By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com Kyle Collins struck out 13 batters over eight shutout innings of work to help Avon stave off elimination, Sunday, with a 3-0 win over Buckman. Avon scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning on back-to-back singles by Jeff Swenson and Gary Deters, then added an insurance Read more »
By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com Fort Ripley entered the Region 8C tournament, Saturday, with an unblemished 14-0 record in Victory League play this summer. Most of those wins came on the strength of strong pitching efforts, as the Rebels limited opponents to two runs or less in 11 of those 12 games. So, when Read more »
By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com Nisswa received a dominant pitching performance from Jason Roepke, Saturday, and along with it a trip to the second round of the Region 8C tournament, as the Lightning defeated St. Stephen 5-1. Roepke allowed one run in the first inning, but put eight zeroes on the board from that Read more »
By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com Sobieski and Buckman traded a pair of early runs, Saturday. Sobieski didn’t trade any more after that, plating 10 unanswered runs en route to a 12-2, eight-inning victory. After Sobieski scored two runs in the first inning Buckman tied things back up on a wild pitch and a solo Read more »
By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com The Lastrup Lakers opened the Region 8C tournament with a bang, slugging nine hits to produce a dozen runs in a 12-1 win over Upsala. Dave Woitalla ended the ball game with a three-run blast in the seventh to put an end to the game and propel Lastrup into Read more »
By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com Sobieski and Upsala met for the fourth time this season in Sunday’s West Division championship and for the fourth time played a close game. This time, it was Sobieski with a mid-inning rally to come from behind and earn a 4-2 win. Upsala took a 2-1 lead in the Read more »
By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com Lastrup built an early lead, held off a Buckman rally, then put the game out of reach to produce an 8-3 win Sunday to earn the East Division championship. Dustin Schmaltz sandwiched RBI singles around a Scott Jason homer as the Lakers took a 4-0 lead after three innings. Read more »
By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com Buckman slowed down the Lastrup offense in the first game of Sunday’s East Division championship. Still, the Billygoats couldn’t altogether stop the Lakers, as Lastrup picked up a 3-0 win to force a second game. Scott Janson blanked Buckman through innings to pick up the win, striking out six Read more »
By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com Fort Ripley refused to let up in Sunday’s North Division championship, sounding defeating Nisswa 11-1 in seven innings. Logan Kalis provided the Rebels with more than enough offense, finishing a single shy of the cycle, with a double, triple and home run. He also scored three times and drove Read more »
By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com St. Stephen and St. Wendel were tied at 2-2 after seven innings in Sunday’s South Division championship. St. Wendel went into the day needing to win two games to move on to the Region 8C tournament, while St. Stephen needed just one win. After squandering several opportunities earlier, St. Read more »
By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com Heavy rain prevented any scoring by keeping the game from getting under way on time. After that, it was Upsala’s Matt Swanson and Randall’s Dusty Parker preventing any runs from crossing the plate, matching zeroes for eight innings Saturday. Finally, Upsala’s Justin Lampert lined a double to lead off Read more »
By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com Lastrup starting pitcher Chad Weiss was locked in after allowing a first-inning run to Harding, Saturday. Through six innings of play, though, it looked like that run might stand up and the Dinosaurs could earn a spot in the East Division finals. But then, the Lakers offense came to Read more »
By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com St. Wendel knocked off top-seeded Avon for the second time in the South Division playoffs Saturday, 4-2. Sloppy defense by the Lakers and opportunistic offense by the Saints led to the win. St. Wendel turned two Avon errors into two runs in the top of the first inning and Read more »
By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com Nisswa’s Adam Hardy delivered a big two-run homer in the top of the ninth in Saturday’s North Division elimination game against St. Mathias. It pushed the Lightning’s lead to 5-2 with the Devils down to their final three outs. It wasn’t apparent just how big it was, though, until Read more »
By PATRICK SLACK Sports Editor patrick.slack@mcrecord.com By the time the sun sets Sunday (assuming we don’t have too many extra-inning battles), the Victory League’s eight-team Region 8C tournament field will be set. Who will be among the eight? We already know four of the teams, as Fort Ripley, Lastrup, Sobieski and Avon clinched bids by Read more »
