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Long Sox Top Tigers 2-1, Both Headed to State

8/10/13

With Sleepy Eye defeating Stark earlier in the afternoon on Saturday, the Tigers locked up a spot in the 2013 MN State Amateur Baseball Tournament. Just two scenarios remained as the Long Sox visited Riverside Park for a 7:30pm matchup. A Springfield win would mean a three-way tie between Lamberton, New Ulm, and Springfield to be broken with three games on Sunday. A Lamberton win would set-up a rematch of the first game of the region tournament with Sleepy Eye for the #1 seed and a bye during the first weekend of the State Tournament. Both teams came out of the gate scoring. However, as the pitchers settled in, all of the game's runs would be tallied in the first inning and a half, yielding a 2-1 final.

Veteran right hander Jason Nachreiner took the ball for the Tigers. Donald Strand started the ballgame with a single. Johnny Pistulka followed with a one-out base hit. A free pass issued to Colby Pack loaded the bases. Landon Erickson lifted a fly to right for a sacrifice, driving in Strand for the game's first run.

Lamberton sent hard-throwing right hander Johnny Pistulka to the mound. He issued a leadoff walk to Jacob Menage. Brandon Wilhelmi smoked to base hit to get two on with none out. Ryan Sturm stroked a single to drive in Menage to tie the game at one. Unfortunately, Wilhelmi was caught in a run down for the second out as the rally fizzled.

Tyler Reiner began the second with an infield hit. He moved to second on a Tiger throwing error. Next, Springfield third baseman, Matt Vogel, caught a foul ball in front of the dugout, but stepped into the dugout, which moved Reiner ahead to third. Lamberton executed a squeeze bunt as Mike Wotschke dropped one down, allowing Reiner to score the Long Sox second run. Nachreiner got a lineout double play to get out of the inning with the score 2-1.

Given the lead, Pistulka responded with a three-up, three-down bottom of the second. In the home half of the third, Menage hit a one-out single. He stole second and moved over to third on a base hit by Alex Fink, but the runners would be stranded there.

The bottom of the fourth was started with a base hit from Marc Salazar. A sac bunt moved him to second and a two-out infield single from Vogel, again put runners at the corners for the Tigers. Vogel stole second to get the leading run in scoring position, but there he would remain, as Pistulka worked his way out of the jam.

After the challenging first two frames, Nachreiner settled in to throw perfect third and fourth innings. The Long Sox threatened in the fifth, loading the bases, but Nachreiner was able to wiggle out of the inning with Springfield still down by just one.

Wilhelmi took over on the mound for the Tigers in the top of the sixth. He worked four scoreless innings, scattering three hits to give the Tigers a chance. Too bad for Springfield, Pistulka had already given them their chances. He found his groove and retired sixteen of the final seventeen batters he faced, making the final 2-1.

Springfield's seven hits were scattered throughout their lineup with one each by Jacob Menage, Brandon Wilhelmi, Alex Fink, Ryan Sturm, Marc Salazar, Cooper Scheffler, and Matt Vogel. Tyler Reiner led Lamberton with three hits and Mike Wotschke added two to their total. Johnny Pistulka earned the complete game win, allowing just one run on seven hits with nine strikeouts. Jason Nachreiner took the loss, going five innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits with three strikeouts.

With the loss, the Tigers finish the Region 2C Tournament with a 2-3 record. Fourth place in the region is good for a trip to state and an opening weekend matchup against the runner-up in Region 3C at noon on Sunday, August 18 at Maple Lake. The Tigers thank all the fans who came out to support them during the exciting region tournament and hope that many will make the trip to Maple Lake for State! Springfield will add one more draftee to their roster after Sleepy Eye and Lamberton battle at 2pm on Sunday to determine the Region 2C champ.

Best of luck to all the representatives of the Tomahawk East: the Lamberton Long Sox, the Sleepy Eye Indians, and the New Ulm Brewers at the State Tournament. The goal is to play until Labor Day weekend. It is possible if multiple teams from the Tomahawk East survive, there could be a rematch of one of the great ballgames from the region! Time will tell! See you at the yard!

NOTES: This is the 28th time that Springfield will be represented at the MN State Amateur Baseball Tournament. The Tigers last trip to state came in 2007...The last time Maple Lake and Delano hosted the State Tournament in 1997, Springfield made its sixth of seven straight appearances at State in the 1990s...Ryan Sturm, Brandon Wilhelmi, Marty Brandl, and Steve Helget were also a part of the 2007 State Tournament team. Brent Haseleu and Derek Krebs who played for the Tigers during the 2013 season, but were not a part of the postseason roster, were also a part of that 2007 team...All five of Springfield's region tournament games were decided by one run. The significant experience in tight playoff ballgames should serve the Tigers well in the State Tournament.


Scorecard


Linescore

123456789RHELOB
Lamberton11000000028010
Springfield1000000001736

Springfield Box

ABRHRBIBBSO 
Menage, RF311011 
Wilhelmi, LF/P401001 
Fink, SS401001 
Sturm, 1B401100 
Ma. Salazar, DH401000 
Nachreiner, P------ 
   Vanderwerf, CF------ 
Loomis, 2B300002SAC
Scheffler, CF/LF401002 
Vogel, 3B301001 
Bisel, C300001 
 3217119 
        
 IPHRERBBSO 
Nachreiner (L, 1-2)5 52123 
Wilhelmi4 30004

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