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Blue Earth VFW uses ‘small ball’ to advance in playoffs

FAIRMONT — Blue Earth VFW Post 4580 baseball coaches Jeff Bell and Brent Legred utilized ‘small ball’ strategy to transform a two-run deficit into an eventual five-run victory during first-round playoff action Monday at Herb Wolf Field.

Right-hander Hunter Bleess hurled a complete game from the mound, while going 3-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored from the batter’s box to help propel Blue Earth to an 11-6 comeback victory over Mapleton Post 5338 during the Southwest Sub-District’s opener.

Blue Earth faces St. James, which lost to Fairmont 11-1, at 4:30 p.m. today in a second-round game back at Wolf Field. Mapleton plays Lake Crystal, a 25-2 first-round loser to United South Central, at 2 p.m. today in an elimination game in Fairmont.

“We must have ESP,” Bell said jokingly in reference to he and Brent Legred instructing five of their lineup’s seven batters to bunt following Koby Nagel’s leadoff single in the top of the seventh inning. “It took us seven innings to figure out what worked, and thankfully, it did.”

Trailing 4-3 on the heels of Bleess’ RBI single and Kyle Hagedorn’s two-run single in the sixth, Caelan Sanders set Blue Earth’s bunting trend in the seventh by legging out an infield hit to advance Nagel to second base with no outs.

Pinch hitter Will Howard dropped down a sacrifice that did not produce an out as the throw to third base was late to jam the bags.

Karson Legred hammered the go-ahead two-run double to deep center before Mapleton right-hander Austin Yokiel issued an intentional walk to Bleess to create a force situation with no outs.

Mapleton recorded an out on a force at the plate on the ensuing bunt before Post 5338 made back-to-back errors on sacrifice bunts by Hagedorn and Carter Bell to produce three more runs. Two wild pitches, Keegan O’Brien’s infield hit and Sanders’ RBI single later, Blue Earth held an 11-5 lead.

Bleess allowed Colby Quiram’s single and Colin Bramer’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to close out his complete-game win.

Bleess allowed six runs — two earned — on 10 hits, recorded a game-best 12 strikeouts and issued four walks in seven innings.

Sanders and Bleess each collected three of Blue Earth’s 14 hits, while Legred, Hagedorn and Nagel each produced two hits. Legred and Hagedorn drove in two runs apiece.

Tyler Maas went 3-for-4 with one RBI to top Mapleton’s 10-hit performance, while Joe Bennet went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Blue Earth 000 003 8 — 11 14 4

Mapleton 101 021 1 — 6 10 1

Hunter Bleess (WP) and Karson Legred. Austin Yokiel (LP), Colin Bramer (7) and Jared Latusek, Ethan Jurgens (6).

LOB–Mapleton 10, Blue Earth 6. 2B–Legred (BE), Koby Nagel (BE). SF–Bramer (M). SAC–Will Howard (BE), Kyle Hagedorn (BE), Carter Bell (BE).

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