Amateur Baseball: Nisswa advances to championship game

FREEPORT — After allowing three first-inning runs, Nate DeChaine shut down the St. Stephen Steves to pitch the Nisswa Lightning to a 7-3 victory and secure a trip to the Class C State Tournament Sunday, Aug. 7.

DeChaine allowed three runs on five hits and one walk. He struck out two. Brett Kramer, a draft pick from Fort Ripley, pitched the final three innings. He struck out five and didn’t allow a hit or a walk.

Nicholas Nelson finished 2-4 with two solo home runs. Aaron Jenkins also homered and finished 2-4 with two RBIs. Jeremiah Piepkorn also drove in two runs as he was 2-4 at the plate.

FREEPORT — Jake Braagelmann’s single broke up Todd Robinson’s no-hit bid, but he did finish with six strikeouts and a 6-0 shutout to lead Buckman past Freeport in the Region 8C elimination game Sunday, Aug. 7.

Robinson allowed just one hit and one walk over nine innings of work. Andrew Rueckert was 2-4 with an RBI and Joe Kahl and Jack Suska each went 2-3 with a run scored for Buckman.

Noah Boser, Aaron Weber and Travis Kahl each drove in a run.

FREEPORT — Matt Swanson struck out eight over six innings of relief to pitch Avon to a 2- victory over the Pierz Lakers in a state qualifying game Sunday, Aug. 7.

Swanson relieved Matt Pichelmann who allowed one run on six hits. That one run came from Ryan Diers who scored on a Chad Weiss single for Pierz. Paul Herman went 2-4 as Pierz was held to just six hits.

Avon clinched the win in the bottom of the second on Ryan Janzen’s RBI single. Janzen finished 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored.Cole Wellmann was the only other Avon player with multiple hits and he scored the winning run.

Preston Rocheleau suffered the loss. He allowed nine hits and one walk which translated into the two runs. He struck out three over eight innings of work.

FREEPORT — Ryan Diers finished 2-3 with a home run and three RBIs to power the Pierz Lakers to a 6-3 victory over Freeport in the Region 8C playoffs Saturday, Aug. 6.

Diers’ three-run homer followed an RBI single from Peter Herman to give Pierz a 4-0 lead after the first.

Paul Herman finished 3-4 with two runs and an RBI, while Peter Herman was 2-4 with a run and an RBI. Luke Girtz and Brady Petron also collected two hits for Pierz.

Noah Cekalla pitched 4.1 innings. He allowed two runs, none earned, on five hits and five walks. He struck out seven.

Bryce Flanagan secured the win. He struck out six over 4.2 innings. He allowed one unearned run on three hits and four walks.

FREEPORT — The Avon Lakers scored twice in the sixth and once in the eighth to rally from a 2-0 deficit and beat the Buckman Billygoats 3-2 in the Region 8C Tournament Saturday, Aug. 6.

Matt Tautges suffered the loss for Buckman. He went the distance and allowed just three unearned runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out five.

Andrew Rueckert and Joe Kahl each drove in a run to build Buckman’s 2-0 lead. Kahl finished 2-4 with a double. Aaron Weber was 2-4 with a triple and run scored and Jack Suska also finished with two hits for Buckman.

Avon’s Reese Gregory was 2-4 with a home run, double, two RBIs and a run scored.

Mitch McIntyre pitched the win for the Lakers. He allowed two runs on seven hits and three walks over eight innings. He struck out five. Elian Mezquita pitched the final inning for the save.

FREEPORT — Kody Ruedisili’s three-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning rallied the Nisswa Lightning to a 3-2 victory over Randall Saturday, Aug. 6, in the opening round of the Region 8C playoffs.

Drew Boland and Chris Pederson both walked in the ninth. After a strikeout, Tory Miller loaded the bases with another walk. That brought up Ruedisili, who on a 3-2 pitch smoked a line drive to left field. All three base runners scored and Rudisili finished on second. It was only the second hit Randall starter Caleb Strack allowed.

Strack gave up three runs on two hits and seven walks. He struck out 14.

Aaron Jenkins entered in relief and pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Pederson started and allowed two runs on five hits and four walks over five innings. He struck out five.

Nisswa’s only other hit came from Tory Miller.

Travis Wenzel and Dane Couture drove in runs for Randall. Wenzel also doubled.