By John George
The No. 3 seeded Perham Pirates staged a dramatic ninth inning rally to stay alive in the HI-10 playoffs, scoring twice in the final inning to eliminate Wadena-Deer Creek, 5-4.
The win marks the sixth time this season Perham has come from behind for a victory.
The Shockers, the No. 5 seed in the HI-10 playoffs, scored single runs in the third and fifth, then took a 4-0 lead with two more in the top of the sixth.
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Perham began chipping away at the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Andy Kratzke's single scored Matt Schornack and Tyler Doll. Player-Manager Mike Winjum drove in Matt Kalina in the seventh to make it 3-2.
Facing elimination in the bottom of the ninth, the Pirates completed the comeback. Doll reached on an error with one out and was followed by a walk to Winjum and a single by Jon Kotaska to load the bases. Kratzke singled to score Doll to tie the game, then Ryan Borowicz drove in the winning run on an infield hit.
Doll persevered through the middle innings to throw a complete game for the Pirates, scattering nine hits and walking two while striking out three.
Perham will now face No. 4 Bertha in an elimination game on July 27 at Krueger Field. The Pirates swept the season series with Bertha.
Millers take first round game
Baseball fans were treated to quite a pitchers dual Wednesday night at Krueger Field in a first round HI-10 playoff game between Perham and the No. 6 seed, New York Mills. In a dual of team aces, the Millers Tony Meech outpitched, barely, Kotaska as New York Mills won, 1-0.
Kotaska's only blemish came in the third as Chad Keskitalo reached on a one-out double, then scored on a RBI single by Darin Johnson. The Millers threatened again in the fifth. They had the bases loaded with one out, but Doll, the Pirate shortstop, turned a 6-3 doubleplay to get Perham out of the inning.
Kotaska went the distance in the loss, allowing eight hits and two walks while striking out six.
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Meech also pitched a complete game, striking out six with just one walk. His only real trouble came in the bottom of the ninth. Kotaska singled to lead off the inning and was replaced by pinch runner Andy Kratzke. Meech got the next two batters, but hit the following two, Kevin Feldt and Shane Miller, to load the bases. The game ended when the Millers right fielder Andy Meech made a nice running catch of a Kalina line drive. He slid and caught the ball just before it landed safely, which would likely have given the Pirates the win.
Kotaska and Evan Meece had two hits apiece for Perham.
Drew Schultz led Mills, going 2-for-4. Keskitalo and Johnson both finished 1-for-3.
The Millers fell on hard times after the first round win. They lost their second round game to No. 2 Bluffton, 4-2, on Saturday. They were then eliminated from the playoffs with a 18-9 loss at Bertha on Sunday.
No. 1 Detroit Lakes and No. 2 Bluffton will play in the championship semifinals on Friday. The winner will secure a spot in the Region 14C playoffs, the loser will take on the Perham/Bertha winner on Saturday in the consolation semifinals.
Countryside
No. 1 seed Fergus Falls has secured one of the two spots in the Region 16C playoffs. The Hurricanes opened the Countryside tournament with a 13-1 win over Frazee.
The 'Canes advanced to the league championship with a 3-1 win over Dent on Sunday. Matt Richter pitched a complete game in the loss for Dent. The Wildcats only run came in the sixth when Jeff Ronning reached on an error and eventually scored on a bases loaded walk to Brandon Fritz.
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Dent had beaten Vergas, 2-1, in the first round of the playoffs. Vergas scored in the bottom of the first on a solo homer by Jake Bachmann. It was the only run, and the only hit they would manage against Dent's ace, Brock Collins, who struck out 10 in the win.
The Wildcats scored one in the top of the first on a RBI by Ronning. Matt Wagner knocked in the game-winner with a base hit in the seventh.
Vergas, the No. 2 seed, had to move to the losers bracket, where they stayed alive with a 3-2 win over No. 4 Pelican Rapids. Nate Silbernagel got the win for the Loons with four innings of shutout relief. Marcus Zitzow, Josh Hoskins and Brandon Olson each drove in runs for Vergas.
