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CL 7, Elk River 5

Tyler Stilp drove in pinch runner Jack Boeck to break a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Bulldogs went on to beat the Elk River Lumberjacks 7-5 in the opening game of the 2024 Region 1C Playoffs.  Hunter Lindstrom pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win.  The game was played Saturday, July 27 at Mark Park in Princeton.

The Bulldogs appeared poised to take the lead in the bottom of the second.  The speedy Brendan Hemr led off with a bunt to the left of the pitcher.  The pitcher scooped the ball and threw it toward first.  The throw would have nipped Hemr by a half step, but it sailed over the first baseman’s head.  As the first baseman chased the ball, Hemr headed all the way to third and slid in safe just ahead of the throw.  But he was stranded there as the next two batters struck out and a flyout ended the inning.  With two out and runners on second and third in the top of the third, reigning two-time player of the week Jeff Brooks hit a screaming line drive toward the left field corner.  Left fielder Bailey Kasprowicz made a beeline for the corner and dove to catch the ball near the line, saving two runs. Adam Brown led off the bottom of the third with a single, advanced to second when Tyler Stilp reached on an error, and scored when Beau Fandel’s ground ball hit the third baseman’s glove and rolled into left field.  Reed Marquardt walked to load the bases and it looked like the Bulldogs were poised for a big inning.  And Alex Wilkey nearly delivered.  On a 1-2 pitch, he blasted a high fly ball toward the corner in right field.  The ball hooked foul by a few feet as it went well over the fence.  Wilkey then struck out.  After Hemr lined out to center, Dusty Rhodes struck out, leaving the bases full.

A defensive meltdown led to three Elk River runs in the top of the fourth.  Wilkey dropped an easy pop-up at first base, and the batter ended up on second.  After a fly out, a hard one-hopper eluded third baseman Tyler Stilp’s glove, and the batter reached on an error.  After another flyout, the next batter walked to load the bases.  The next batter lined a single to right.  Right fielder Brown fired the ball over the head of catcher Nick Brown as the first run scored, and another runner came in behind the first one.  An ill-advised throw behind the batter, now at second, sailed into center field, allowing the third run of the inning to score, and the Bulldogs trailed 3-1.

 Kasprowicz walked to lead off the bottom of the fourth.  Nick Brown laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt.  The pitcher once again fired it over the head of the first baseman, and the runners ended up on second and third.  Adam Brown hit a fly ball to fairly deep right center.  Kasprowicz tagged and scored from third.  As the throw came home, an alert Nick Brown moved to third.  Stilp bounced a single to left to score Nick Brown, and the game was tied at 3-3.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Wilkey lined a 1-0 pitch over the fence in right field for a home run to give the Bulldogs a 4-3 lead. 

In the top of the sixth, the Lumberjacks tied it 4-4 with a walk, a double and a single – their only earned run of the game.  In the top of the seventh, a single, an error on a hard grounder put runners on first and second with no outs.  The next batter lined a ball deep into left center, headed for the wall.  But Kasprowicz raced over from left field and made an incredible running catch in the gap for the first out of the inning.  

Reliever Lindstrom came in to relieve starter Jacob Mickelson.  

The first batter blooped a single to right to load the bases.  The next batter hit a slow roller to third.  Stilp made a nice play to grab the ball and throw him out at first, but the go ahead run scored on the play.  The next batter hit a foul pop-up down the third base line near the fence.  Stilp ran over from third and made a nice catch as he banged into the fence for the third out.

Beau Fandel lined a double into the left field corner to lead off the bottom of the seventh.  Reed Marquardt struck out, but headed toward first as the catcher dropped the ball.  As the catcher threw to first to force out Marquardt, Fandel hustled to third and scored on a line drive single to right by the hot-hitting Wilkey.  But Hemr and Rhodes struck out to end the rally with the game tied 5-5.  With a runner on second and two outs in the top of the eighth, the Lumberjack batter lined a single to center.  Center fielder Hemr scooped up the ball and fired a strike to home plate, and catcher Nick Brown put the tag on the sliding runner just before he touched the plate, keeping the score tied at 5-5.

Kasprowicz lined a single to left to lead off the bottom of the eighth.  Nick Brown sacrificed him to second.  Jack Boeck came in to pinch run for Kasprowicz.  Stilp lined a single to right, and Boeck dove across the plate well ahead of the throw, emerging from a cloud of dust to high fives from his teammates as the Bulldogs took a 6-5 lead.  Adam Brown advanced to third on the play.  After Fandel was hit by a pitch, Marquardt hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Brown, giving the Bulldogs a two-run cushion at 7-5.  Wilkey, still on fire, hit a screaming liner toward right, but the first baseman snatched it out of the air for the third out.

In the top of the ninth, Lindstrom hit the first batter on an 0-2 pitch.  After a fly out, the next batter hit a hard two-hopper to short.  Marquardt flipped the ball to Fandel for the out at second, and Fandel fired the ball to first to nip the runner by half a step and end the game.

Starter Mickelson went 6 1/3 inning.  He allowed five runs – only one earned – on six hits, walked two and stuck out three.  Lindstrom, who had a blown save and got the win in the same game, allowed no runs on three hits, and no strikes or walks.

Bulldog Banter

The win sends the fourth-seeded Bulldogs to a matchup against the top-seeded Princeton Panthers tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Princeton’s Mark Park.  

If the Bulldogs win this one that’s expected to be a tight pitcher’s duel, they will play again Sunday at noon against the winner of the game between Ramsey and St. Francis.  This will be for a chance to go to the region championship.  If the Bulldogs lose to the Panthers, they will play East Bethel at 3 p.m. Saturday for a chance to stay alive in the region playoffs.

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