Getting hot at the right time
Martins prepare for playoff push
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FAIRMONT - The Fairmont Martins are getting hot at the right time.
With the Minnesota Baseball Association, Region 10C playoffs beginning its second round of action this Wednesday, the No. 2 seeded Martins will start their quest for another state championship following its initial bye in the bracket, taking on the No. 7 Worthington Cubs at Herb Wolf Field in the best of three series.
Games one and two are on Wednesday and Friday, with game three taking place on Sunday if needed.
"It's always fun to play a three-game series, it kind of makes it like major league baseball and how they do it," Fairmont Martins assistant manager Spencer Chirpich said. "It's a cool format. I'm not sure if we are one of the only regions that do it, but it seems to work."
The return to Class C has seen great success for the Martins. Playing its typical regular season schedule as previous years, Fairmont enters Wednesday's competition with a 10-4 record and winners of its past four contests.
One of these wins was over the No. 1 seeded Windom Pirates. The 3-0 victory on July 15 helped the Martins move up further in the standings to secure a substantial home field advantage.
Chirpich sees familiarity in Fairmont's regular season conclusion. The Martins have typically played some of their best baseball around this time of year during past seasons. This campaign has been no different. He hopes the momentum continues to soar.
"Once the playoffs come around, it's always time to lock it in a little bit more," Chirpich said "This means taking at-bats and every pitch a little more seriously, not giving up any extra outs and making every at-bat count."
The return to Class C
Fairmont took a break from Class C last summer.
The 2024 MBA Criteria Points document showed the Martins making the jump to Class B with 29 points. 12 of these came from the Success Point section, which tallies results of the previous five seasons and boosts a team's score. Fairmont's state championship run in 2020 aided this total significantly.
With the 2026 calendar year moving on from the Martins previous title, the team has found itself back in familiar territory. They remain one of the top point leaders in Class A with 19. But the switch back down may be a benefit to postseason success.
The three-game series format can aid rosters with strong starting pitching. Luckily for Fairmont, they have three arms that have made a tremendous impact on the team's winning ways.
Jack Hested has led the charge as Fairmont's go-to arm to start any contest. In a team-high 44.2 innings, Hested has posted a 0.62 earned run average while fanning 43 batters. Six of his nine appearances have been in the starting role.
Chirpich and Josh Smith have been the two other arms contributing the most on the rubber. Their production hasn't been far off from what Hested has accomplished. Chirpich tallied a 2.55 ERA, while Smith carries a 1.84, respectively. The two have combined for 47 strikeouts in over 43 innings. All three have started in 12 of Fairmont's 16 contests.
"It's always important to get a good, quality start," Chirpich said. "I know Jack and Josh have done a really good job of doing that pretty much every time they've gone out there. We've had some other guys come in relief that are good as well. Hopefully we can just piece it all together when the time comes."
Help from everywhere
The Martins roster has shifted and changed slightly as the year has progressed. Games in the beginning of the season had to be carried by a presence of veteran players - Chirpich, Levi Becker, Lance Becker, Luke Becker, Zach Jorgenson, etc - that have seen many contests in the light and dark blue jerseys. The typical players fans have been accustomed to seeing.
Slowly, however, additional pieces began to give Fairmont a big boost on both sides of the field. A handful of Fairmont High School baseball players have jumped right in for immediate contributions, such as Merritt Pomerenke, Joey Crissinger, Joseph Hackett, Jensen Livesay, Nolyn Goerndt and Vincent Schultz. Goerndt and Schultz have both played the most games for Fairmont at eight. They are hitting .333 and .286 in that stretch with seven combined RBIs.
Recent Cardinal graduates Eli Anderson and Josh Soelter have also given the Martins a spark in a handful of contests during the final weeks of the regular season. Chirpich believes that the mix of younger and older talent is what makes Fairmont the strongest. Getting participation from everyone at the most important point in the year.
"It helps when we have the right amount of guys and the right guys that are willing to play and show up, putting in the effort and trying to help us win," Chirpich said. "There were some quality players that got added from Fairmont High School. They had some state runs and had some really good success. It's awesome to have them join us and help us win too."