Thank you to these supporters of amateur baseball!
7/15/23
The All-Stars from the Tomahawk East League and the Corn Belt League converged at the Searles Ballpark on Saturday afternoon. After three scoreless innings, the teams went back-and-forth, with the Corn Belt building a three-run lead, but the Tomahawk East kept chipping away, tying the game at five in the 8th and walking it off in the bottom of the 9th for a 6-5 victory.
After retiring the first two batters, Sleepy Eye's Jake Mielke found himself in a bases-loaded jam to start the game. He coaxed a force out at the plate to get out of the inning with no runs allowed. Pitchers for both leagues worked quickly and effectively, retiring everyone in order until after there was one out in the top of the 4th.
With one down in the top of the fourth, Raymond's Mike Jeseritz got on with the second of his three hits on the day. Wabasso's Carter Guetter smoked a double that bounced over the leftfield fence to get runners at second and third for the visitors. Bird Island's Aidan Elfering launched a sacrifice fly to open the scoring, putting the Corn Belt on top, 1-0.
After two were out in the bottom of the 4th, Springfield's Decker Scheffler connected for a single, the Tomahawk East's first hit of the day. Courtland's Nolan Drill cracked a two-run homer over the leftfield fence to give the hosts a 2-1 lead.
The top of a 6th saw a lead-off walk to Granite Falls' Bennett Knapper, followed by a pair of wild pitches and another Jeseritz single even the score at two.
Stark's Nick Labat took over the mound duties in the top of the 7th and was greeted by Raymond's Alex Call depositing the first pitch well over the leftfield fence to put the Corn Belt on top, 3-2. The Corn Belt also got clutch RBIs from Raymond's Isaac Call and Branden Flock of Milroy to make the score 5-2.
Defensive miscues for the Corn Belt did them in over the final three frames. They allowed three runs, only one of which was earned in the seventh and eighth innings to even things at five.
Jordan Milbrath of Springfield took the ball for the home team working the final two innings, facing just one batter over the minimum while striking out five Corn Belt All-Stars.
In the bottom of the ninth, a hit batter followed by an error had runners at second and third for the Tomahawk East with no one out. Things were looking good, but a line drive to third turned into a double play, putting a damper on the rally. Suddenly, there were two outs with a runner on second. A ground ball looked like it might send the game to extra innings for the fourth straight contest, but the throw was in the dirt and the winning run came around to score, giving the Tomahawk East the 6-5 walk-off win.
The 2023 MVP Award winner was Nolan Drill of Courtland who had three hits, including a big two-run homer and three runs scored. Jordan Milbrath earned the win with two solid innings on the mound. The tough-luck loss went to Marshall's Charlie Jacobson who surrendered the unearned run in the bottom of the ninth.
The Corn Belt offense was led by Raymond's Mike Jeseritz with three hits. Wabasso's Carter Guetter added two hits. Raymond's Alex Call, Willmar's Christian Lessman, Raymond's Caleb Ditmarson, Raymond's Isaac Call, and Raymond's Tyler Steen all added one hit each.
The Tomahawk East's bats were led by Courtland's Nolan Drill with three hits. Springfield's Decker Scheffler contributed two hits. Essig's Erich Prokosch and Stark's Nick Labat notched one hit apiece.
The win is the Tomahawk East's fourth straight victory in this 6th annual all-star exhibition between the two leagues. The win also means the game will be hosted in a Tomahawk East League ballpark again next summer!
THANK YOU to Searles for being wonderful hosts for this entertaining amateur baseball celebration! Best of luck to all teams as they wrap up their regular season play and begin the battle to represent the Corn Belt and the Tomahawk East in the 100th Annual Minnesota Amateur Baseball State Tournament! See you at the ballpark!
