Saints skidding into halfway point of season
Posted June 17, 2013
By CJ Siewert
The St. Peter town team suffered three consecutive losses this past week, dropping its overall record to 3-7 and River Valley League mark to 2-3. The Saints lost at reigning Class B champion Victoria 6-5 in 10 innings on Tuesday, dropped a 9-6 decision to Belle Plaine on Friday night at Veterans Field and capped the weekend with a disheartening 8-4 loss to Gaylord at Vets.
St. Peter 5, Victoria 6 (10 innings) | Box Score
For the second consecutive season, the Saints took it to Class B powerhouse Victoria for an extra inning affair, but came up on the losing end this time. St. Peter led 5-4 heading to the bottom of the eighth, but the Vic’s tied it up with a run in the bottom half and eventually scored the game-winner in the 10th.
Jesse Anderson pitched eight strong innings, but ended up taking a no decision. He gave up five runs (three earned) on six hits with two strikeouts and three walks.
Jesse Munsterman relieved Anderson for the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning, but gave up three consecutive singles in the 10th for the loss.
The Saints out-hit the Vic’s 14-to-9, led by four hitters with three hits apiece – Seth Wenner (3-5, BB, 2 RBI), Munsterman (3-6, 2 R), Jordan Wilmes (3-6, 2B, RBI) and Ryan Wenner (3-6, R, RBI).
St. Peter 6, Belle Plaine 9 | Box Score
The visiting Tigers used a seven-run fourth inning to defeat St. Peter at Veterans Field.
The Saints struck first with a run in the opening frame, but that would be their only lead of the game. Belle Plaine lit up the scoreboard with seven runs in the fourth on seven hits and a walk off starter Jeff Wenner. From there, STP played catch-up, but never caught up.
The local nine answered with three runs in the bottom half on five hits (two doubles) and a walk. And in the fifth, the Saints cut the deficit to one at 7-6 with two more runs on three more hits and a walk, but that would be it for the offense.
Belle Plaine added two insurance runs in the sixth and the score remained 9-6 for a final.
Jeff Wenner took the loss after four innings of work. He gave up nine hits for seven earned runs. Jeremy Braun tossed the final five frames with two runs on five hits, six strikeouts and one walk.
Munsterman paced the offense with a 3-for-5 display, including two doubles and two runs. Ryan Wenner (2-4, R, BB) and Jeff Menk (2-5, R, RBI) each had two hits.
St. Peter 4, Gaylord 8 | Box Score
Despite coming from behind to erase an early deficit, the Saints pitching woes continued by giving up a three-run home run in the seventh and eventually dropping a critical RVL West matchup with the now division-leading Islanders.
Gaylord took an early lead with one run in the second and increased its lead to 3-0 in the fourth. But the Saints responded with two in the bottom half, sparked by consecutive doubles by Ryan Wenner and Shea Roehrkasse to start the frame.
The Islanders took a two-run lead in the sixth with another run off starter Jesse Anderson, but once again, St. Peter responded with two runs in the bottom half to tie the game at 4-4. With two outs, Mike Enz and Seth Wenner both singled, followed by a walk by CJ Siewert to load the bases. Andy Schroeder then reached on an error allowing Enz and Wenner to score.
Jordan Seebach relieved Anderson for the seventh and the Islanders got on him right away. A leadoff double followed by a walk set up a three-run home run, giving the Islanders a 7-4 lead and all the momentum. Another Gaylord run was added in the eighth where the score would remain for an 8-4 final.
Anderson took another no decision after six innings of work. He gave up six hits for two earned runs with four Ks and two walks. Seebach suffered the loss after two innings. He allowed four earned runs on five hits.
Enz (2-4, R, RBI), Roehrkasse (2-5, R, 2B) and Siewert (2-3, BB) led the team at the plate.
St. Peter has a few days off and then heads to Arlington on Thursday night at 8 p.m. for the Miller High Life Invite, hosted by Arlington and Gaylord. The Saints will face Henderson in the opening round and then will face either Savage or Mound in the second round on Saturday in Arlington.
Photo by Kayla Siewert: Ryan Wenner connects for an RBI double against Gaylord.
