By Matt Brown and Dave Erickson
Correspondents
The Maple Lake Lakers topped the Region 2 No. 1 seed Courtland Cubs on Sunday, August 27, to earn a trip to the final weekend of the State Tournament. Delano and Hutchinson also got wins while Loretto could not turn hits into runs and fell just short against perennial state participant St. Martin. Local teams Monticello, Kimball, and Watkins all saw their seasons end last weekend as the final sixteen teams are set for Labor Day Weekend. Tournament co-hosts Delano are looking to be the first host to win the tournament since Jordan did so in Class B in 2004.
Maple Lake 8, Courtland 4
It was a well-rounded, well-executed team performance by the Lakers, who combined solid pitching, clutch hitting, and excellent defense. Winning pitcher Hunter Malachek went seven steady innings, allowing four runs on six hits and three walks while striking out eight. He said he felt more relaxed while avoiding wildness issues and staying in the zone. Although he allowed the tiebreaking home run to Courtland’s Teddy Giefer in the sixth, he finished strong by fanning three of the final five he faced, including the last two in his final frame.
Malachek helped his own cause right away when he ripped a two-out triple and was scored by Donnie Mavencamp in the first for the early lead. The Cubs fired back with a run of their own before the pitchers took over for a couple of fast innings. Maple Lake loaded the bases in the fourth but had to wait for the fifth inning to see Ben Clapp drive in Logan Orazem for the lead. Courtland created a major momentum shift when they plated three in the sixth but saw that momentum turn the complete opposite direction after a four-run Laker seventh. Grant Mergen led off the inning with a double and scored on a sacrifice by Jake Bergstrom, then a string of two-out hits resulted in runs for Luke Fobbe, Clapp, and Malachek.
Malacheck was replaced in the eighth after going seven innings, giving up four runs on six hits, three walks, and striking out eight. Substitute Ben Goelz got a hit-by-pitch RBI and Orazem singled to bring in Mavencamp in the eighth for a little insurance while reliever Jordan Flick (DC draftee) closed out the game.
Up next
Maple Lake will play the Sartell Muskies on Saturday, September 2, at 4:30 pm in Delano. The Lakers will play the rest of their games in Delano, with the possibility of two on Sunday with the championship on Monday. The Sartell Muskies went 11-1 in the Sauk Valley West and are the top seed from Region 11. The Muskies feature a lineup that makes a lot of contact top to bottom with respectable power. John Schumer and Adam Wenker put up solid numbers on the mound this season and should be a good test for Laker bats.