A Dylan Rose base hit in the eighth made the difference for the MACA baseball Tigers Thursday. It happened in extra innings. Rose's hit allowed Brendan Hardy to score and give MACA the 4-3 lead which it held. The game was at Benson.
The victory was the Tigers' tenth against eight losses. Benson is over .500 also and came out of Thursday 11-5.
We surged forward in the fifth with a three-run rally. This put us up by one at 3-2. A little extra push would be needed. That's because Benson's Sam Grussing hit a run-scoring double in the seventh. The score was tied at the end of the regulation seven. So it was on to the eighth and Rose's difference-making hit.
We made our hits count as we were out-hit by the Braves 11-8. Both teams played errorless ball. Benson scored one run each in the first, third and seventh innings.
Brett Hansen was our starting pitcher. He struck out three batters and walked none in his three innings. Benson got five hits off him and scored two runs, earned. Hansen gave way to Brandon Jergenson on the hill. Jergenson became the pitcher of record with his five innings. His stats: four strikeouts, no walks, five hits and one run which was unearned.
Grussing took the pitching loss. Grussing came on in relief of Matt Laumeyer who worked for seven innings. Laumeyer struck out four batters, walked two and gave up seven hits and three runs, earned.
Let's examine how the bats performed and here we see three Tigers each with two hits. Ross Marty had a two-for-four line. Hansen had two hits and a run scored. Rose had a double as part of his two-for-four showing. He scored a run and drove in one.
Riley Reimers had a hit and an RBI. Tristan Raths had a hit and a walk. Zach Bruns walked, stole a base and scored a run. Sam Kleinwolterink drove in a run, stole a base and drew a walk. Hardy had a stolen base in addition to scoring the game-winning run.
Benson's Patrick Minchow was hot with the bat to produce four-for-four numbers. One of those hits was a double. He scored three runs and was a terror on the basepaths with three stolen bases. Another Minchow in the lineup, Isaac, had a two-for-four line. Josh Norby also rapped two hits. These other Braves also hit safely: Sam Lenarz, Grussing and Cole Hedman.
Softball: loss No. 1
The MACA softball team was brought down to earth in Thursday action, being dealt a 5-1 loss. Our juggernaut Tigers had won every previous game!
Sometimes fans feel it's good for a favorite team to be humbled occasionally. So as to not rest on laurels or feel overconfident. Some fans might disagree, and I'm reminded of the old WCCO TV sportscaster Hal Scott, who, during some banter with a fellow news desk person, did not buy the thinking.
"I don't think a loss is ever good for a team," Scott said. Most likely they were talking about the Minnesota Vikings of the 1970s who spoiled fans with such frequent victories. A loss put us all on our heels. As years passed, we came to accept losing better because it happened more often! The Vikings reached four Super Bowls during that era. And ugh, we were 0-4. Minnesotans began feeling a little defeatism and this was remedied with the 1987 Minnesota Twins' championship. For good measure, the Twins won the World Series again in 1991.
It's wonderful to see your favorite team set such high standards. Yet athletes are not miracle workers, anywhere. They are mortals with the potential for failure sometimes, just like the rest of us. So our MACA Tigers in this milestone year for them - the unveiling of the new home field - experienced loss No. 1 on Thursday: 5-1 to Browerville/Eagle Valley on the road.
Yasmine Westerman took the defeat in the pitching circle. Just one of the four runs she allowed was earned. Her stint was four innings. Our bats cooled off to just five hits. This was against a team that has fashioned an unbeaten record. Browerville/Eagle Valley has an elite look like the Tigers, owner of a 13-0 record. Wouldn't a re-match be interesting?
Shannon Dougherty drove in a run for the Tigers.
Home track and field
Our MACA boys track team took No. 1 in the home meet held Thursday at UMM. The No. 1 girls team was Minnewaska Area. Boys highlights included Ethan Lebrija taking first in the 100m an 200m dashes. Kenny Soderberg was a hurdling whiz with his No. 1 in the 110m and 300m. The shot put saw Evan Oberg take the top prize. Also taking the top prize: our 4x100m relay team.
The MACA girls were second behind the Lakers. Olivia Lebrija was #1 in the 100m hurdles. Kaylie Raths won the 300m hurdles and Lydia Fynboh topped the 100m dash. Our 4x200m relay unit took the top prize too. The meet is named for retired MACA coach Marv Meyer.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
have not seen any stories about it but I happen to knopw Charlie Hanson an 8th grader at MAHS qualified for the stae in golf
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