Rochester teams sweep their way into Firecracker 92 semifinals
Jul. 1—(Editor's note: This article will be updated as statistics are reported.)
ROCHESTER — The Rochester A's are likely the hottest Legion baseball team going in southeastern Minnesota. They continued their tear on Saturday with two more wins at the annual Firecracker 92 Tournament, upping their overall record to 12-3.
They'll be joined in Sunday's semifinals by two familiar foes — the Rochester Patriots and Rochester Redhawks — as well as Holmen, Wis., which beat Kasson and Eastview on Saturday to win its pool.
The A's started play Saturday with a 7-0 shutout of Worthington, getting it done behind stellar starting pitching by Peyton Milene.
Milene pitched the first five innings and was a strikeout machine. The hard-throwing left-hander fanned nine and allowed just two hits and four walks. Sam Johnston then closed things out, working the sixth and seventh innings.
George Boyce hit a towering home run in the fifth inning, driving in three runs. Harrison Esau was 2-for-2 and Brody Josselyn 2-for-3.
The A's followed that by pushing past St. Peter 4-3, the win coming despite four uncharacteristic A's errors.
Mike Ruff pitched all seven innings for the A's. None of the runs against the incoming junior were earned. He allowed five hits, walked one and struck out four. Ryan Ohm made a stellar play at shortstop to end the game, ranging well to his right, then throwing against his body to get the baserunner by a half a step.
Ohm also swung a hot bat. He was 2-for-4 with a triple. Sam Johnston also had two hits for the A's, who outhit St. Peter 8-5.
The A's have now gone 3-0 in pool play and will take on the Rochester Patriots at 9 a.m. at Rochester Baseball Complex Field 1. The Patriots have also gone 3-0. They beat Pine Island 7-4, Albert Lea 4-0 and Eden Prairie 5-3 to win Pool D.
The winner plays in the Firecracker championship at 2 p.m. at RBC Field 4.
The Rochester Redhawks will face Holmen (Wis.) at 9 a.m. at RBC Field 1 in the other semifinal. The Redhawks used a three-run sixth inning to beat Norwood Young America 8-5 on Saturday, then followed that with a 3-2 walk-off win against Plattsmouth (Neb.) to finish pool play with a 3-0 record.
Holmen allowed just six total runs in sweeping three games to win Pool B. It beat Austin 8-2 on Friday, then topped Kasson 5-2 and Eastview 10-2 on Saturday.
A's 7, Worthington 0
Worthington#000#000#0#—#2#3#1
A's#202#030#x#—#7#5#0
Worthington: No stats submitted.
A's: Ryan Ohm 1-for-4, 1 R; Nicholas Rochelle 1-for-2, 1 2B; Jerry Fletcher 1-for-4, 3 R; Brody Josselyn 2-for-3; Harrison Esau 2-for-2, 1 R; George Boyce 1-for-3, 1 HR, 3 RBI; Hayden Binnicker 1-for-3. Pitchers: Peyton Milene 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 9 K; Sam Johnson 2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K.
A's 4, St. Peter 3
St. Peter#000#021#0#—#3#5#1
A's#040#000#x#—#4#8#4
St. Peter: No stats submitted.
A's: Ryan Ohm 2-for-4, 1 3B, 1 R; Nicholas Rochelle 1-for-2; Sam Johnston 2-for-3; Jerry Fletcher 1-for-1, 1 3B, 1 R; George Boyce 1-for-3; Hayden Binnicker 1 R; Mike Ruff 1-for-3, 1 R. Pitchers: Mike Ruff 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
Rochester Redhawks 8, Norwood Young America 5
NYA#000#041#0#—#5#8#2
Redhawks#004#013#x#—#8#9#1
NYA: no stats submitted.
Mayo: Kyle Prindle 1-for-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R; Kasey Carlson 1-for-3, 1 2B, 1 R; Zach Condon 1-for-3; Kyle Leopold 1-for-3, 1 R; Sam Hruska 1-for-2, 2 RBI, 1 R; Mason Leimbek 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R. Pitchers: Sam Hruska 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K; Mason Leimbek (W) 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
Notes: "Sam Hruska was solid through four innings. He left a couple pitches up in the zone that hurt him late in the game, but it was the best he has thrown all year," Redhawks manager Tom Senne said. "Mason Leimbek did a great job in relief, We had a couple of hiccups at the plate and in the field that let them back in the game."
