Bennett sent Lincoln Swanjord to the mound in the hopes of capturing a victory.
Hadley would threaten to score in the 1st. Hadley would hit the ball hard off the Bull starting pitcher and put runners at the corners but failed to score. In the 2nd, Austin Irlbeck would reach on an infield single and move to 3rd on two Bull wild pitches. Dugan Kluis would then double to score Irl-beck. Teague Meyer would single later in the inning and advance to second on a stolen base. But once again, Hadley could not get a key hit and left runners in scoring position with only a 1-0 lead.
In the 3rd inning the Buttermakers’ went deep. Derek Kluis led off by hammering a shot over the left field fence. After Max Zwart singled, Jakob Olson stepped up and hit a mammoth shot to left for a 2-run homer and a 4-0 Hadley advantage. In the 4th, Jackson’s lead-off batter would send a ball over the fence to cut the lead to 4-1.
Hadley answered back in the 5th. Derek Kluis would reach on a Bull centerfielder error on a fly ball drop. Max Zwart would single. Both runners would move up a base on a passed ball. Austin Irlbeck and Abe Paulzine would single for a 6-1 Hadley lead. Hadley would add a single run in the 7th, when the Bull reliever would walk the bases loaded. Dugan Kluis would single to score 1 run, but that would be all Hadley could muster up.
Things got sticky for Lincoln in the 7th. Another lead-off homer would cut Hadley’s lead to 7-2. After recording a strike out, Jackson would pick up another hit. Lincoln would hit the next Bull batter. Lincoln would get another strike out before he walked the next batter to load the bases. Jackson would hit a ground ball that would be booted allowing another run to score. With Lincoln’s pitch count rising, he was able to battle the next batter and record a strike out to leave the bases loaded with Bulls; keeping Hadley in front, 7-3.
Josh Van Dam came into relieve Swanjord in the 8th. Van Dam would give up a double, but Josh stranded him there. Hadley looked primed to add insurance runs in the 9th but could not add on. Josh Van Dam shut the Bulls down in order in the 9th to save the game for Swanjord and the 7-3 victory.
For Hadley, Max Zwart and Dugan Kluis would each collect 3 hits. Austin Irlbeck 2 hits, with Abe Paulzine, Teague Meyer, Derek Kluis, and Jakob Olson each with 1 hit. Lincoln Swanjord recorded 10 strikeouts and only issued 1 walk in Wednesday’s win.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 7 12 2 Jackson 3 9 4
FRIDAY: WINDOM 6 HADLEY 1
Hadley traveled to Windom on Friday evening to face the Pirates in a non-league game in celebration of Cottonwood County’s Relay for Life festivities. Friday’s game gave an opportunity for the Buttermaker bench players to get in game experience against the number 1 Class C ranked Pirate team. Bryce Ahrendt started on the mound for Hadley.
With the hot, humid weather at game time, the balls did not travel deep; as the game moved along at a quick pace. The Pirates were the first to score in the 3rd inning when the humidity lifted. Windom would score 3 runs on 3 hits, with the runs coming on doubles. Hadley got their only run in the 4th inning when Abe Paulzine singled with 2 outs and moved to 2nd on a stolen base. Austin Irlbeck would then double to score Paulzine.
Windom would add to their lead in the 5th. Windom would pick up 3 straight singles to lead off to score 1 run. Catcher’s interference would be called to load the bases. A sacrifice fly and single would follow to increase the Pirate advantage to 6-1.
The Pirate pitchers would keep the Buttermakers hitless for the rest of the game. Skyler Feikema took over for Ahrendt in the 6th and shut down the Pirates for 3 innings. Dugan Kluis and Lincoln Graven picked up Hadley’s other hits. Bryce Ahrendt suffered the loss.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 1 4 3 Windom 6 9 1
SUNDAY (7 INNINGS): HADLEY 13 PIPESTONE 2
Sunday was the season ending game against the Pipestone A’s. A victory would secure a first round Region 10C bye; a loss would mean - no week off. A good-sized crowd was in attendance for the Annual Fan Appreciation Day. No matter what each team’s records are, Hadley and Pipestone’s games are always competitive and exciting. Pipestone came to town with a sour taste in their mouths after Tucker Sorenson limited the A’s to just 1 hit in their earlier matchup. Pipestone would have their chance again against Tucker on Sunday.
The game started out at a quick pace as each team would pick up a single hit in the first three frames. Hadley would get things started in the 4th. After Max Zwart led off with a walk, Jakob Olson hit a 2-run homer. Things would continue for the Buttermakers as they would pick up 5 more hits and plate eight more runs to go up 10-0.
Tucker Sorenson pretty much had the A’s number as he allowed the A’s only 3 more hits in his 6-innings of work. Pipestone would get back-to-back doubles off Sorenson in the 5th to score a run. Hadley would counter with 2 runs on 4 hits in the bottom of the 5th to go ahead 12-1. Pipestone would add their only other run in the 6th on a single and a walk. Runners would advance on a wild pitch. Sorenson would get called for a balk allowing the runner on 3rd to score. Austin Irlbeck added insurance when he belted a solo homerun for the final 13-2 victory. Trevin Prins pitched the 9th for Hadley and kept the A’s from scoring.
Jakob Olson led Hadley with 3 hits and 3 rbis. Max Zwart and Austin Irlbeck chipped in with 2 hits and 3 rbis. Bryce Ahrendt, Teague Meyer, and Derek Kluis each had a hit. Teague Meyer and Alex Petersen had an rbi and Derek Kluis chipped in with 2 rbis. Tucker Sorenson earned the victory.
Final Box Score
RHE Hadley 1312 0 Pipestone 2 5 0 Hadley will now have a week off before beginning the Region 10C quarterfinal round. Region seeding did not go in Hadley’s favor. Hadley received the #5 seed and will take on the #4 seed Luverne Redbirds on July 29th at Luverne. Hadley will return home for game 2 of 3 on Saturday August 1st.
