Springfield Bests New Ulm In See-Saw Extra Inning Battle

6/24/07

After a loss to the Hanska Lakers earlier in the afternoon, the Tigers got back on the field to take on the New Ulm Brewers.  The game wrapped up the Riverside Days weekend and was played front of a large crowd.  The contest went ten innings and saw a total of thirty-two hits.  When one looks back on the 2007 Tiger season, this could turn out to be one of those turning point games.  It is definitely a win the Tigers hope to build on.

Jake Miesen started on the mound for Springfield.  He battled his way through the first 5 and 1/3 innings, giving up five runs, three of which were earned.  He did exactly what the Tigers needed, keep them in the game.

Springfield scored the game's first runs in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of three walks, a hit batter, and three New Ulm errors to take a 2-0 lead.  New Ulm stormed back in the fourth, scoring three runs on five hits to make the score 3-2.  In the bottom of the inning, the Tigers regained the lead.  Kyle Kraska walked, stole second, and was moved to third on a sacrifice by Matt Baier.  Brady Schwab tied the game with a single.  He stole second and Jon Diede followed with an RBI base hit giving the Tigers a 4-3 lead.

The fifth inning was quiet, as both teams were retired in order, but the lull in scoring didn't last long.  New Ulm knocked out Tiger starter Miesen in the sixth inning.  The Brewers used two Springfield errors, a balk, and two hits to plate three runs, moving the score to 6-4.  The Tigers cut the Brewer lead to one with three straight hits by Andy Moritz, Kraska, and Baier.  New Ulm pushed their lead back to two in the top of the seventh.  The Brewers made the score 7-5 by getting three straight singles off Tiger reliever Jon Diede.

Springfield wouldn't give up, battling back to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth.  Jesse Berg led off with a solid single.  Moritz walked and Kraska reached on a fielder's choice before Baier drove in his third run of the game with a single, tying the game at seven.  New Ulm tried to knock the Tigers out by scoring a run in the top of the ninth, taking advantage of a lead-off single, gaining the lead 8-7. 

Springfield would not be denied, perfectly executing to score the tying run. Ryan Sturm led-off with a base hit.  Brandon Wilhelmi moved him to second with a sac bunt.  Chris Sturm grounded out before Berg came through with another solid single to bring the tally to 8-8.  New Ulm got the bases loaded with two out in the top of the tenth, but Diede got a ground out to get out of the inning with the score still tied.

The Tigers sent the top of the order to the plate in the bottom of the tenth.  Kraska led off with a base hit.  Baier laid down another sacrifice bunt to move him to second.  Schwab drew an intentional walk to bring up Diede.  Jon came through, driving in the winning run with a base hit and picking up the win on the mound, final score 9-8.

Springfield travels to Sleepy Eye on Friday night.  The win moves their record to 9-6 on the season.  The Tigers will have a little time to rest-up as the Fourth of July holiday breaks up the schedule.  After the Sleepy Eye game, the Tigers are off until the following Friday when Redwood Falls comes to town.  They'll look to carry the momentum of this big win into a winning streak as they move into the final third of the regular season schedule.

Linescore

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E	LOB
New Ulm	0	0	0	3	0	3	1	0	1	0	8	19	6	14
Springfield	0	0	2	2	0	1	0	2	1	1	9	13	4	12

 

Springfield Box

	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO
Kraska, SS	4	3	3	0	2	0
Baier, RF	4	0	2	3	0	1
Schwab, 2B	5	1	1	1	1	0
Diede, DH/P	5	1	2	2	1	1
Miesen, P	-	-	-	-	-	-
R. Sturm, 1B	4	1	1	0	1	1
Wilhelmi, CF/C	3	0	0	0	0	0
C. Sturm, LF	5	0	0	0	0	2
Berg, 3B	5	0	3	1	0	1
Haseleu, PR	0	1	0	0	0	0
Moritz, C/CF	4	2	1	0	1	1
	39	9	13	7	6	7
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Miesen	5 1/3	11	5	3	0	4
Diede (W, 2-0)	4 2/3	8	3	2	2	2

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