The race for the Independent League title will be on the line in the final week of the regular season.
Brill split its games with the Hayward Hawks over the past week, while Haugen won its game over Blue Hills.
This weekend’s game between Brill and Haugen will decide the league winner. The Knights are in first place at 7-3 ahead of the game on Wednesday night at Ladysmith against Blue Hills. Brill is a half-game back at 7-4 and will travel to Haugen Saturday for a noon first pitch.
Hayward, at 6-4, could still tie atop the standings. The Hawks play Spooner Friday night and still have to make up a game with Blue Hills that was suspended earlier this season.
Brill 6, Hayward 2In a matchup in Hayward on July 17, the Millers pulled away late with a three-run eighth inning and two-run ninth.
Brill led 1-0 until adding on in the eighth. Logan Hile singled to begin the frame and then Rece Dietrich reached on an error. Both came around to score, as did Joe Serbiak, who reached on another error from the Hawks.
Josh Halverson started the ninth with a triple and scored a base hit from Bill Brown, who later scored the final run for the Millers. Brown reached base in all five plate appearances, going 4 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored. Hile was 2 for 4, while Kirby Brunclik had a hit and two walks.
Serbiak threw the first eight innings for Brill, giving up one run. He struck out eight, walked five and allowed four hits. Logan Brunclik pitched the final inning as an error allowed an unearned run to score.
Hayward 2, Brill 0In a pitchers dual on Saturday in Brill the Hawks held the Millers off the scoreboard.
Logan Hile worked a complete game on the mound for the Millers but he was outdueled by Jonah Sande for the Hawks.
Hayward scored single tallies in the fourth and eighth innings. The Hawks had three base hits in the fourth as Kyle Cummings plated the game’s first run with a single to bring in Austin Wessel. In the eighth Terry Kilmer doubled to begin the frame and later scored on a passed ball.
Hile struck out four, allowed 10 hits and walked one in nine innings. Sande limited the Millers to two hits, while striking out 10 and walking one.
When Brill trailed 1-0, the Millers twice put the tying run in scoring position. Dietrich led off the fifth with single, Brill’s first hit against Sande. He was then sacrifice bunted to second but two consecutive punch outs by Sande held Brill scoreless.
In the sixth Brown doubled with two outs but a ground out to first stranded him.
Dietrich finished the game 1 for 3 and Brown was 1 for 4.
Haugen 9, Blue Hills 4The Knights moved into sole possession of first place as the Knights rallied from a slow start to defeat the Blue Hills Beasts on Friday night at Ladysmith.
Haugen gave up four runs in the first as Blue Hills’ Gavin Prinsen hit a three-run home run.
A four-run fourth from the Knights tied the game up. Nolan Rowe had an RBI double and Cole Paulson plated a run on a bunt. A two-run double from Rowe plated Easton Stone and Darek Dieckman in the fifth as Haugen took over the lead.
An RBI single from Dieckman made it 7-4 in the sixth, and Turner Swanson plated a run with a double in the seventh. The Knights’ final run came in the eighth as Dieckman drew a one-out walk and later scored on an RBI ground out by Paulson.
Rowe paced the offense with three RBIs in a 3 for 6 game. Stone went 3 for 5, while Swanson, Vaughn Johnson and Dieckman had two hits. Paulson had two RBIs, and Dieckman led the Knights with three runs scored.
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