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Senior Adam Hemmesch started the winning sixth-inning rally against Sauk Centre last week with a double to center. The Dogs won 5-4.

The Dogs won four games last week, beating St. Cloud Cathedral, the defending Class AA champ 13-9 on Monday, May 3; beating state-rated Sauk Centre 5-4 on Tuesday, May 4; avenging their only loss of the season by topping Albany 8-5 on Thursday; and capping the week with a 10-2 win over Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, the defending Class A champs, on Friday.

In winning three conference games, the Dogs (13-1 overall and 5-1 in the WCC North) moved into sole possession of first place in the conference, which had five teams rated in the top 13 in state to start the year. Cathedral was rated #1 in the state, and Albany #2 before the Dogs beat them last week.

Coach Brad Skoglund said he would have been happy to have split the four games last week. Instead, the Dogs won all four.

Paynesville 10, HL-W-W 2

On Friday, at Howard Lake, the Dogs used strong pitching from sophomore Jamie Paul and a balanced hitting attack to beat the defending Class A champions 10-2. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted are now a subsection rival for the Dogs, having moved to Class AA this year.

After taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning, Paynesville scored five runs in the third on six hits. Paul and senior Jordan Haag singled to start the inning. Senior Adam Kampsen doubled to score Paul. Junior Justin Butkofski singled to score Haag. Senior Adam Hemmesch doubled, scoring Kampsen, and sophomore John Hemingson delivered a two-run single, scoring Butkofski and Hemmesch.

Senior second baseman Chad Stang throws to first baseman Justin Brtkofski for an out against Sauk Centre last week.

Kampsen also hit an RBI single in the first inning, and he tripled and scored in the sixth inning. The Dogs scored two runs in the fourth inning on a Laker error.

On the mound, Paul limited the Lakers to seven hits and only two runs to earn the victory. He allowed only one walk and struck out five.

This week, the Dogs hosted Cathedral on Tuesday. They will play at Melrose on Thursday, they will host subsection rival ACGC on Friday, and they will host LPGE in another conference game on Tuesday, May 18.

Paynesville--	205	201	0	- 10	11	1
HL-W-W--	001	100	0	- 2	7	3

Paynesville - Batting: Adam Kampsen 4-4 2B 3B R-2 RBI-2; Jamie Paul 3-4 R-3 SB; Jordan Haag 1-2 R-2; Adam Hemmesch 1-2 2B RBI; John Hemingson 1-2 RBI-2; Justin Butkofski 1-3 R RBI-2; Chris Beier 1-3 RBI; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Paul (W) (7-7-2-2-1-5).

HL-W-W - Batting: Brad Kossman 2-4 RBI; Brad Ogla 2-3 2B; Luke Gagnon 1-3 R; Pitching: Tim Zander (L).

Paynesville 8, Albany 5

The Bulldogs avenged their only loss of the year, beating Albany 8-5 on Thursday night in Paynesville. The Huskies defeated the Dogs 5-3 in the Dogs' second game of the year. Since then, the Dogs have won 11 straight games, including five in a row in the conference, and risen to #2 in the Class AA state rankings.

On Thursday, the Huskies took a 2-0 lead on a two-run homer in the second inning, but the Dogs scored eight runs in the next three innings and held on to win 8-5.

In the bottom of the second inning, Hemmesch hit a two-run homer to tie the score at 2-2. Then the Dogs added three more runs in the inning. Beier singled, Hemingson singled, and Beier scored on a groundout by junior Brandon Berg. Haag singled, and Berg and Haag scored on an Albany error.

In the third, the Dogs scored again, with Berg hitting a two-out RBI single.

In the fourth, Kampsen hit a two-run homer to left, his tenth homer of the year, tying the school record. That record is now held jointly by Kampsen, his brother Josh Kampsen (set last year), and Dustin Looman (set in 1999), but Adam Kampsen still has at least a half dozen games to play.

Albany scored a run in the fifth and two in the seventh to make the final 8-5.

Butkofski earned his third pitching victory this spring, throwing six innings. Kampsen earned a save for relieving Butkofski in the seventh and getting the final three outs.

With the victory, the Dogs are now 5-1 in the WCC North and have a game and a half lead over St. Cloud Cathedral (3-2), who they played again in Paynesville on Tuesday.

The Dogs will also play at Melrose on Thursday this week. The state-rated Dutchmen (3-3) currently are second in the conference.

Albany--	020	010	2	- 5	7	2
Paynesville--	051	200	x	- 8	8	4

Albany - Batting: Ryan Mareck 2-3 R-2; Randy Lockridge 1-2 HR RBI-2; Ben Douvier 1-3 2B RBI; Josh Harrison 1-4 HR; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Harrison (L) (4-8-8-6-2-4); Mareck (2-0-0-0-1-2).

