"It was a bad week for Bulldog baseball," said head coach Brad Skoglund, whose team also dropped a game to Sauk Centre last week 9-6.
"We're just not doing the little things to be successful," said Skoglund.
Albany jumped to a 6-0 lead after three innings Thursday and then plated five in the fifth, two in the sixth, and three in the seventh. Albany had 19 hits, including some timely bloops and seeing-eye, ground-ball singles. "We had as many hard hit balls as they did," said Skoglund.
Skoglund thought senior Tyler Wuertz and sophomore Jon Lieser threw pretty well in their first appearances of the season. Both Wuertz and Lieser were hurt by sloppy defense. The Bulldogs committed six errors, which led to six unearned runs for Albany.
"We're not going to beat anyone in our conference making six errors," said Skoglund.
In the Bulldog fourth, Brent Heinen singled and scored, and Dustin Looman and Chad Fleischhacker each had an RBI double as the Bulldogs scored two runs. "Chad Fleischhacker has really made himself into an outstanding player," said Skoglund.
In the fifth, Ben Bork and Curtis Christian scored runs for the Bulldogs. Bork reached base after being hit by a pitch, and Christian singled. Looman picked up another RBI with a single.
Albany 123 052 3 - 16 19 1
Paynesville 000 220 0 - 4 6 6
Sauk Centre 9
Paynesville 6
On Monday, April 12, defensive miscues cost the Bulldogs as they lost at Sauk Centre 9-6.
The Streeters jumped to a 5-0 lead with five runs in the bottom of the first. A one-out error ended up prolonging the inning and all the runs were unearned. "The key to the game is the start," said Skoglund. Getting a lead makes hitting easier, focuses the defense, and allows your team to be more aggressive on the base paths.
After Dustin Looman homered in the top of the fourth to get the Bulldogs on the board, Paynesville allowed another unearned run in the bottom of the fourth.
The Bulldogs rallied to tie the game at 6-6 with five runs in the top of the fifth. The Bulldogs drew four walks, had two singles, and were helped by two Streeter errors in knotting the score.
The Streeters scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to win 9-6.
Doug Fuchs and Brent Heinen pitched for Paynesville, allowing just three earned runs.
The Bulldogs game against New London-Spicer on Friday has been cancelled.
Paynesville 000 150 0 - 6 5 2
Sauk Centre 500 103 x - 9 11 3
The Bulldogs played at LPGE Tuesday night. Tomorrow they play at St. Cloud Cathedral with junior varsity and ninth grade games at 4:30 p.m. and the varsity at 7 p.m. The varsity and junior varsity play at the Municipal Athletic Complex, and the ninth grade plays at the Whitney Center.
On Saturday the Bulldogs will host a three-team tournament for varsity and junior varsity using both fields at the high school. Paynesville plays Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City at 10 a.m., ACGC plays Eagle Valley at noon, and Paynesville plays Eagle Valley at 2 p.m.
On Tuesday, the Bulldogs host Melrose at 4:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs home game against BDRSH has been rescheduled for May 8. Junior varsity will start at 5 p.m., and the varsity will start at 7 p.m.