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Blue Earth sweeps twinbill over Fairmont

BLUE EARTH –­­ “We’ve been waiting way too long for this.”

That’s what Blue Earth senior league head coach Brent Legred said after the opening doubleheader of the season Monday in Blue Earth.

“It was refreshing to get back out on the field,” Legred said. “You could tell by all the people sitting around in the stands and down the line, it’s just good to be playing baseball again and to be around the kids.”

Blue Earth got its late-summer season off to a good start, sweeping Fairmont with wins of 6-4 and 5-2.

Legred said with the shortened season, the senior league is adjusting how it will count each game. The first game of each regular doubleheader will count toward the team’s official record, while the second game will matter only if there is need for a tiebreaker at the end of the season.

Blue Earth jumped ahead early, but two two-run innings brought Fairmont back to a tie.

In the fifth, Blue Earth added what would be the game-winning run.

Logan O’Hara hit his second double of the game, this one one-hopping the wall in left-center field, before Anders Fering drilled a shot to deep left-center, bringing O’Hara around to score.

Blue Earth added another for good measure in the sixth.

Adam Schavey was hit by a pitch and stole second before Luke Mertens lined a ball to right field to bring in the final run of the game, building Blue Earth’s lead to 6-4.

Blue Earth started the season swinging.

Each of the first three Blue Earth batters hit doubles in their opening at-bats.

Keegan O’Brien, O’Hara and Karson Legred hit back-to-back-to-back doubles, before a Fering walk and a Schavey double put Blue Earth ahead 4-0 after the first inning.

Fairmont got on the board for the first time this season in the third.

Jack Hested and Gavin Rodning each walked, then Carter Bell was able to take advantage with a bloop single to right field, leading to a Zach Jorgensen two-RBI single through the left side of the infield.

Two innings later, Fairmont brought the score to a tie.

A two-out Zach Soelter walk gave Blake Buntjer a chance at the plate with a runner on. Buntjer hit a low line drive through the infield, leading to an error and giving Eli Anderson a chance with two outs. Anderson singled in both runs to tie the game at four.

O’Brien started on the mound for Blue Earth, throwing four solid innings and allowing only two runs on four hits and four walks. O’Brien added five strikeouts to his performance before O’Hara came in.

O’Hara collected the win for Blue Earth, throwing three innings and giving up two runs on two hits and three walks, while striking out five.

Hested took the mound to start the season for Fairmont, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out six.

Dan Brummond came on for the final two innings for Fairmont, allowing two runs on three hits and two hit batters.

O’Hara led the Blue Earth offense with three hits, including two doubles, while Legred had a double and two runs scored. Fering added an RBI double, while Schavey had two hits and a run scored.

Cale Steuber topped Fairmont with two hits, while Jorgensen had two RBIs and Anderson had two hits and took a walk.

Game 2 started more easily for both starting pitchers. Koby Nagel took the mound for the first two innings for Blue Earth, while Steuber did the same for Fairmont, neither allowing a run. Then, both coaches dug into their bullpens to see what they had.

Twelve total pitchers were used in the matchup, mostly pitching one inning each.

Blue Earth put up a run in the third to take the lead, then O’Hara cleared the left-center field fence for a fourth-inning home run, continuing his torrid hitting on the day.

Fairmont put up a run in the bottom of the fourth to keep the game close, but Blue Earth was able to cash in on back-to-back walks to start the sixth when O’Hara lined his third double of the day to the left-center field wall.

Blue Earth scored three times in the inning to build a four-run advantage.

Fairmont scored once in the seventh after Buntjer hit a triple deep to the right-center field fence, but couldn’t muster any more.

Fairmont head coach Levi Becker said he expects his team to improve as the summer goes along.

“It’s always good to be out here playing ball,” Becker said. “We had some high points and some low points, our goal is to go up from here. We have an older team with guys who didn’t get a senior year, I think those guys will realize in the next couple of weeks that this is their last chance with a metal bat at least.”

O’Hara led the way for Blue Earth in the second game with a double, a home run and three RBIs, while Kean Hicks had a single and a sacrifice fly.

Anderson hit a double for Fairmont, Buntjer had a triple and Hested hit a single and took two walks.

Blue Earth (2-0) plays Jackson in a doubleheader Thursday in Jackson, while Fairmont (0-2) plays host to Madelia for a twinbill.

Game 1

Fairmont 002 020 0 — 4 7 1

Blue Earth 400 011 x — 6 9 1

Jack Hested, Dan Brummond (5, LP) and Eli Anderson. Keegan O’Brien, Logan O’Hara (5, WP) and Karson Legred.

LOB–Fairmont 8, Blue Earth 5. 2B–O’Brien (BE), O’Hara (BE) 2, Legred (BE) Fering (BE), Schavey (BE).

Game 2

Blue Earth 001 103 0 — 5 6 1

Fairmont 000 100 1 — 2 4 3

Koby Nagel (WP), Kyle Hagedorn (3), Hunter Bleess (4), Kean Hicks (5), Anthony Carr (5), Karson Legred (7) and Ryan Madetzke. Cale Steuber, Eli Anderson (LP, 3), Blake Buntjer (4), Carter Bell (6), Zach Soelter (6), Zach Jorgensen (7) and Zach Jorgensen, Eli Anderson.

LOB–Blue Earth 9, Fairmont 8. 2B–Bleess (BE), O’Hara (BE), Anderson (FMT). 3B–Buntjer (FMT). HR–O’Hara (BE). SF–Hicks (BE).

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