DRS enters final weekend of play
Entering the final weekend of league play, only one Dakota-Rice-Scott League team has clinched a bye into the Region 3C playoffs. Six teams are still vying for the three remaining byes.
The top four teams in the regular season standings get an automatic berth into the region playoffs. Faribault (18-3) has clinched its spot and will be the top seed. New Market and New Prague (both 14-7) and Union Hill (13-7) hold the other three spots as of Monday, July 17. St. Patrick (13-9), Montgomery (12-9) and Prior Lake (10-10) look to finish the season strong and earn one of the other three byes.
The teams that finish in fifth through eighth place in the league will have homefield advantage for a best-ofthree playoff series. The No. 12 team plays No. 5, 11 vs. 6, 10 vs. 7 and 9 vs. 8. Final seeding will take place following Sunday’s games, with games played Tuesday, July 25, and Thursday, July 27. A third game, if necessary, will be scheduled for Friday or Saturday, July 28 or 29.
Playoff pairings will be posted at the website, www.newpraguetimes.com when they are finalized.
The Region 3C playoffs begin Sunday, July 30, as an eight-team double-elimination tournament. The top four seeds will host first round games, with additional games scheduled for August 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 11 and 13.
The top four teams in the region tournament will qualify for the State Class C tournament in Hamburg, Green Isle and Norwood, to be held over three weekends and concluding Labor Day.
Last week’s results: Tuesday, July 11 Mallards 24, Sox 1 Montgomery traveled to Lonsdale to take on the Webster Sox. The Mallards brought their bats to this game as they collected 24 runs on 21 hits. Mike Kocina had three hits, Mike Flicek had two hits with a double, Pat Lloyd had three hits with a double, Tyler Bednar had two hits with a double for the Mallards. Jaron Christensen, Tom Flicek and Jake Mc- Cabe had two hits also. Mike Flicek started on the mound for the Mallards, going four innings, allowing one earned run. Robbie Marshall pitched the final three innings. Jack Meyer started for the Sox.
Bulldogs 7, Muskies 3 Union Hill and New Market completed their makeup game under the lights in Elko. Derek Masberg went the distance, allowing three runs on eight hits, striking out six. Derek Bergstrom started for the Fish, going 6- 2/3 allowing six runs on eight hits. Sean Flaherty pitched the final 2-1/3. Adam Giesen and Dusty Steinhoff were the top UH hitters, while Scott Lyden and Nate Rost led the New Market hitters.
Wednesday, July 12 Orioles 19, Warriors 10 New Prague and Veseli went back and forth with the two teams combining for 29 hits. Veseli took an early sixrun lead after two innings, but the Orioles scored five runs in the third to make a game of it again. Veseli led 8- 6 in the seventh and the Orioles were able to tack on seven runs and then another five in the eighth. For the Orioles Justin Novak had three hits and four RBIs. Zack Dubanoski recorded four hits, including a threerun home run. James Fuerniss and Dan Novak also had multi-hit games. For the Warriors Matt Perkinson and Curt Brezina both had three hits. Cody Shimota, Tyler Busch and Jason Kazlauskas added two hits a piece. Joel Zimmermann was the winning pitcher while Ben Doerr took the loss.
Irish 13, Coyotes 4 Seth Ambroz had a home run, a double and three RBIs to lead St. Patrick to a 13-4 win over Shakopee. Jordan Goracke had three hits and Kyle Rhodus and Brok Schwartzkopf had two each for the Irish. Jacob Allen got the win and Zach Seurer had a three-inning save. Lance Buchtel had three hits for the Coyotes. Matt Griebel took the loss.
Bulldogs 10, Mudcats 5 The Dogs and Cats faced off Wednesday night in Prior Lake. Both teams left plenty of runners on base - 13 for Prior Lake, 14 for Union Hill. Dan Feneis started and went 5-2/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits, walking four and striking out six. Rick Bell and Conrad Masberg came on in relief, with Masberg acquiring the win. Prior Lake used Topher Rose and Justin Hackett on the mound, each allowing five earned runs. Timely hitting and defense provided Union Hill with the 10-5 win. Benjamin Benz, Austin Schultz and Cole Bjorge each had multiple hits for Prior Lake. Adam Giesen, Matt Beckius , Nathan Berg, Bryan Lindner and Eric Bisek had multiple hits for Union Hill.
Lakers 7, Saints 6 Faribault had three runs in the sixth inning to propel them to a 7-6 win over St. Benedict. Jack Helgeson took the win for the Lakers, with Matt Lane getting a save. Andrew Huss was tagged with the loss. Tanner Oakes, Huss, Nick Heitkamp and Jeremy Heitkamp each had two hits for the Saints.
