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The Pipestone A’s amateur baseball team saw its season come to an end on Saturday with an 8-1 loss at Hadley.
The Buttermakers’ quality pitching proved to be the difference in the two-game sweep of this Region 10C Tournament series.
Minnesota West Community & Technical College alum Tucker Sorenson and Lincoln Swonjord earned wins in the first and second games, respectively. Hadley won the opener, 3-0, at A’s/City Field Wednesday.
Pipestone A’s Brandon Alfson prepares to swing during the sixth inning of this Region 10C Tournament game at Laurie Mahon Memorial Field in Hadley on Saturday, July 26. Alfson would later smack a home run to account for Pipestone’s only run in an 8-1 loss. (Star photo by Eric Viccaro)
“Tucker (Sorensen), he’s one of the top two or three pitchers in the league,” A’s coach Avery Ploeger said. “He’s tough. We were able to get six hits off him, but we couldn’t string any together and we couldn’t get in anybody to score.”
Swonjord recently moved from Texas to this area. He pitched and played first base for Pantego Christian, a private school based in Arlington, as a first-team all-district performer.
“In his scouting report, we knew he threw hard and could get wild,” Ploeger said. “But, he didn’t get wild against us. It was hard to overcome.”
Pipestone A’s Greg Quist starts a relay from the outfield during a Saturday, July 26, game in Hadley. (Star photo by Eric Viccaro)
The A’s finish with an 8-12 record while Hadley advances to play No. 1 seeded Windom. Game One is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Island Park. Game Two will be at Mahon Field 2 p.m. Saturday. An if-necessary game would occur at 2 p.m. Sunday in Windom.
Pipestone scored its lone run of the series in the sixth inning as clean-up hitter Brandon Alfson blasted a pitch over the short porch in left field (which measures 285 feet down the line).
Landon Quist, Mark Abrahamson and Alfson all doubled; however, the A’s left too many base runners stranded.
Swonjord went six innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with 15 strikeouts and two walks in 110 pitches.
Bryce Ahrent pitched the final three frames for Hadley, striking out three more A’s.
Mitchel Carson took the loss, allowing five earned runs on eight hits with eight strikeouts and four walks over 116 pitches. Mitchell Biever also saw time on the bump for Pipestone, with four strikeouts in 2-2/3 innings.
Mitchel Carson absorbed the loss in the A’s final game on Saturday, July 26, in Hadley. (Star photo by Eric Viccaro)
Wednesday recap
The heart of the Buttermakers batting order did plenty of damage as Austin Irlbeck, Derrick Kluis and former Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian standout Max Zwart all collected two hits in Wednesday’s three-run win.
Pipestone A’s Nohel Vivanco tags out Hadley Buttermakers’ runner Jaden Dieken, who tried to extend a double into a triple during a Region 10C Tournament game on Wednesday, July 23, at A’s/City Field. Hadley still generated enough offense to win Game One, 3-0. (Star photo by Eric Viccaro)
Sorenson threw 129 pitches, with 97 of them for strikes (75.2 percent efficiency). He struck out 21, walked none and issued one hit batsman.
Alfson recorded the A’s lone multi-hit game, going 2-for-4. Jackson Melcher, Maddox Biever, Mitchell Biever and Quist all were able to get one hit off Sorenson. Pipestone reached third base a couple of times.
Pipestone A’s Maddox Biever reacts to an umpire’s call during a Wednesday, July 23, playoff game at A’s/City Field. (Star photo by Eric Viccaro)
Two A’s drafted
Two Pipestone A’s were drafted to other teams on Sunday night, with Carson Frank selected by the Jackson Bulls and Mark Abrahamson to Hadley.
Pipestone A’s Mark Abrahamson puts on his catcher’s gear between innings. (Star photo by Eric Viccaro)
“It’s a huge honor for both of them,” Ploeger said.
Drafted players wear their own team’s uniform, and are only allowed to pitch, Ploeger explained.
Ploeger had to talk Frank into joining the Bulls for their 10C semifinal round games versus Milroy. Game One is at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Irish Yard. Game Two will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Wacker Field in Jackson. An if-needed game would be at 2 p.m. Sunday in Milroy.
It’s unclear whether Abrahamson would play for Hadley, since he also is a member of the Harrisburg Woodies amateur team based in South Dakota.
South Dakota update
CASTLEWOOD, S.D. — The Elkton Snappers are currently playing in the South Dakota Region 1B Tournament at Memorial Park.
The South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association Class B tournament will take place in Brandon this year.
Clark defeated Elkton, 5-2, on Saturday in the opening round — relegating the Snappers to the consolation bracket.
Elkton responded with a 10-4 victory over the Estelline Merchants Sunday.
Monday’s consolation game versus Volga was postponed due to severe weather. The game was tentatively rescheduled for Wednesday, Snapper officials reported.
In the win over Estelline, Aidan Stewart homered, scored three runs and provided two RBI. Dylan Gillespie rapped out three hits. Brady Steffen and Billy Stuefen both had two RBI. Brandon Stuefen earned the win, pitching the final 4-2/3 innings with four strikeouts in 60 pitches.
INFORMATION
BASEBALL
Region 10C Tournament
Game One
Wednesday, July 23
At Pipestone
Hadley 3, Pipestone 0
Hadley 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 3 10 1
A’s 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 6 1
WP: Tucker Sorenson, Hadley
LP: Mitchell Biever, A’s
2B: Abe Paulzine, Danny Blankenship and Jaden Dieken, Hadley; no extra-base hits for A’s
Game Two
Saturday, July 26
At Hadley
Hadley 8, Pipestone 1
A’s 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 6 1
Hadley 0 0 3 1 0 1 3 0 0 — 8 11 0
WP: Lincoln Swonjord, Hadley
LP: Mitchel Carson, A’s
HR: Brandon Alfson, A’s; Tucker Sorenson and Brent Hokeness, Hadley
2B: Landon Quist, Mark Abrahamson, Alfson, A’s; Austin Irlbeck and Sorenson, Hadley