ABOVE: Fairmont first baseman Reed Johnson swings at a pitch during a District II Junior Legion tournament game against Mankato East at American Legion Field on Tuesday. Mankato East defeated Fairmont 5-2 to knock them down to the elimination bracket. Photo by Jake McNeil/Marshall Independent.

MARSHALL — Second-seeded Mankato East’s pitching was too much for Fairmont to overcome in the first round of the District II Junior Legion Baseball Tournament on Tuesday. Fairmont was limited to eight baserunners on the day as they fell 5-2 to drop down to the elimination bracket.

Mankato pitcher Alex Fast struck out two batters in the first to keep the Fairmont bats at bay and Mankato East went to work in the bottom of the frame. Mason Diede and Grant Hering singled to put two runners on when Koltin Kolbinger hit a two-run double with two outs.

Carson Mitzel kept the momentum flowing with another RBI single in the next at-bat and nearly scored on a double from Tyler Blaschko. Yet, a quality throw from Fairmont left fielder Carmyne Hecht to cutoff man Dakota Wiley at third allowed Wiley to get the ball home in time well ahead of Mitzel, limiting the East rally to a 3-0 lead.

“After that first frame, [the message in the dugout] was, ‘Let’s play our game,'” Fairmont manager Brian Hackett said. “Defense played good, let’s get our bats going, which we did. We were hitting the ball hard, just not in the gaps. Hitting the ball hard to people, but we played with them so that’s what we’re looking for. We wanted to be competitive today and we were.”

Joseph Hackett started the game for Fairmont, allowing three earned runs on five hits in the first frame. In relief, Joe Long got the Fairmont defense to settle down. He struck out a batter while allowing a single and a walk over 1 2/3 scoreless frames before being relieved by Noah Heckman with two runners on in the third.

Both of Fairmont’s runs crossed the plate in the top of the third inning. Eric Determan reached on an error to start the inning and a Joseph Hackett single and Merritt Pomerenke getting hit by a pitch loaded the bases with one out.

A strikeout put two away but a Reed Johnson single to center allowed Determan and Hackett to score, making the score 3-2, before Pomerenke was caught trying to advance to third.

Blaschko scored another Mankato run in the fourth to make it a two-run game. He drew a leadoff walk and stole second with two outs. Diede then hit a grounder to third but a Fairmont error on the throw to first allowed Blaschko to round the corner and cross the plate for a 4-2 Mankato East advantage.

The unearned run was the only scoring Heckman allowed in his two innings on the hill. He recorded a strikeout and a walk while holding East without a hit.

“We’ve got four or five guys that are excellent pitchers and can come in any time and give us what we need and throw strikes,” coach Hackett said of his team’s relief pitching. “Our plan was to throw them 30 pitches and keep [their pitch counts] low so we still have them the rest of the tournament instead of burning a guy today and then we’re out of a good pitcher.”

Mason Bicknase relieved Heckman with two outs and no runners on in the fifth. He got out of the fifth without a run allowed but Mankato did score in the sixth. He finished the day allowing five hits over 1 1/3 frames.

Fast tossed all seven innings for Mankato East without allowing an earned run. He didn’t give up free bases often, striking out eight batters without a walk and hitting only one batter. He allowed six hits and two unearned runs on the day.

With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Diede and Dawson Miller singled to put two runners on for Mankato East. A balk put them both into scoring position and Hering took advantage with a grounder to short. He beat out the throw to first and Diede scored to make Mankato’s advantage 5-2.

Fairmont has lost three of its last four games and drops down to the elimination bracket with the loss. They’ll look to get back on track today when they take on No. 6 New Prague at Yankee Field at 11 a.m.

“[We’re] making sure the guys aren’t down after this game. As far as our coaching staff is concerned, that was a good game,” coach Hackett said. “We were competitive and they played great. We just didn’t come out on top, which happens now and then. Just got to get the next one.”