Return to Sports Archives

Paynesville 11
NL-S 9
The Paynesville Pirates used a six-run fifth inning to beat Norway Lake-Sunburg 11-9 in the first round of the County Line playoffs on Sunday in Paynesville.

Pirates manager Dale Hess congratulates Dustin Looman after his three-run first-inning homer tied the score 3-3. Looman added a two-run double and the Pirates won their first round playoff game 11-9.

The Pirates, seeded third, scored six times in the fifth, expanding a 4-3 lead to a 10-3 advantage, and then held on to win. Dustin Looman had a two-run double in the rally.

In the first inning, Looman, who had five RBIs, tied the score with a three-run homer to left. The Lakers scored three times in the top of the first to take a 3-0 lead, but the Pirates tied it with Looman's swing. The Pirates took the lead with a run in the third, and NL-S never led again.

Darren Michaelis added an inside-the-park home run for the Pirates, and Pat Mohs hit a solo shot as well.

The Lakers scored two runs in the sixth and four in the eighth to close the gap, but the Pirates held on to win, despite making six errors.

Dan Starken pitched eight innings for the Pirates for the victory, and Jason Schlecht pitched the ninth for a save.

Next week, the Pirates play at Melrose, a 5-1 winner over Regal on Sunday.

NL-S--	300	002	040	- 9	13	3
Paynesville--	301	061	000	- 11	13	6

NL-S - Batting: James Cortez 4-5 HR RBI-2; Paul Gjerde 2-5 HR RBI-2; Josh Kettering 2-5 2B; Pitching: (ip-h-r) Jason Roepke (L) (4.1-7-7); Gjerde (3.2-6-4).

Paynesville - Batting: Darren Michaelis 3-5 HR R-3; Dustin Looman 2-4 HR 2B RBI-5; Pat Mohs 2-5 HR; Chris Soine 2-5;
Pitching: (ip-h-r-bb-k) Dan Starken (W) (8-13-9-5-6); Jason Schlecht (S) (1-0-0-1-0).

Melrose 5
Regal 1
Melrose's Eric Meyer pitched a complete game as the Black Sox defeated Regal in the first round of the County Line Playoffs in Melrose on Sunday.

Melrose took the lead with single runs in the third and fourth innings. Regal scored their only run in the fifth on Nathan Winter's RBI double, cutting the lead to 2-1, but the Black Sox scored two more in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run double by Nathan Hess.

Both teams had six hits, but the Black Sox benefitted from five walks and two Regal errors.

The loss advanced Melrose to a showdown with Paynesville next week. Regal faces elimination in a game against top-seeded Sauk Centre next Sunday.

Regal--	000	010	000	- 1	6	2
Melrose--	001	121	00x	- 5	6	0

Regal - Batting: Nathan Winter 1-3 2B RBI; Randy Beier 1-2; Mike Tangen 1-4 2B; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Winter (L) (6-5-5-4-5-1); Brad Deyak (2-1-0-0-0-1).

Melrose - Batting: Nathan Hess 1-1 2B RBI-2; Chad Hess 1-3 RBI; Brad Hundt 1-3 RBI;
Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Eric Meyer (W) (9-6-1-1-1-4).

Stearns County League

St. Martin 7
Roscoe 0
St. Martin secured a playoff spot and eliminated Roscoe from the playoff picture with a 7-0 victory over the Rangers in Roscoe on Sunday.

The Martins' Sam Rothstein and Ken Arceneau combined on a four-hit shutout of the Rangers. They struck out 12.

Martins Steve Lieser (left) and Joe Winter celebrate St. Martins' 7-0 victory at Roscoe on Sunday. The win clinched a playoff berth for St. Martin, which will play at Lake Henry next Sunday.

The Martins hit three two-run homers over the course of two innings to score all the runs they would need. Nathan Schlangen hit a two-run blast in the second to give the Martins a 2-0 lead. Arceneau and Thelen each hit a two-run homer in the third, as St. Martin built a 6-0 lead.

Only one run scored over the last six innings of the game. Greg Heinen pitched well in relief for Roscoe, lasting more than six innings and allowing only one run.

The victory advanced St. Martin (6-7) to a playoff series against Lake Henry, starting Sunday. The Rangers (4-9) needed to win to force a one-game playoff against St. Martin. The loss eliminated the Rangers from the playoffs.