The Loons played Frazee in an elimination game Wednesday night. The winner moves on to take on Dent on July 27. Friday's winner will secure the second spot in the Region 16C Tournament. The loser will be eliminated.
Amateur Baseball
HI-10 Playoffs
July 18
#6 New York Mills 1, #3 Perham 0
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R- H- E
NYM 0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-- 1- 8- 2
Perham 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-- 0- 7- 0
WP--T. Meech; LP--Kotaska
Perham--Kalina 0-4, BB; Schornack 0-3, Sac; Winjum 1-4, 2B; Kotaska 2-4, 2B; Borowicz 1-4; Meece 2-4; Feldt 0-3, HBP; Miller 1-3, SB, HBP.
NYM--Vaughan 1-4; Johnson 1-3, SB, RBI; T. Meech 1-4, SB; Burg 1-4; A. Meech 1-4; Hendrickx 1-4; Schultz 2-4; Keskitalo 1-3, 2B, R.
#5 Wadena-Deer Creek 11, #4 Bertha 2
July 20
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#1 Detroit Lakes 10, #5 W-DC 0
July 21
#2 Bluffton 4, #6 New York Mills 2
July 22
#3 Perham 5, #5 W-DC 4 (W-DC Eliminated)
R- H- E
W-DC 0-0-1-0-1-2-0-0-0-- 4- 9- 2
Perham 0-0-0-0-0-2-1-0-2-- 5-11- 3
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WP--Doll; LP--George
Perham--Kalina 0-4, BB, R; Schornack 2-4, BB, R; Doll 1-5, 2 R; Winjum 2-3, 2 BB, R, RBI; Kotaska 1-4, BB; Kratzke 2-4, BB, 3 RBI; Borowicz 1-4, RBI; Feldt 1-4, Miller 0-3, BB.
#2 Bertha 18, #6 NYM 9 (NYM Eliminated)
July 27
Championship Semifinals
#2 Bluffton at #1 Detroit Lakes 7:30 pm
Consolation Quarterfinals (Loser Eliminated)
#4 Bertha at #3 Perham 7:30 pm
July 28
Consolation Semifinals (Loser Eliminated)
at high seed 7:30 pm
July 29
HI-10 Championship
at high seed 1:30 pm
Countryside Playoffs
July 18
#5 Frazee 4, #4 Pelican Rapids 2
July 19
#3 Dent 2, #2 Vergas 1
R- H- E
Dent 1-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-- 2-11-0
Vergas 1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-- 1- 1- 1
WP--Collins; LP--Schrupp
Dent--I. Stoll 2-5; Collins 1-2; Ronning 1-4, RBI; Hoffman 2-3; Fritz 1-4; Richter 1-4; M. Stoll 1-4; Wagner 2-4, RBI.
Vergas--Bachmann 1-4, HR.
July 20
#1 Fergus Falls 13, #5 Frazee 1
July 22
Championship Semifinals
#1 Fergus Falls 3, #3 Dent 1
R
Dent 0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-- 1
FF 2-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-- 3
WP--Gagner; LP--Richter
#2 Vergas 3, #4 Pelican Rapids 2
(Pelican Rapids Eliminated)
R- H- E
P.R. 0-0-0-2-0-0-0-0-0-- 2- 5- 0
Vergas 1-0-1-0-0-0-1-0-x-- 3-10- 2
WP--Silbernagel; LP--Holmes
Vergas--Lockrem 2-5; Bachmann 1-3; Zitzow 2-3, RBI; Hoskins 2-4, RBI; Olson 2-4, RBI; K. Schrupp 1-3.
July 25
Consolation Quarterfinals
#5 Frazee at #2 Vergas (Loser Eliminated)
at Dent 7:30 pm
July 27
Consolation Semifinals (Loser Eliminated)
Frazee/Vergas at #3 Dent 7:30 pm
July 29
Countryside Championship
at high seed 1:30 pm
