On Tuesday, the Bulldogs traveled to Litchfield, losing 5-3.
“The boys played pretty well after the first inning, but they gave up four runs and the damage was done,” coach Brad Skoglund said. “It was an up hill struggle. The team settled down and played good ball.”
Bret Aagesen scored the first run for Paynesville in the fourth inning. He hit a single and scored on a triple hit by Chris VanderBeek. In the seventh inning, with one out, VanderBeek hit a single, and scored on a single hit by Dustin Looman. Looman stole his way around to score.
Paynesville: 000 100 2- 3 5 1
Litchfield: 410 000 x- 5 7 2
ACGC
On Friday, April 17, the Bulldogs hosted Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, winning 5-1.
“David Hemmesch pitched very well for the team recording nine strike outs,” coach Brad Skoglund said. “We are still leaving too many runners in scoring position on bases. We need to cluster our hits together.”
Leading the hitting for the Bulldogs was Hemmesch who was 2 for 3 with a double and RBI; and Bret Aagesen, 1 for 3.
ACGC: 001 000 0- 1 5 4
Paynesville: 001 112 x - 6 6 2
Monticello
In the Sartell tournament, Paynesville faced Monticello in their first matchup on Saturday, losing 5-1. Paynesville was the only Class “A” school in the tourney.
“Overall, the team played well. I was pleased with how they played against difficult “AA” schools as they have more depth than “A” schools,” coach Skoglund said. Monticello went on and eventually won the tournament.
“It was good for our team to play against better pitchers. Chris VanderBeek and Jesse Lieser did a nice job in their first time pitching varsity.”
Paynesville’s lone run was scored in the third inning. Tyler Wuertz hit a double and scored on a wild pitch. He was 2 for 3 in the game.
Paynesville: 001 000 0- 1 7 2
Monticello: 001 301 x- 5 9 1
Sartell
Paynesville scored first, however, Sartell came back with three more runs. Paynesville lost 9-4.
“Paynesville fell behind early in the game against Sartell,” Coach Skoglund said. “Paynesville left nine runners on base. It was nice to see Tyler Wuertz get some work in. When he started, he struggled, but then Sartell is a good ball club.
“It was a good tourney for us. We won the tournament last year. I feel we have made a lot of progress since our first game this season,” Skoglund added. “Our hitting is improving, we just need to bunch them together.”