The Eagles turned back Montevideo and Appleton. Our town team exudes pride with a 15-7 won-lost mark.
Now the focus is on Round 1 of Region 9C play, which will have Morris playing Dumont at 1:30 p.m. Saturday (8/4) at Rosen.
Click on the permalink below to read about the Eagles' 9-4 win over Montevideo on July 21, in the opening round of the Canvas Division playoffs. This post is on my companion website, "Morris of Course." Thanks for reading. - B.W.
Wins to close out July
Winning twice in a day in this very hot summer of 2012 earns a badge of resilience. The Eagles defeated the Montevideo Spartans 4-3 in game 1 on July 28. The site: Benson. Beating Monte clinched a region berth.
Monte gained a 1-0 lead in the top of the first but Morris got the score tied quickly. Eric Asche came up to bat with two outs and drove in Ryan Beyer with a single. Beyer had doubled. So the score is 1-1 with one inning done.
A very key inning was the third when the Eagles pushed three runs in. Again Beyer was a cog, this time singling. Asche sacrificed Beyer to second. Eric Riley made a statement that "small ball" wasn't really necessary. Eric caught hold of a Spartan delivery and hit a long homer to left-center.
The Eagles got their third run of the inning when Cole Riley raced home on a wild pitch.
Matthew Carrington pitched for all but 2/3 of an inning in this game. After allowing that first inning run, Carrington blanked Monte over the next five innings before allowing single runs in the seventh and ninth. The three runs he allowed were one shy of the Morris total, so Morris could savor victory and be assured they were "in" for Region 9C.
But it wasn't easy or routine getting through the ninth. Monte got a leadoff double. Morris committed a fielding miscue that resulted in baserunners at first and third. Whether or not hurler Carrington was feeling fatigued, it was considered prudent to have a fresh arm inserted.
Jacob Torgerson, active with both Legion and Eagles, was assigned work on the pitching rubber. Monte got a run in on a ground ball. Monte is within a run of tying. Torgerson needed one more out and he got it decisively with a strikeout.
The three Monte runs were charged to Carrington but two were unearned, and he was the pitcher of record (his seventh win). Torgerson was awarded the save.
Carrington fanned five batters, walked two and gave up six hits.
Colton Vein, a familiar name from the high school season, is a respected hurler for Monte but he looked mortal as he gave up ten hits.
Two Eagles each had two hits: Beyer and Jamie Van Kempen. Beyer scored two runs. Eric Riley had a hit (his home run) and drove in two runs. Asche had the other RBI to go with a hit.
Other Eagles with hits were Kirby Marquart, Cole Riley, Tanner Picht and Carrington.
The Eagles committed two errors and Montevideo one.
Eagles 9, Appleton 2
The Eagles turned things around nicely vs. the A's of Appleton. They were stung when the A's beat them 11-1 on July 22 in Morris. But Morris applied the stinging in the July 28 rematch.
What was at stake in the re-match? It was the No. 1 seed for region. So the victory had a savory feel indeed.
Morris took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Tanner Picht connected for a long double to right and Matthew Carrington hit an RBI single.
The sixth inning was when the decisive momentum set in. Again Carrington's bat produced an RBI single. Jacob Torgerson and Kirby Marquart worked the pitcher for successive walks, both with the bases full. Ryan Beyer got the ball out to the outfield for a sacrifice fly. Cole Riley singled up the middle to drive in a run.
In all, five runs came in for Motown in the sixth.
The final two Morris runs were scored in the ninth frame. They came in on base raps by Jamie Van Kempen and Kirby Marquart.
It was a big day for the burly veteran Marquart who went out to the hill for his first pitching start of the summer. He looked fully in the groove with his hurling. He set down nine Appleton batters on strikes. He walked just two and gave up three hits and two runs.
Every Eagle whose name appears in the boxscore had a hit! Tanner Picht had three. The following Eagles had two each: Marquart, Beyer, Eric Riley and Carrington. These Eagles had one hit: Dusty Sauter, Torgerson, Cole Riley, Mitch Carbert and Van Kempen.
The Morris line score was nine runs, 16 hits and three errors.
Tanner Picht had an amazing day as he played in four games, the first two of which were with the Morris Legion team. In the Eagles' win over Appleton, Picht looked fresh as could be as he went three-for-five with three runs scored and an RBI.
Now it's "destination Rosen!" for the Saturday (8/4) affair. Morris Eagles baseball is vibrant!
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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