Redhawks 3, Plattsmouth (Neb.) 2
Plattsmouth#100#001#0#—#2#6#2
Redhawks#000#100#2#—#3#6#2
Plattsmouth: no statistics submitted.
Redhawks: Kyle Prindle 2-for-3, 1 3B, 1 R; Kasey Carlson 1-for-3; Zach Condon 0-for-2; Hayden Mathern 1-for-3 1 RBI; Sam Hruska 0-for-3, 1 R; Mason Leimbek 0-for-2, 1 RBI; Will Kipp 1-for-3, 1 RBI; Charlie Kipp 1 R; Kyle Leopold 1-for-3. Pitchers: Alec Sadowy 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K; Kyle Prindle (W) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
Notes: The Redhawks improved to 10-6 overall. ... "Alec Sadowy was a competitor all day on the mound. He got out of a couple jams to limit the damage," Senne said. "Offensively we were sluggish for the majority of the game but the bottom of our order stepped up in the seventh inning to win the game. Will Kipp had the walk-off single to win it in the seventh. I still feel we have not played our best baseball this weekend but this team continues to find ways to win."
SATURDAY'S SCORES
POOL A
Plattsmouth (Neb.) 4, La Crescent 1
Rochester Redhawks 8, Norwood Young America 5
Rochester Redhawks 3, Plattsmouth 2
Norwood Young America 4, La Crescent 3
Standings: Redhawks 3-0, Plattsmouth 2-1, Norwood Young America 1-2, La Crescent 0-3.
------POOL B
Holmen (Wis.) 5, Kasson 2
Austin 6, Eastview 3
Austin 8, Kasson 6
Holmen 10, Eastview 2
Final Standings: Holmen 3-0, Austin 2-1, Kasson 1-2, Eastview 0-3.
------POOL C
Eau Claire 6, St. Peter 4
Rochester A's 7, Worthington 0
Rochester A's 4, St. Peter 3
Eau Claire 14, Worthington 2
Standings: Rochester A's 3-0, Eau Claire 2-1, St. Peter 1-2, Worthington 0-3.
------POOL D
Albert Lea 2, Pine Island 1
Rochester Patriots 5, Eden Prairie 3
Rochester Patriots 4, Albert Lea 0
Eden Prairie 20, Pine Island 9
Standings: Rochester Patriots 3-0, Albert Lea 2-1, Eden Prairie 1-2, Pine Island 0-3.
SEMIFINALS
(At Rochester Baseball Complex)
Rochester Redhawks vs. Holmen (Wis.), 9 a.m. (Field 4)
Rochester A's vs. Rochester Patriots, 9 a.m. (Field 1)
THIRD PLACE
(At Rochester Baseball Complex)
Semifinal losers, 11:30 a.m. (Field 4)
CHAMPIONSHIP
(At Rochester Baseball Complex)
Semifinal winners, 2 p.m. (Field 4)
PLACEWINNER GAMES
Eau Claire (Pool C 2nd place) vs. Albert Lea (Pool D 2nd place), 9 a.m. (at Mayo High School)
Plattsmouth, Neb. (Pool A 2nd place) vs. Austin (Pool B 2nd place), 11:30 a.m. (at Mayo High School)
St. Peter (Pool C 3rd place) vs. Eden Prairie (Pool D 3rd place), 9 a.m. (at John Adams Middle School)
Norwood Young America (Pool A 3rd place) vs. Kasson (Pool B 3rd place), 11:30 a.m. (at John Adams Middle School)
Worthington (Pool C 4th place) vs. Pine Island (Pool D 4th place), 9 a.m. (at Century High School)
La Crescent (Pool A 4th place) vs. Eastview (Pool B 4th place), 11:30 a.m. (at Century High School)
