Rochester Patriots power their way to runner-up finish at Firecracker 92 Tournament
Jul. 2—ROCHESTER — The Rochester Patriots made a fantastic run to the championship game of the annual Firecracker 92 American Legion baseball tournament, but then they ran out of gas.
The Patriots topped the rival Rochester A's 7-2 in the tournament semifinals Sunday morning, but Holmen's depth showed through in the title game as it topped the Patriots 8-0. For the weekend, champion Holmen went 5-0 and outscored its five opponents by a combined score of 40-7.
Holmen beat the Rochester Redhawks 9-1 in Sunday morning's semifinals.
Against the Patriots, Holmen jumped out to and early lead, scoring two runs in the top of the first and plating six runs across the first three innings. From there, the Patriots slowed things down with Mason Konz providing three scoreless innings of relief. It wasn't enough, however, as the Patriots' offense could never find a groove at the plate.
Alex Kronfeld pitched a 1-hit gem for Holmen, scattering five walks to shut down the Patriots.
Adam Hegrenes broke up the no-hit bid in the bottom of the sixth, and the Patriots loaded the bases for their only real threat of the game, but Kronfeld worked out of the jam and shut things down in the seventh for the complete-game victory.
In the semifinal game against the A's, Gavin Konz was solid on the mound for the Patriots, scattering five hits over four innings of work, allowing only two runs in the Patriots' 7-2 win.
The bullpen shut the door from there, with James Ostman (two innings) and Ethan Loos (one inning) combining for three scoreless innings in relief.
The Patriots were opportunistic at the plate and on the bases, scoring three runs in the second and four in the fifth inning, despite only four hits in the game. Patience at the plate (six walks) and aggressive base-running were the catalysts in scoring seven runs.
Cole Rocholl started on the mound for the A's and was hurt by a couple miscues in the field, allowing six runs (two earned).
The Patriots finished the tournament with a 4-1 record and a runner-up finish.
—REDHAWKS 6, A'S 5: Two Rochester rivals went head-to-head in the third-place game, and it came down to the last at-bat.
The Rochester A's (Century) rallied dramatically for three runs in the top of the seventh to force a 5-5 tie, including a Cole Rocholl double that drove in the tying run. But one of the Redhawks' veterans came through in a clutch situation in the bottom of the seventh, as Kasey Carlson drove in the winning run with the bases loaded.
Connor Dahl pitched 5 2/3 strong innings, allowing two runs on four hits, with eight strikeouts, for the Redhawks. Kyle Prindle relieved him in the sixth and earned the victory.
Ian Vasquez had a double and two RBIs for the A's, while Mike Ruff was 2-for-4 with a double. Brady Buchmann pitched the first five innings, allowing four runs and striking out three.
HOLMEN (Wis.) 8, PATRIOTS 0
(Championship)
Holmen#231#000#2#—#8#8#1
Patriots#000#000#0#—#0#1#1
Holmen (Wis.): X. Palmer 2-for-2, 1 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB; J. Walter 2-for-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 R; E. Edwardson 2-for-3 1 R; T. Gegenfurtner 1-for-2, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R; C. Gilbertson 1-for-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R. Pitchers: A. Kronfeld (WP) 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 6 K.
Patriots: Adam Hegrenes 1-for-3. Pitchers: Ethan Loos (LP) 1.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K; James Ostman 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K; Mason Konz 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K; Justin Jarland 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K.
PATRIOTS 7, A's 2
(Semifinal)
Patriots#030#040#0#—#7#4#1
A's#020#000#0#—#2#7#2
Patriots: Adam Hegrenes 1-for-3, 2 RBI; Gavin Konz 1-for-2, 1 RBI; Mason Konz 1-for-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI; Aaron Terpstra 1-for-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R. Pitchers: Gavin Konz (WP) 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K; James Ostman 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K; Ethan Loos 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
A's: Cole Rocholl 2-for-2, 1 2B, 1 RBI; Sam Johnston 2-for-3, 1 3B; Hayden Binnicker 1-for-3, 1 RBI. Pitchers: Cole Rocholl 4.1 IP, 2 H, 6 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 5 K; Sam Johnston 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.
REDHAWKS 6, A's 5
(Third place)
A's#002#000#3#—#5#6#2
Redhawks#001#031#1#—#6#10#0
A's: Jerry Fletcher 0-for-3, 1 R; Brody Josselyn 0-for-2, 1 R; Harrison Esau 0-for-4; George Boyce 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R; Hayden Binnicker 1-for-3, 1 2B, 1 R; Ian Vasquez 1-for-2, 1 2B, 2 RBI; Mike Ruff 2-for-4, 1 2B; Brady Buchmann 0-for-1, 1 R. Pitchers: Buchmann 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 3 K; Boyce (L) 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 1 K.
Redhawks: Kyle Prindle 1-for-2, 1 R; Kasey Carlson 0-for-4, 1 RBI; Zach Condon 1-for-2, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R; Kyle Leopold 1-for-2, 1 R; Hayden Mathern 2-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 R; Will Kipp 1-for-4, 1 2B; Liam Williams 1-for-3, 1 RBI; Ollie Bertsch 0-for-1, 1 R; Luke Bicknese 1-for-1, 1 RBI; Charlie Kipp 1 R; Alex Sadowy 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SB. Pitchers: Connor Dahl 5,2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K; Kyle Prindle (W) 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.
HOLMEN (Wis.) 9, REDHAWKS 1
(Semifinal)
Redhawks#100#00#—#1#3#5
Holmen#002#7x#—#9#3#0
Redhawks: Kyle Prindle 0-for-3; Kasey Carlson 0-for-2; Zach Condon 1-for-1, 1 RBI; Hayden Mathern 1-for-2; Kyle Leopold 0-for-3; Connor Dahl 0-for-2; Will Kipp 0-for-2; Charlie Kipp 0-for-2; Alex Sadowy 1-for-2, 1 R. Pitchers: Zach Condon (L) 3.1 IP, 2 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 6 K; Luke Bicknese .2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K.
Holmen: No stats submitted.
SEMIFINALS
(At Rochester Baseball Complex)
Holmen (Wis.) 9, Rochester Redhawks 1
Rochester Patriots 7, Rochester A's 2
THIRD PLACE
(At Rochester Baseball Complex)
Rochester Redhawks 6, Rochester A's 5
CHAMPIONSHIP
(At Rochester Baseball Complex)
Holmen (Wis.) 8, Rochester Patriots 0
PLACEWINNER GAMES
St. Peter 7, Eden Prairie 2
Kasson 14, Norwood Young America 3
La Crescent 8, Eastview 0
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Worthington vs. Pine Island