St. Martin--	024	001	0	- 7	12	0
Lake Henry--	000	000	000	- 0	4	2

St. Martin - Batting: Nathan Schlangen 2-4 HR RBI-3; Ken Arceneau 2-3 HR RBI-2; Jake Thelen 2-4 HR RBI-2; Luke Rothstein 2-4 2B-2;
Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Sam Rothstein (W) (5-3-0-0-3-7); Arceneau (S) (4-1-0-0-0-5).

Roscoe - Batting: Greg Heinen 1-3 2B; Brent Heinen 1-3; Mike Heinen 1-3; Todd Leyendecker 1-4;
Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Brent Heinen (L) (2.2-7-6-6-1-2); Greg Heinen (6.1-5-1-1-0-3).

Lake Henry 8
Greenwald 0
The Lakers tuned up for the playoffs with a shutout victory over Greenwald on Sunday, 8-0. Roger Wuertz allowed only one hit in four innings, and Tyler Wuertz pitched five innings of shutout relief to earn the victory. The Lakers allowed only five hits and played error-free defense. The Lakers scored three runs in the third and four in the fifth. Roger Wuertz and Jeff Schmitz had two RBIs for the Lakers. Jon Lieser added a solo home run in the ninth. The Lakers won the Stearns County League's South Division with a record of 10-3 and will host St. Martin next weekend in the first round of the playoffs. Greenwald finished last in the north half of the league and were eliminated from the playoffs.

Lake Henry--	003	040	001	- 8	8	0
Greenwald--	000	000	0	- 0	5	1

Lake Henry - Batting: Jon Lieser 1-1 HR; Jeff Schmitz 1-3 2B RBI-2; Roger Wuertz 1-3 RBI-2; Tyler Wuertz 1-2;
Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Roger Wuertz (4-1-0-0-0-4); Tyler Wuertz (W) (5-4-0-0-0-2).

Greenwald - Batting: Keith Frieler 2-3; Craig Schaefer 1-3 2B;
Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Todd Frieler (L) (4.1-4-7-7-3-3); Doug Welle (4.2-5-1-1-1-0-2).

Late Games

Sauk Centre 7
Regal 4
Regal scored three runs in the top of the sixth to tie the score at 4-4, but the Titans scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to win 7-4 and claim first place in the County Line League on Sunday, July 1.

Regal's Nathan Winter tied the score with an RBI double in the sixth, but Sauk Centre's Bill Friedrichs drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Winter pitched nearly seven innings for Regal as well, and ended up taking the loss. Rob Mettenburg pitched six innings for Sauk and also hit a two-run homer in the second. Chris Bartosiewski earned the pitching victory for the Titans with two innings of shutout relief.

Regal ended the regular season with a record of 4-6 in league and 5-8 overall.

Regal--	000	013	000	- 4	10	2
Sauk Centre--	120	010	03x	- 7	12	0

Regal - Batting: Tim Haines 3-4; Mike Tangen 2-4; Nathan Winter 1-4 2B RBI;
Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Winter (L) (7.2-11-7-6-5-4); Wade Von Eschen (0.1-1-0-0-0-0).

Sauk Centre - Batting: Ben Dirkes 3-4 2B; Bill Friedrichs 2-4 2B RBI-2; Rob Mettenburg 1-4 HR RBI-2;
Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Mettenburg (6-8-4-4-2-4); Chris Bartosiewski (W) (2-0-0-0-1-4); Brian Bouning (1-2-0-0-0-2).

Upcoming schedule
Wednesday, July 11
Luxemburg at Roscoe, 6:15 p.m.

Sunday, July 15
County Line Playoffs
Paynesville at Melrose, 1:30 p.m.

Regal at Sauk Centre, 1:30 p.m.

Stearns County Playoffs
Elrosa at New Munich, 1:30 p.m.

Farming at Richmond, 1:30 p.m.

Meier Grove at Spring Hill, 1:30 p.m.

St. Martin at Lake Henry, 1:30 p.m.

The Press incorrectly reported last week that Regal would play at Paynesville in the first round of the playoffs. Paynesville, which finished fourth in the County Line, hosted Norway Lake-Sunburg, which was fourth. Regal, as the fifth seed, played at Melrose on Sunday.