HTL: Jefferson upended by Evansville, 4-1

EVANSVILLE — Will Peterson and Jameson Lavery combined on a six-hitter with 16 strikeouts as the Evansville Jays beat the visiting Jefferson Blue Devils 4-1 in Home Talent League baseball action on Sunday.

Peterson started for the Jays (8-5), allowing an earned run on two hits with 10 strikeouts and five walks over five innings. Lavery, who earned the decision, pitched four shutout innings of four-hit ball, fanning six while walking one.

Heath Renz started for Jefferson and took the loss, surrendering three runs (two earned) on three hits with nine strikeouts and three walks in six innings. Tyler Schroedl pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth.

No. 3 hitter Roby Schlesner had two hits for the Blue Devils, who stranded 12 runners on base.

Trevor Syse tripled with one away in the Evansville fifth and scored the game’s first run when Lavery followed with a fly ball single to center field.

Thomas Schlesner drove in courtesy runner Spencer Wade with a no-out single in the Jefferson sixth.

Evansville grabbed the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth, taking advantage of a pair of no-out walks before Aaron Anderson’s one-out RBI single brought a run across, as did second baseman Aidan Kammer’s two-out error.

The Jays, who were outhit 6-3, tacked on another run via error in the seventh.

The Blue Devils, who have dropped three straight Sunday League Games, are 8-5 overall in the Southeast Section and have clinched a wildcard berth for the HTL playoffs, which begin Aug. 4. Cambridge (10-2) won the Southeast North Division with a walk-off win over Utica on Sunday.

Jefferson closes out the regular season at last-place Lake Mills next Sunday.

EVANSVILLE 4, JEFFERSON 1

Jefferson 000 001 000 — 1 6 3

Evansville 000 012 10x — 4 3 1

WP: Lavery

LP: Renz

Jefferson (ab-r-h-rbi) — Fetherston 5-0-1-0, Kammer 5-0-0-0, R. Schlesner 4-0-2-0, Renz 3-0-0-0, T. Schlesner 4-0-1-1, Hoffman 4-0-1-0, Laesch 4-0-0-0, J. Vogel 2-0-0-0, Z. Peterson 2-0-0-0, C. Miller 1-0-1-0. Totals 34-1-6-1.

Evansville (ab-r-h-rbi) — Keller 3-1-0-0, Frydenlund 3-0-0-0, Nolden 4-0-0-0, Anderson 4-1-1-1, C. Syse 4-0-0-0, T. Syse 4-1-1-0, Lavery 3-0-1-1, Bishop 2-0-0-0, Borchardt 2-1-0-0. Totals 29-4-3-2.

3B — T. Syse (E)

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — J: Renz 6-3-3-2-3-9, Schroedl 2-0-1-0-1-1; E: Peterson 5-2-1-1-5-10, Lavery 4-4-0-0-1-6.