Tech 15, Warriors 0
The key: Trevor Koenig struck out 11 and the Tigers collected 16 hits
Conference: Brd 3-3, SC 5-0
Overall: Brd 3-5, SC 7-1
Next: Brainerd at Sauk Rapids 4 p.m. Tuesday (2) .
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While 6-foot-11 St. Cloud Tech left-hander Trevor Koenig was mowing them down, the Brainerd Warriors were laboring in the field.
Six Brainerd errors led to eight unearned runs and a 15-0, 6-inning loss to the Central Lakes Conference leaders Friday at Adamson Field. Koenig limited the Warriors to one hit-a first-inning line shot up the middle by Tristan Brecht, but shut out Brainerd the rest of the way.
Koenig finished with 11 strikeouts, three walks and hit a batter while throwing 100 pitches-64 strikes.
"He's been throwing the ball really well for us," Tech coach Steve Taylor said. "He came up last year as a sophomore and beat some really good teams. He got beat by a really good St. Michael-Albertville team in a tight game where he pitched well. He really grew emotionally and physically now he's starting to catch up to his body.
"Early on in the game he was kind of having trouble. He was overstriding the actual incline of the mound. And he had a little issue with the footing. Being the competitive kid he is, he made the adjustments. Looking at him, he's 6-11, but he's a good athlete. He did a nice job adjusting. He did a nice job working ahead after that."
Brainerd left the bases filled in the first as Koenig struck out the last two Warriors. After issuing a third-inning walk, he retired the last 11 Warriors in order.
"They're a good team and we knew that coming in," Warriors coach Lowell Scearcy said. "This was their day."
Tech amassed a 9-0 lead through three innings and added six runs in the sixth on the way to one of their most lopsided victories over the Warriors.
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"I don't think we've ever beaten Brainerd this bad," Taylor said. "Things kind of snowball sometimes. We know Brainerd is a lot better ballclub than the score indicates-we're not fooling ourselves. It was just one of those days where things happened to go our way.
"They've had a classy program up here for a long time, and it still is classy. They will keep playing good baseball. Even with a 15-0 lead in the sixth inning, I wasn't feeling easy about our situation. I've seen (Brainerd) do a lot of damage."
Koenig's teammates inflicted considerable damage as they smacked 16 hits off three Brainerd pitchers. Chris Backes and Logan Aleshire, the Tigers' No. 2 and 3 hitters, combined for six hits in nine at bats and four RBIs. Catcher Drew Bulson, the Tigers' No. 7 hitter, added three hits as Tech improved to 5-0 in the CLC, 7-1 overall.
"We feel good where we're at," Taylor said. "We were a real young team last year and took some lumps. We gained some valuable experience as the season went on last year and got better as the season went on. I feel like we're picking up where we left off last year.
"This is a great group of kids, about as fun a group of kids I've coached in a long time. They just want to play. They're each other's biggest fans. As long as we can keep that mentality going, I think this team has a chance to continue to be competitive."
Tech 324 006-15 16 1
Brainerd 000 000- 0 1 6
Tech: Trevor Koenig and Drew Bulson.
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Brainerd: Hanson Devine, Braydon Borg (3), Dylan Harbo (6) and Allen Jevning, Mac Brink (5).
WP: Koenig.
LP: Devine (0-3).
2B: SC-Logan Aleshire, Joey Mendel, Rhett Fruth
3B: SC-Chris Backes
SF: SC-Backes
RBIs: SC-Backes 2, Aleshire 2, Nick Schmitt, Justin Mohs, Mendel, Justin Hagstrom, Rhett Fruth, Dan Schoborg
LOB: Brd 5, SC 9
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MIKE BIALKA may be reached at mike.bialka@brainerddispatch.com or 218-855-5861. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bertsballpark .
