Mudhens fall to Madison in 9C
Brandon Bornhorst escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the ninth and Madison went on to a 5-4 upset win over the top-seeded Minneota Mudhens in the Region 9C semifinals Sunday in Dawson.
The Mudhens drop down to the elimination bracket and will need to win three straight games to earn a spot in the Class C state tournament. They will face Morris at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6 in Rosen. The winner of that game will play again at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday in Rosen. The loser is eliminated.
The top two teams from Region 9C advance to the state tournament.
"We had our chances but couldn't come through when we had runners in scoring position," said Mudhens player/manager Tyson Sonnenburg. "It's a disappointing loss as it's a game we felt like we had our chances to win, but that's baseball, unfortunately."
With the game tied 1-1, Madison plated a single run in the top of the third and never trailed again. The Mallards then added another run in the fourth and two more in the fifth for a 5-2 lead.
Minneota got two runs back in the last of the fifth to cut the deficit to 5-3. Brock Buysse led off the inning with a single and Austin DeVlaeminck followed with another single. Alex Pohlen then hit into a fielder's choice, erasing Buysse at third. Austin Buysse's single scored DeVlaeminck, and Danny Hennen's two-out single scored Pohlen.
The Mudhens inched even closer with a lone run in the eighth when Ben Skorczewski walked, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on a single by Brock Buysse.
The Mudhens then loaded the bases with one out on consecutive hit batsmen and a single by Hennen, his third of the game. But the Mudhens were unable to push the tying run across.
"Sometimes you are on top of the world and everything is going great and then you get checked back into reality," Sonnenburg said. "We have been fortunate enough to have a great season and haven't had to feel (losing) too much. We are hopeful we can make a run and put ourselves in position to claim one of the top two spots and make a tri to state."
Besides Hennen's three hits, DeVlaeminck, Sonnenburg and Brock Buysse had two hits each, and Austin Buysse had the other hit.
Danny Hennen pitched the first 6 1/3 innings for the Mudhens and absorbed the loss. Ryan Dalager pitched the final 2 2/3 innings and did not allow a hit or a run, while striking out four.
Madison 5, Minneota 1
Madison.................................101 120 000 - 5 8 2
Minneota................................100 020 000 - 4 10 1
Madison hitting: Brandon Hill 2-for-3, 2 runs; Matt Enger 0-for-5; Carter Amland 2-for-5; Matt Monson 1-for-4; Brandon Bornhorst 1-for-4, solo HR, rbi; Avan Kells 0-for-4; Blake Wollschlager 1-for-4; Aaron Olson 0-for-4; Kadyn Fernholz 1-fo-4, 2 runs
Minneota hitting: Austin DeVlaeminck 2-for-5, run, 2b; Alex Pohlen 0-for-5; Austin Buysse 1-for-2, bb, hbp, sf, 2 rbi; Tyson Sonnenburg 2-for-4, hbp; Danny Hennen 3-for-5, rbi; AJ Myhre 0-for-5; Ben Skorczewski 0-for-4, run, bb; Peyton Gillund 0-for-3, sac; Brock Buysse 2-for-4, rbi
Madison pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Brandon Bornhorst (W) 9-10-4-3-2-9
Minneota pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Danny Hennen (L) 6 1/3-8-5-3-0-4, Ryan Dalager 2 2/3-0-0-0-0-4
REGION 9C RESULTS
(Semifinals Sunday)
Madison 5, Minneota 4
Dumont 1, Clinton 0
(Elimination bracket Saturday)
Chokio 8, Ortonville 7
Morris 6, Dawson 4
GAMES AUG. 6
(Elimination at Rosen)
Clinton vs. Chokio, 1 p.m.
Minneota vs. Morris, 3:30 p.m.
GAMES AUG. 7
(Final at Rosen)
Madison vs. Dumont, 1 p.m.
(Elimination at Rosen)
Saturday winners, 3:30 p.m.