CORN BELT (5) AT TOMAHAWK EAST (6)
CORN BELT AB R H BI TOMAHAWK EAST AB R H BI
Ian Koosman 3 0 0 0 Kevin Larson 1 0 0 0
Sam Etterman 2 0 0 0 Jackson Bode 4 0 0 0
Jake Tauer 3 0 0 0 Zach Haala 2 0 0 0
Alex Call 1 1 1 1 Tori Helget 1 0 0 0
Wylee Lottman 1 0 0 0 Sam Knowles 1 0 0 0
Christian Lessman 3 0 1 0 Jackson Huiras 1 0 0 1
Caleb Ditmarson 2 1 1 0 Decker Scheffler 4 2 2 0
Bennett Knapper 3 1 0 0 Nolan Drill 4 3 3 2
Mike Jeseritz 3 1 3 1 Cade Bushard 1 0 0 0
Jack Baumgart 2 1 0 0 Jevan Richert 3 0 0 1
Carter Guetter 3 0 2 0 Erich Prokosch 2 0 1 0
Isaac Call 1 0 1 1 Jordan Milbrath 2 0 0 0
Aidan Elfering 2 0 0 1 Mason Cox 2 0 0 0
Ty Steen 2 0 1 0 Nick Labat 1 0 1 0
James Woelfel 3 0 0 0 Josh Johnson 1 0 0 0
Branden Flock 1 0 1 1 Colten Schaefer 2 0 0 0
Connor Neubeck 1 0 0 0 Andrew Peters 0 0 0 0
Jordan Sagedahl 2 0 0 0 Will Carlson 1 0 0 0
JT Hoffmann 1 1 0 0
TOTALS 38 5 11 5 TOTALS 34 6 7 4
CORN BELT 000 101 300 -- 5
TOMAHAWK EAST 000 200 121 -- 6
LOB--CORN BELT 11, TOMAHAWK EAST 6. ERR--Jordan Sagedahl
(2), Bennett Knapper, Charlie Jacobson. 2B--Branden Flock,
Carter Guetter, Erich Prokosch. HR--Alex Call, Nolan Drill.
HBP--Isaac Call, Andrew Peters. SACF--Aidan Elfering.
SACB--JT Hoffmann. SB--Isaac Call, Colten Schaefer, JT
Hoffmann (2), Nolan Drill (2).
CORN BELT IP H R ER BB SO HR
Jack Howard 2.00 0 0 0 0 2 0
Logan Swann 2.00 2 2 2 0 1 1
Logan Terfehr 2.67 3 1 0 2 2 0
Dylan Gass 0.33 0 0 0 0 1 0
Adryen Tietz 0.33 2 2 1 0 0 0
Bennett Knapper 0.67 0 0 0 0 0 0
Charlie Jacobson (L) 0.67 0 1 0 0 0 0
TOMAHAWK EAST
Jake Mielke 1.00 2 0 0 1 1 0
Sam Knowles 2.00 0 0 0 0 1 0
Branson Peterson 2.00 2 1 1 1 1 0
Jackson Huiras 1.00 3 1 1 1 2 0
Nick Labat 1.00 4 3 3 0 0 1
Jordan Milbrath (W) 2.00 0 0 0 0 5 0
WP--Logan Terfehr, Jackson Huiras (2). SO--Jordan Sagedahl,
Caleb Ditmarson, Ty Steen, Jake Tauer, Jack Baumgart, Connor
Neubeck, Sam Etterman, Bennett Knapper, Wylee Lottman, James
Woelfel, Cade Bushard, Jackson Bode, Tori Helget, JT
Hoffmann, Zach Haala, Decker Scheffler. BB--Connor Neubeck,
Bennett Knapper (2), Andrew Peters, JT Hoffmann.
NOTES: Nolan Drill - MVP
LOCATION: Searles
Sat., July 15, 2023 - Tomahawk East vs Corn Belt All-Star Game at Searles (PDF)
7/15/23 - Tomahawk East vs Corn Belt - All-Star Game
7/15/23 - Sporfie: Corn Belt @ Tomahawk East - All-Star Game