Irish boys stay in contention for Central Minnesota Conference title

The Maple Lake Irish began the week in Rockford taking on the Rockets in a conference double-header. With 20-plus mph winds blowing in from the outfield, the Irish knew they were in for a rough night hitting. The Irish, eager to get back into the conference race, needed to sweep the Rockets. Taking the mound for Maple Lake was senior Donnie Mavencamp, who enjoyed his best outing of the year. Mavencamp pitched all six innings and allowed only two hits. He was in command all night and got the win in spite of Maple Lake’s inability to score runs. The lone run turned in by the Irish offense was enough to secure the win. Game two saw sophomore Tony Goelz on the mound facing the difficult task of following up Mavencamp’s outstanding performance. Goelz was able to more than hold his own and threw the best game of his life, allowing no hits. Again the Irish were only able to put up one run, but it was enough because of the pitching dominance displayed by Goelz. After the game, head coach Baumann said, “We did an excellent job in the field and on the mound. We threw strikes and got outs. Donnie and Tony gave us a great chance to win with their best outings of the year, and we found a way to scratch across a run in each game to get two much-needed wins in tough hitting conditions.” On Tuesday, May 14, the Irish baseball squad was at home facing a solid Watertown squad in a non-conference matchup. Junior Zach Johnson took the mound in his first varsity start as a pitcher. Johnson threw strikes, but the stiff wind early in the game caused Irish infielders to misplay several pop-ups that kept Watertown’s scoring opportunities alive. Johnson turned in four respectable innings but left the game with the Irish trailing 8-5. Johnson was replaced on the mound by senior Bosten Fieldseth, who threw strikes. However, Watertown was able to seize the momentum, hitting anything and everything thrown at them. Trailing 15-5, the Irish turned to junior Sullivan Graham to pitch the final inning. Graham allowed three runs to score, and Maple Lake found itself down 18-5. The Irish were again unable to mount a sustained offensive effort and ended the game on the losing end of a score of 18-6.
More information appears in this week’s Messenger.

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