Thursday, July 13 Mallards 9, Saints 3 Ted Christian took the mound for Montgomery and picked up the win in a 9-3 contest over St. Benedict. Andrew Huss tied the game in the top of the fifth for St. Benedict with a two-run double. The Mallards were able to answer back with a combined seven runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Jeremy Heitkamp started for the Saints.
Lakers 5, Mudcats 2 Mitch Johnson drove in two runs to lead Faribault to a 5-2 win over Prior Lake. Blake Langerud and Christian VonRuden each had three hits for Faribault. The Mudcats were held to just four hits, by Jake Lehrer, Austin Schultz, Nolan Rein and Ben Morrison. Egan Bonde was the winning pitcher, with Isaac Saad taking the loss.
Aces 9, Sox 6 Lonsdale took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and never trailed as they fended off a pesky Webster team that kept things close throughout the game. The Sox’ Nick Hanson had four hits, including a double, and Jake McDonald, Brent Cheney, Marcus Pleiss and Jon Stenzel had two hits each. Phil Tisdel got the win for the Aces, with Jeremy Wieland taking the loss.
Friday, July 14 Warriors 8, Irish 1 Veseli’s Matt Perkinson allowed just six hits and one run in a complete game win over St. Patrick. The Warriors’ Curt Brezina had four RBIs and Corey Fridges and Mike Bartusek had two hits each. St. Patrick’s Kyle Rhodus had two hits, including a double, and Brok Schwartzkopf had an RBI double for St. Patrick’s only run. Josh Simon pitched nine innings in taking the loss.
Muskies 12, Aces 1 Kyle Henkemeyer had three doubles, three RBIs and scored four runs to lead New Market past Lonsdale 12-1. Andy Henkemeyer had a three-run homer and Nate Rost had four hits, including two doubles. Andy Henekemeyer had the complete game win, allowing nine hits and striking out 10. Lonsdale’s Zach Sexe and Isaac Pint each had two hits. Tyler Henze started and took the loss.
Saturday, July 15 Bulldogs 16, Sox 7 Webster hosted Union Hill on Saturday and the bats where as hot as the weather. Union Hill collected 16 runs on 16 hits and had home runs from Eric Bisek and Dusty Steinhoff. Steinhoff’s blast was a grand slam. The Sox scored seven runs on 12 hits, including a homerun by Tyler Rodewald. Dave Anderson started, lasting 5-1/3 innings before giving way to Andrew Weiers and Dan Feneis. John Barten started for Webster, going five innings before Parker Hafermann and Jeremy Wieland came in relief.
Sunday, July 16 Mallards 12, Orioles 2 Montgomery picked up its seventh-straight win with a 12-2 victory in seven innings over New Prague. John Krocak started for the Mallards and pitched a complete game. The Mallards were able to pick up five runs in the second and fourth innings. Nathan Sprouls started the game for New Prague and went 3-1/3 innings. Eric Iverson hit a three-run double. Tom Flicek hit a two-run single. Mike Kocina had two hits, including a double. For New Prague, Justin Novak had two hits, including a double. Austin Bachman and Dan Novak had two hits each.
Saints 15, Warriors 5 A six-run second inning propelled the St. Benedict Saints past Veseli 15-5 in seven innings. Mitchell Martin and Andrew Huss each had three hits for the Saints, with Huss hitting a home run and driving in five runs. Tanner Oakes and Brendan Heitkamp both had two hits. Veseli’s Matt Perkinson had two hits and drove in two runs. Matthias Duevel picked up the win, with John Solheid being tagged with the loss.
Lakers 5, Irish 4 Faribault took a 5-0 lead in the top of the second and held on for a 5-4 win over St. Patrick. The Lakers’ Joey Grote, Jack Helgeson and Evan Jenson each had two hits. St. Patrick’s Kyle Sticha had two hits and Jordan Goracke had a two-run double for St. Patrick. Taylor Francis picked up the win, with Matt Lane getting a save, and Bill Dunker took the loss.
Aces 6, Bulldogs 5 Lonsdale defeated Union Hill 6-5 at Union Hill in 10 innings. No other information was submitted.
Muskies 6, Coyotes 5 New Market scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to take a 6-5 walk-off win over Shakopee. New Market had a two-run homer from Kyle Bergstrom and Kyle Henkemeyer also had two hits. Nate Rost picked up the win in relief of Brett Herber. Zak Hoffman took the loss for Shakopee.
Muskies 10, Coyotes 6 Shakopee led most of the way until New Market scored four runs in the seventh to take a 10-6 win in the second of two games between the teams Sunday. The Coyotes’ Logan Becker had four hits, including two doubles, and Zak Hoffman had three hits. Matt Thies hit a three-run homer. New Market had home runs from Andy Henkemeyer, Nate Rost and Nick Rost, with Nate Rost adding a double. Nate Rost picked up the win in relief of Riley Ahern, Jeff Hohenstein took the loss.
