St. Peter edges Belle Plaine 4-3, stays alive in region
Posted August 12, 2016
By Pat Beck, St. Peter Herald
An early lead held up to the end as the No. 2 seeded St. Peter town team held on to defeat No. 8 seeded Belle Plaine 4-3 in the Region 6C amateur baseball tournament Wednesday at Veterans Field.
The Saints now face No. 6 Henderson in the consolation-final, state-qualifying game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Veterans Field.
Henderson defeated No. 5 Le Sueur 6-5 in 10 innings on Wednesday. Jordan and Gaylord have already qualified for state.
St. Peter (20-8) scored two runs in both the first and second innings against Belle Plaine (10-21).
In the first inning, center fielder Ty Kaus and left fielder Ryan Kapser led off with back-to-back walks. First baseman Jeff Menk drove in Kaus with a single to center. Third baseman Luke Schwarz singled in Kapser.
In the second inning, catcher Billy Hanson led off with a single to center. Kaus singled to center to put runners on first and third, and Hanson scored on a single to right by Kapser. Second baseman Jordan Wilmes walked to load the bases, and Menk walked to drive in Kaus for the 4-0 lead which held up to the last inning.
Belle Plaine scored three runs on three hits and a walk in the top of the ninth. But veteran reliever Jesse Anderson shut the door on a strikeout with runners on first and second.
St. Peter starting pitcher Jeff Wenner (6-1) went five innings to pick up the victory. He allowed no runs on four hits, two hit batsmen, one walk and one strikeout.
First-year right hander Cullen Bruce pitched the next 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on two hits and one walk before giving way to Anderson with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the ninth inning.
The Tigers got a double off Anderson that drove in three runs, but Anderson got the final two outs including the last out on a strikeout.
Kaus led the Saints at the plate, finishing 2-for-2 with a walk, hit by pitch and two runs scored. Kapser finished 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run. Menk went 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBI. Schwarz batted 1-for-4 with and RBI. Hanson hit 1-for-3 with a walk and a run. Designated hitter Jovan Rodriguez finished 1-for-3 with a walk.
