Photo by Kim Nelson
Milroy pitcher Moses Dolan delivers a throw during a baseball game against Heron Lake on Friday at the Milroy Irish Yard. The Irish defeated the Lakers 13-2.
MILROY — A seven-run second inning set the tone for the Milroy Irish on Friday as they pulled away from Heron Lake for a 13-2 win in seven innings at the Irish Yard.
Dominic Dolan put the Irish on the board first in the bottom of the first by reaching on a single and scoring on a passed ball. Yet, it was the second when the Irish did their damage.
With one out, Konnor Zik was hit by a pitch and Tyler Patterson and Lucas Dolan singled consecutively. Moses Dolan reached on an error to push across two runs and Dominic Dolan then came up big again in his second at-bat of the day, smacking a three-run homer to give the Irish a 6-0 lead.
Still not done, Tyler Peterson was hit by a pitch and Derek Smith singled to put two men on. Andrew Wallen then hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Peterson and Anthony Dolan singled to drive in Smith to cap off the seven-run frame.
Moses Dolan pitched the first five innings for Milroy to pick up the win. He held Heron Lake to two runs and five hits during his time on the mound, with the runs coming in the third and fifth innings. He also struck out five batters while walking another five.
In relief, Connor Lanoue closed out the game with two shutout innings. He struck out a pair of batters while allowing just a single.
After three dormant innings, Milroy roared back to life in the fifth. With two away, Dominic Dolan hit a double for his third hit in four at-bats. Peterson followed up with a single to drive in Dolan and Derek Smith reached on an error to drive in Peterson.
Smith also advanced on a passed ball and another error to score himself.
The Irish put the mercy rule into play in the sixth when Anthony Dolan singled walked and scored on a Zick triple and then Zick scored on a Lucas Dolan ground out.
The Irish improve to 10-5 overall and 7-3 in the Gopher League with the win. They’ll go on the road to face the Hadley Buttermakers for their next game on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Milroy Yankees 3, Wabasso 1
WABASSO — David Schmidt scored a pair of runs while Isaac Schmitt pitched a gem for the Milroy Yankees on Friday night, leading the group passed Joe Liebl and the Wabasso Jaxx by a final score of 3-1.
Schmitt picked up the win on the mound for Milroy after holding the Jaxx to one unearned run over seven innings on the mound. He struck out 10 batters on the day while holding Wabasso to six hits and a pair of walks. Nathan Deutz then came in for the save, pitching two shutout innings while striking out a pair of batters and allowing a pair of hits.
Milroy scored the go-ahead run in the third inning when Branden Flock walked, advanced to second on a passed ball, advanced to third on an error and scored on a Jackson Hughes sacrifice fly to center.
Two innings later, Schmidt walked, advanced to third on an Alex Schuh single and scored on a Jake Tauer single to make the Yankees’ lead 2-0.
Liebl pitched the full nine for Wabasso, limiting Milroy to two earned runs on seven hits and four walks. He also struck out 10 batters on the day.
Liebl singled in the first inning and advanced to third on a passed ball and a Carter Guetter single. Yet, a strikeout and a ground out ended the inning before he could capitalize.
The Jaxx scored their lone run in the sixth inning, when Adryen Tietz singled, stole second and eventually scored on a passed ball.
Milroy added one last insurance run in the ninth when Schmidt singled, advanced to third when Schuh reached on an error and scored on an Aaron Mathiowetz sacrifice fly.
Schuh and Schmidt each singled twice on the day, with Schmidt also drawing a walk. For Wabasso, Maxim Dillon led the offense with a double and a pair of singles while Guetter added one single and one double.
The Yankees improve to 8-5 on the year with the win, snapping their four-game skid, while Wabasso drops to 3-10. The Yankees will go on the road to face Willmar on Sunday while Wabasso will go on the road to face Raymond. Both games are scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
Granite Falls 3, Sacred Heart 2 (12)
SACRED HEART — Bennett Knapper and Bryce Sneller were the heroes for the Granite Falls Kilowatts on Friday night, stringing together consecutive hits to help the Kilowatts past Sacred Heart for a 3-2 win in 12 innings.
The score was knotted at 2-2 when Knapper hit a leadoff single in the top of the 12th. He didn’t stay on first for long as Sneller crushed a double into center field, allowing Knapper to round the bases for the go-ahead run.
The Saints retired each of the next three Kilowatts with a pair of groundouts and a strikeout, but it didn’t matter. Sneller slammed the door in the bottom of the frame by retiring the side in order to seal the victory.
Sneller pitched 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win for Granite Falls. He held the Saints to three hits while striking out seven batters with one walk.
Nikson Knapper started the game, allowing two earned runs on six hits over 7 1/3 innings. He also struck out seven batters while walking four.
Hunter Wilke scored the game’s first run when he reached on an error, advanced to third when Bennet Knapper and Colton Vien walked and singled, and then scored when Jake Odegard drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs.
In the sixth, Sneller singled, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a Nolan Hildahl single to make the score 2-0.
Yet, The Saints responded when Ethan Strommer doubled and then scored on a Brady Snell single in the bottom of the sixth. Trent Novotny walked, stole second, and scored on a Jack Howard single in the eighth to force the game to extras.
Bennett Knapper and Bryce Sneller each had a pair of hits and a walk on the day. Hildahl and Nikson Knapper each also walked twice and singled once.
Granite Falls improves to 4-5 with the win and will next host Marshall on Friday at 5 p.m.
Minneota 12, Chokio 2 (7)
MINNEOTA — A fifth-inning rally sparked a comeback for the Minneota Mudhens in their matchup against Chokio on Friday night. The Mudhens rode the momentum from that rally to a 12-2 win in seven innings.
The Coyotes had just taken the lead in the top of the fifth when Chandler Erickson singled to drive in Mitch Daly for the tying run and Andrew Marty doubled to drive in Brenden Hardy for the go-ahead run. Yet, Minneota retired each of the next two batters with a pop out and a strikeout to end the top of the fifth.
In the bottom of the frame, they charged right ahead. Ben Sckorczewski, Alex Pohlen and Austin Buysse singled consecutively to load the bases with no outs and Tyson Sonnenburg followed up with the Mudhens’ fourth consecutive single to drive in two runs for a 3-2 lead.
Isaac Butterbaugh was hit by a pitch to reload the bases and, after a fly out put one away, Tate Walerius lined a single into left field to score Austin Buysse. Brock Buysse then drove in Sonnenburg on a fielder’s choice and Peyton Gillund singled in Butterbaugh for a 6-2 lead.
With the lead in hand, the Mudhens continued to string together quality at-bats in the sixth. Pohlen, Austin Buysse, Sonnenburg and Butterbaugh walked consecutively to start the inning with a run, the bases loaded and no outs. Danny Hennen grounded into a fielder’s choice and Sonnenburg scored on a passed ball to increase Minneota’s lead to seven runs.
Jake Hennen recorded the win on the mound, allowing one earned run over the full seven innings. He struck out three batters while allowing six hits and a pair of walks.
Skorczewski and Austin Buysse singled with Pohlen getting hit by a pitch in between them to start the seventh. Sonnenburg then hit a two-run single and Josh Schuelke hit another RBI single to end the game via mercy rule.
Skorczewski scored the game’s first run in the third when he singled and then scored on a Sonnenburg single.
Skorczewski and Sonnenburg led the team with three hits each, including five RBIs for Sonnenburg, while Austin Buysse had a pair of hits and a pair of walks. As a team, Minneota finished the day with 15 hits to Chokio’s six.
Minneota improves to 8-6 with the win and will host Marshall for its next game on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