Paynesville - Batting: Brandon Berg 2-3 RBI-2 R; Jordan Haag 2-4 R-2; Adam Hemmesch 1-3 HR RBI-2; Adam Kampsen 1-2 HR RBI-2; John Hemingson 1-2; Chris Beier 1-3 R; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Justin Butkofski (W) (6-7-5-4-4-6); Kampsen (S) (1-0-0-0-0-1).

Paynesville 5, Sauk Centre 4

The Bulldogs rallied for their 10th consecutive victory, overcoming an early 3-1 deficit to beat state-rated Sauk Centre on Tuesday, May 4.

The Dogs, playing at home, scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 3-3 and then broke that tie with two runs in the bottom of the sixth.

In the winning rally, Hemmesch doubled to center to start the sixth. Beier bunted for a single to put runners on the corners, and Hemmesch scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error to first when Sauk tried to turn a grounder into a double play.

Berg singled to put runners on the corners again, and after a botched hit-and-run play made the second out of the inning, sophomore Jamie Paul delivered a clutch single to right to plate an insurance run, which proved to be the winning run when Sauk scored a run in the seventh inning.

In the fourth inning, junior Mike Mueller doubled to start the inning, and Hemmesch singled through the hole to left. The Dogs scored one run on a groundout, and Hemingson hit an RBI single to right to tie the game.

The Dogs had scored their first run in the first inning, as Kampsen doubled to left and Butkofski singled down the third-base line to score him.

Beier pitched a complete game for the victory, allowing only five hits. Sauk Centre scored three runs in their first two at bats, but Beier held them to only one run in the last five innings.

Skoglund said the team started the game a little flat after their emotional victory on Monday. Beier did a good job of keeping the Dogs in the game, according to Skoglund. "We're going to give up some runs from time to time," Skoglund said, "but we need to limit them and to stay out of the big inning."

Sauk Centre--	120	000	1	- 4	5	1
Paynesville--	100	202	x	- 5	11	3

Sauk Centre - Batting: Ethan Vogt 2-3 RBI; Zach Winter 1-2 R-2; Dustin Meyer 1-4 R RBI; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Zach Wachlarowics (L) (6-11-5-4-1-4).

Paynesville - Batting: Hemmesch 2-3 2B R-2 SB; Paul 2-3 2B RBI; Beier 2-3 RBI; Kampsen 1-3 2B R; Mueller 1-3 2B R; Butkofski 1-3 RBI; Hemingson 1-3 RBI; Brandon Berg 1-3 R SB; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Beier (W) (7-5-4-3-2-5).

Paynesville 13, Cathedral 9

The Dogs pounded the defending state champions with 13 runs on 17 hits on Monday, May 3, at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud. Cathedral, rated #1 this season, had nine runs and 16 hits of their own in this slugfest, but the Bulldogs gained the advantage in the conference race with a win.

Kampsen hit two homeruns for the Dogs, a three-run shot over the scoreboard in the first inning and a two-run blast into the trees in the top of the seventh. He scored five runs and drove in five runs.

Kampsen has three multi-homer games this spring and nine homers.

Kampsen's first-inning homer gave the Dogs the lead for good, but Cathedral kept rallying. Hemmesch hit a two-run double for the Dogs in the third inning, and the Dogs scored four runs in the fourth inning, with Haag hitting an RBI single, Butkofski hitting a two-run double, and Beier hitting an RBI single. After that outburst, the Dogs led 9-4.

But Cathedral hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning, cutting the Dogs' lead to 9-7. Beier and Hemmesch each had another RBI single in the sixth inning, extending the lead to 11-7 and Kampsen's second homer gave the Dogs a six-run lead with a half inning to play.

Cathedral's first three batters got hits to start the seventh inning, but they scored only two runs and the Dogs won 13-9.

The Bulldogs had five players with multi-hit games: Beier (who went 4-4), Haag, Hemmesch, Kampsen, and Paul.

Paynesville had a great crowd, outnumbering the Cathedral fans, said Skoglund, aiding the intense atmosphere of the conference contest. The game itself - base hit after base hit - was intense, too, said Skoglund. "They couldn't get us out, and we couldn't get them out," Skoglund explained.

Last year, the Dogs and Crusaders split their season series and tied for second in the conference with 6-4 records. The Crusaders then won their fifth state title.

Paynesville--	302	402	2	- 13	17	2
Cathedral--	021	130	2	- 9	16	0

Paynesville - Batting: Beier 4-4 RBI-2 R; Kampsen 3-3 HR-2 RBI-5 R-5 BB-2; Paul 3-4 R-2; Hemmesch 2-3 2B RBI-3; Haag 2-5 R-2 RBI; Butkofski 1-3 RBI-2 R-2; Mueller 1-3; Hemingson 1-4 R; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Kampsen (W) (7-16-9-6-1-2).

Cathedral - Batting: Nick Henge 4-4 R-3; Mike Schmidt 3-5 R SB; Dan Mueller 2-4 R-2; Paul Zarack 2-3 HR RBI-3; Adam Koopheiren 2-4 R; Ryan Sufka 2-5 RBI-2; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Sufka (L) (7-17-13-13-4-7).