Late Jackson rally secures Game Two victory
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JACKSON - Both playoff draft picks for the Fairmont Martins and Jackson Bulls left their mark on Friday night's Game Two contest in the Region 10C semifinals.
Lincoln Swanjord for Fairmont and Tucker Sorenson for Jackson, two pitchers who previously played for the Hadley Buttermakers, displayed their arsenals in the first six innings at Wacker Field. With each arm having two runs on their name, the former teammates laced the strike zone by fanning a combined 19 batters while working through the lineups.
But it was Jackson who broke the deadlock. Piling together three runs over the seventh and eighth innings, the Bulls secured a 5-2 victory to force an all-important Game Three affair this Sunday at Herb Wolf Field. The winner will clinch a spot in the Minnesota Baseball Association State Tournament. First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m.
"We know that we still have some of our best arms saved up for Sunday, but we are going to need to get the bats rolling," Fairmont manager Levi Becker said. "[Spencer] Chirpich and Derek [Shoen] will handle the pitching, and we will look for a spark offensively to get us going."
After leaving two runners on base in the top of the first, Fairmont was able to get a pair of clutch hits two innings later to jump on the scoreboard. And it all started with a hit by pitch.
Eli Anderson was the victim of Sorenson's delivery after taking a ball to the elbow before slowly trotting towards first base. Two pitches later, Luke Becker brought his running mate home. Slicing a ball deep into center field, Anderson's trot to the plate looked tame compared to Luke Becker's slide into third.
But his effort to move closer into scoring position was rewarded. Joey Crissinger's sacrifice flyout to left field gave Fairmont's second baseman an easier jog this time around, touching home to secure the early lead.
Swanjord did his job on the rubber to keep the score in place over his next two frames. Through four innings, the right-hander allowed just two hits while striking out five. He was in control from the jump.
"Lincoln [Swanjord] was a dog for us on the mound," Levi Becker said. "Pitches very well and mixed in his curveball extremely well all night."
Offense finally clicked for Jackson when they returned in the home half of the fifth. Tyler Netsch’s initial single took him to third base after a fielder’s choice and passed ball. Bulls’ No. 9 hitter Will Larson was the first to put a damper on Swanjord's performance, ripping a single up the middle to cut the Fairmont lead in half.
Andy Wolf laced another single to continue the rally. The second fielder's choice of the frame moved both him and Larson to second and third, before JD Schneider evened things up with his hit to left field. Swanjord limited the damage by collecting his seventh strikeout.
But Fairmont's offense was hard to come by over the next two innings. Sorenson continued to settle in on the mound and give problems to the Martins’ batting order.
The best chance Fairmont had to break the tie came in the seventh. A bases-loaded situation for Anderson saw another strikeout for Sorenson to eliminate any threat. Fairmont recorded just one hit since its surge in the third. Sorenson finished with eight innings, 14 strikeouts and allowed three hits.
Jackson added the tiebreaking blow in Swanjord's final frame. Schneider took advantage of runners on first and second by flying up a ball to left field. A misread by Nolyn Goerndt saw Larson touch home after his leadoff walk.
Swanjord's final statline showed seven innings of two run baseball. He allowed seven hits and struck out 11 batters.
The Bulls added two more scores in the eighth to officially break away. Blake Evans made it a three-run lead after his single off Jack Hested drove in Netsch from third. Larson closed Jackson's ninth frame after walking and striking out three batters.