REBEL BOYS WIN SECTION 3A SEMI-FINAL

The MCC baseball team played in the Section 3A semifinal on Saturday afternoon at Irish Yard. The Rebels took on the Dawson Boyd Blackjacks for the second time this season. Both teams were undefeated in the playoffs coming into the game. The winner would advance to the section final on Thursday, the loser of the game would play Tuesday for a second chance to get to the title games. The Rebels beat the Blackjacks during the regular season 5-3 in a nine inning nail biter. That would not be the case on Saturday.

Teague Meyer got the start for the Rebels and the senior led the way for the Rebels. The right hander went the distance for the Rebels without allowing a run. What made Meyer’s start impressive wasn’t the 10 strikeouts or the fact he only walked two batters. What really stood out was how he pitched to the top five hitters in the lineup. The top 5 hitters for the Blackjacks hit for over a 300 average on the season, but on Saturday, not one hitter in the top 5 got a base hit. And to add to that, only Colton Bothun got on base, with two walks. Meyer gave up three hits, two by Aedyn Dahl and another by Aiden Olson. When the top of the batting order isn’t getting hits, teams usually struggle to score and that was the case Saturday.

The Rebels did not have a huge offensive day against Nate Hansen of the Blackjacks, but they didn’t need one with Meyer throwing so well. MCC scored the first run of the game in the second inning, when Carson Lewis walked and Cayden Veldhuisen was hit by a pitch. Danny Larson put down a sacrifice bunt to advance runners to second and third. Carter Hanson reached on an infield hit with two outs that scored Lewis and gave MCC the lead. The Rebels scored three runs in the third inning, as they would bat around. Tristan Behrends led off the inning with a single to left field and stole second base. Krew Schneider would double in Behrends from second base and MCC led 2-0. The Rebels loaded the bases with an error and a walk to Veldhuisen. Danny Larson hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Schneider. Gabe Tentinger and Carter Hanson were hit by back-toback pitches to plate the final run of the inning. The Rebels kept that 4-0 lead to win by that score.

MCC is back in the Section 3A title game for the first time in nearly 23 years. Carter Hanson drove in a pair of runs for the Rebels while Larson and Schneider drove in one each. The Rebels did not have a hitter with more than one hit, but the bottom of the order did a great job of getting on base with walks by getting hit with pitches. The Rebels will play Adrian in the title game at Irish Yard on Thursday, June 4, starting at 5:00 pm with a second game after, if needed.