-
EVAN LENZ
The #6 seed Hadley Buttermakers took on the #11 seed Heron Lake Lakers in the Region 13C play-in series. Based on the team’s records and the success Hadley had in their two wins during league play, a first round series victory should not be a big concern. But this is the play-offs and things do not always go as expected. Here is the series recap: Game 1 Wednesday at Worthington HADLEY 13 HERON LAKE 0 7-INNINGS Hadley traveled to Worthington for Game 1 to take on Heron Lake since neither team have lights. Sam Erickson got the starting nod to set the tone for the Buttermakers and Sam did not let Buttermaker Nation down. Sam pitched a complete 7-inning game, limiting Heron Lake to just 3 hits, walking 2 and striking out 5 Laker batters. Despite the runaway victory for Hadley, it took the Buttermakers half the game to shake the Lakers.
Hadley would jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first 4 innings, but the runs came on only 2 hits during that period and two Heron Lake defensive lapses.
Hadley would score a run in the first after Derek Kluis reached 2nd after his fly ball to left was dropped and he would come around to score on a Brent Hokeness single. Hadley would score a run in the 4th after Danny Blankenship reached on a single; Abe Paulzine would bunt him over to 2nd base. Another Laker error by the Laker shortstop on an overthrow to 1st, on an Evan Lenz groundball allowed Blankenship to race home.
Heron Lake made a pitching change in the 5th and Hadley took advantage. In the 5th Hadley would get 4 straight hits after 2 outs to go up 6-0. Brent Hokeness would reach on a single. Max Zwart would double to score Hokeness. Danny Blankenship would get an infield single. Abe Paulzine would triple to score 2 and then come in to score after a wild pitch.
Hadley went downtown in the 6th when they hit 3 homeruns to go up 11-0. After Tucker Sorenson worked out a walk, Brent Hokeness led Hadley with 3 hits and 2 rbis. Max Zwart would collect 2 hits and 1 rbi. Danny Blankenship would get 2 hits. Jakob Olson, Abe Paulzine and Derek Kluis all had 1 hit and 2 rbis. Tucker Sorenson would get a hit and Avery Weber getting credit for 1 rbi.
Final Box Score R H E Hadley 13 11 1 Heron Lake 0 3 4 Game 2 Saturday HADLEY 9 HERON LAKE 4 Hadley was hoping to avoid a Game 3 and take care of the Lakers in a Saturday night special. Despite the final score, Hadley pretty much had the game in hand. Bryce Ahrendt started on the mound for Hadley to bring home a win.
In the 1st inning, Heron Lake looked like they were set to make the Buttermakers worry. Heron Lake would pick up 2 hits with one out. A ground out would move the runners to 2nd and 3rd on a ground ball out. Bryce would get a harmless fly ball out to end the Laker scoring opportunity. Joe Larson would lead-off for Hadley with a single. Joe would be thrown out stealing. Tucker Sorenson would then triple and come around to score on a Derek Kluis single for a 1-0 lead.
Hadley stretched out the lead in the 2nd. Abe Paulzine and Alex Petersen would single. Consecutive sacrifice flies from Evan Lenz and Joe Larson gave Hadley a 3-0 lead. Tucker Sorenson would then hit another triple. After Derek Kluis walked, a wild pitch would score Tucker and move Derek to 2nd. Max Zwart would reach on a Laker fielding error. Danny Blankenship would step up and double to score Kluis and Zwart for a 6-0 advantage.
Bryce Ahrendt would not allow Heron Lake another hit until the 5th when the Lakers got a lead-of single, but that would be as far as he would get. Heron Lake would finally get a run on the board in the 6th when a Buttermaker error and a single led to one Laker run. Hadley would pick up single runs in the 6th and 7th innings to increase their lead to 8-1 Avery Weber would take over on the mound in the 8th. Once again, a Buttermaker error and a Laker single led to a Laker run. Hadley would move the lead to 9-2 in the bottom of the inning. Joe Larson would reach on a Laker error. After Tucker Sorenson got hit by a pitch, Derek Kluis would single home a run. Hadley would have a chance to end the game with runners at 2nd and 3rd, but pinch hitter Skyler Feikema would hit a line drive up the middle that would be snared by the pitcher for the 3rd out to move the game to the 9th.
In the 9th, Avery had control issues. Avery would walk 3 and hit one Laker batter to bring in 1 run and then uncork a wild pitch to score another. Avery would settle down and get a strikeout and infield pop out to end the game with a 9-4 victory.
Danny Blankenship led Hadley with 3 hits. Joe Larson, Tucker Sorenson, Derek Kluis, Abe Paulzine, and Evan Lenz all had 2 hits with Jakob Olson and Abe Paulzine each picking up 1 hit. Derek Kluis and Danny Blankenship had 2 rbis each with Joe Larson, Alex Petersen and Evan Lenz getting 1 rbi. Bryce Ahrendt earned the victory. RHE Hadley 9 15 1 Heron Lake 4 5 5 Hadley will now take on the #3 seed Fairmont Martins in the Region 13 quarterfinals. Game 1 in Fairmont at 7:30 Wednesday. Game 2 will move to Hadley on Saturday at 2:00 and then back to Fairmont on Sunday at 2:00, if needed.
