HTL: Fort Generals knocked off by Albion Tigers, 3-1

Charlie Hatlen and Steven Olson combined on a five-hitter as Albion beat Fort Atkinson 3-1 in Home Talent League baseball at Jones Park on Sunday.

The Tigers (3-3) scored single runs in the fifth, seventh and ninth innings.

Hatlen started and earned the decision, pitching six shutout innings of three-hit ball. Olson allowed a run on two hits with four strikeouts in three frames to close it out.

Fort starter Austin Paul, who gave up two unearned runs on eight hits in six innings, took the loss. He fanned five and walked two. Josh Crandall pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth before Kroix Kucken allowed an earned run on two hits with two strikeouts in the ninth.

The offense for Fort (3-4), which got the lead off man on base in three of the first four innings, got on the board in the eighth. Branden Zastrow lined a double to right to open the frame before moving up on Kucken’s one-out single. Jay Rueth’s sacrifice fly made it a 2-1 game.

Olson then retired Conner Kienbaum on a ground ball and navigated around a one-out walk to Skyler Schmuck in the ninth, recording fly outs off the bats of Isaac Seavert and Isaac Heederik to end it.

Matthew Klubertanz led off the Albion fifth with a single, took second on a passed ball, reached third via ground out and came around on Olson’s ground ball to the left side.

Drew Hansen’s no-out RBI single in the seventh pushed Albion’s lead to 2-0.

Hatlen added a two-out run-scoring single in the ninth for the final margin.

Fort travels to play Footville next Sunday at 1 p.m.

ALBION 3, FORT 1Albion 000 010 101 — 3 10 0

Fort 000 000 010 — 1 5 0

WP: Hatlen

LP: Paul

Albion (ab-r-h-rbi) — Klubertanz 5-1-2-0, Hansen 4-1-3-1, Olson 5-0-1-1, Rusch 4-0-1-0, Kisting 5-0-0-0, Hatlen 5-0-2-1, Little 3-0-1-0, Revels 2-0-0-0, Kurt 3-1-0-0, Veitch 2-0-0-0. Totals 38-3-10-3.

Fort Atkinson (ab-r-h-rbi) — Heederik 2-0-0-0, Crandall 3-0-1-0, Zastrow 4-1-1-0, Hansen 4-0-1-0, Wolter 2-0-1-0, Rueth 2-0-0-1, Kucken 3-0-1-0, Kienbaum 3-0-0-0, Dunkleberger 4-0-0-0, Schmuck 3-0-0-0, Seavert 1-0-0-0. Totals 31-1-5-1.

2B — Hansen (A); Zastrow (FA).

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — A: Hatlen 6-3-0-0-1-1, Olson 3-2-1-1-2-4; FA: Paul 6-8-2-0-2-5, Crandall 2-0-0-0-2-1, Kucken 1-2-1-1-1-2.