Orioles fall in state semifinals
Three Dakota-Rice-Scott Baseball League teams - New Prague, Faribault and Union Hill - advanced to the Elite Eight at the State Class C Baseball Tournament, with the Lakers and Bulldogs bowing out Sunday in the quarterfinals and the Orioles losing in the semifinals, ending a strong tournament run for the league. The five league teams that qualified for state (including New Market in Class C and Elko in Class B) went a combined 10-5 in the tournament. Of the four Class C entries, three were eliminated by teams playing in the championship game. New Prague and Faribault lost to Lake Henry and New Market lost to Kimball.
Kimball defeated Lake Henry for the Class C championship, 6-4, on a walk-off ninth inning home run by Scott Marquardt.
In the Class B Tournament, Miesville defeated Chanhassen twice on Monday in the doubleelimination tournament to claim its second straight title.
Fifteen players were named to the Class C all-tournament team; including four from the DRS. Named to the team were Matt Lane of Faribault, Matt Baier of Bemidji, Matt Beckius of Union Hill, Cody Hallahan of Green Isle, Nathan Sprouls of New Prague, Mitch Bockenstedt of Jordan, James Fuerniss of New Prague, Justin Koenen of Raymond, Patrick Courtney, Lake Henry draftee from New London Spicer, Jordan Joseph of Kimball, Ben Johnson of Kimball, Matt Quade of Lake Henry, Adam Beyer of Kimball, Ryan Wuertz of Lake Henry and Scott Marquardt of Kimball.
Saturday, Sept. 2 Bulldogs 7, Black Sox 6 Union Hill scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to force extra innings and went 12 innings to defeat Carver 7-6 in Green Isle. The Bulldogs’ Dan Feneis started and went 6-1/3 innings. and left with the score tied at 3-3. Johnny Houston, draftee from Prior Lake, pitched two-thirds of an inning and John Krocak, draftee from Montgomery, pitched five innings of relief to take the win. Eric Bisek had two hits and three RBIs, including a home run, to lead the Bulldogs. Matt Beckius had three hits for Union Hill and Danny Beckius had two.
Lakers 7, Rockets 1 Faribault defeated defending state champion Raymond 7-1 Saturday in Norwood. Matt Lane pitched another solid game, allowing six hits and striking out 11 to pick up the win. He also went 3-for- 4 at the plate and had two RBIs. Blake Langerud and Jack Helgeson also had two hits each for the Lakers. Faribault led 3-1 and broke the game open with four runs in the eighth inning.
Orioles 6, Skis 2 New Prague scored four runs in the top of the 10th inning and defeated Sobieski 6-2 Saturday in Green Isle to advance to the quarterfinals. Zack Dubanoski homered for the Orioles and had two RBIs. James Fuerniss had two of New Prague’s six hits. Nathan Sprouls pitched 6-2/3 innings, allowing just three hits and two runs while striking out seven. Trevor Smisek, draftee from Montgomery, got the win with 3-1/3 innings of hitless relief. He walked two and struck out three. Tyler Jendro was the losing pitcher, going 9-2/3 innings for the Skis.
Quarterfinals - Sunday, Sept. 3 Blue Ox 2, Bulldogs 0 TJ Erickson, draftee from Roseau, stymied Union Hill for eight innings, allowing five hits and striking out four, and Brenden Gillies allowed one hit in earning the save as Bemidji defeated Union Hill 2-0 in the state quarterfinals Sunday in Norwood. The Bulldogs had five hits, all singles, and threatened several times, coming up short. Hits were by Conrad Masberg, Eric Bisek, Jesse Bastyr, Will Busch, Matt Beckius and Danny Beckius. The Blue Ox scored single runs in the third and eighth innings.
Orioles 4, Brewers 0 In a battle between neighboring towns on Highway 21, New Prague defeated Jordan 4-0 in Norwood. The Orioles scored single runs in the first and fourth innings, then added two more in the sixth. New Prague had just six hits, with Aaron Kes and Eric Wagner each getting two. Kes had two RBIs. Joel Zimmerman went 5-2/3 innings and allowed four hits to get the win. Matt Perkinson, draftee from Veseli, pitched 3-1/3 innings of relief for the save. Adam Kalal had two hits for Jordan. Nate Beckman started and took the loss, with Scott Hollingsworth pitching in relief.
LH Lakers 3, Fbo Lakers 2 Lake Henry scored a run in the top of the eighth inning to claim a 3-2 win over Faribault Sunday in Hamburg. Blake Langerud had two hits and two RBIs for Faribault. Ryan Archambault also had two hits, but the rest of the team managed just one hit. Egan Bonde started for Faribault and pitched 7-2/3 innings. Bill Dunker, draftee from St. Patrick, pitched 1-1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Patrick Courtney, draftee from New London-Spicer, got the win for Lake Henry.
Semifinals Sunday, Sept. 3 Lakers 4, Orioles 2 New Prague’s Austin Bachman hit a two-run home run in the first inning to give his team a 2-0 lead, but that would be all the offense for New Prague as Lake Henry tied the game in the third inning and scored single runs in the sixth and seventh for the win and a spot in Monday’s championship game. Justin Novak, Aaron Kes and Bachman each had two hits for New Prague. Matt Perkinson, draftee from Veseli, started and went three innings, with Joe Sabal, draftee from Lonsdale, pitching five innings of relief and taking the loss.
