Town Ball teams to begin tourney play in Hinckley

The pairings have been set for the final Class C Region 1 tournament that will feature strictly members of the Eastern Minny League.

And the four local Town Ball teams will begin their tournament run in the same place: Brennan Field in Hinckley.

This year the 16-team Eastern Minny League will play its tournament at two different sites, the other being Solheim Veterans Field in Princeton. Since both Princeton and Hinckley play in the North Division of the league, one will host the eight South Division teams.

Princeton, the top team in the North, switched spots with Isanti, the South Division champ. That put the Redbirds in the North Division with the other three area teams, namely Braham, North Branch and Rum River.

So on Saturday, July 27, the first full day of the tournament, all four teams will see action in Hinckley.

As the No. 5 seed in the North, North Branch will get its postseason started with a noon contest against Quamba, the fourth seed. At 3 p.m. Rum River, as the sixth seed from the North, will face off against third-seeded Mora.

The final game of the evening will pit the top-seeded Redbirds against Braham, the eighth seed from the North, in a 6 p.m. contest.

Isanti manager Steve Allen said this year’s Region 1 tournament is wide open.

“This is as close a tournament as I’ve seen in a long time,” he said. “There are so many teams that are potentially able to run the table. There are a number of teams that, if they play well and have a little luck, have a chance to win.”

Rum River manager John Gaub felt his team was one of those squads that could push for the crown.

“We can swing the bat and score runs,” he said. “If our pitchers throw the ball over the plate and we get good defense, I think we can compete.

“This is a clean slate. I’ve said before the regular season is basically spring training to get us ready for this tournament. So now our ‘season’ will begin.”

Braham feels it is better than its 2-13 record, pointing to a 2-5 mark since June 30, with three of those losses by one or two runs. And one of the Snappers’ victories came against Hinckley, the North’s regular-season champ.

“If we get the right guys on our roster to show up at the right time, we feel we can compete with anyone,” the Snappers’ Andy Beckstrom said. “This is the weekend we’ve been pointing to, asking all of our guys to be there this weekend.

“This is the time for us to dial it in and really play at our best.”

Hinckley will play its tournament opener at home against Ogilvie on Friday, July 26, starting at 7 p.m.

The Princeton site will see the host Panthers open play against Ham Lake on Friday starting at 7 p.m. The next day will see Chisago Lakes battle Elk River at noon, followed by St. Francis and East Bethel taking the field at 3 p.m., and Ramsey facing Nowthen at 6 p.m.

The double-elimination tournament will continue with games at both sites the following weekend.

The final week of the Eastern Minny League’s regular season saw a mixed bag of performances leading up to the tournament.

The Rum River Bandits began last week with two losses, dropping a 14-4 decision to Hinckley on Tuesday, July 16, before falling just short in a 12-11 setback in 10 innings at St. Francis the next day.

Kevin Auth led the offense in the Hinckley loss, collecting a triple and a single that produced two RBIs.

Offense was not the problem against St. Francis as the Bandits pounded out 11 hits, including two apiece for Seth Plohasz, Owen Forschen, and Colton Skoglund. Peyton Browen scored three times thanks in part to two walks and one hit batsman, while Ryan Garlick had three RBIs and reached base four times.

The issue was a pitching staff that surrendered 14 hits and four walks while also hitting four Silverbacks batters.

Rum River bounced back to claim a 7-5 victory over Braham on Sunday, July 21. The Bandits scored six times in the fourth thanks in part to a two-run homer by Forschen, while Auth had a double among his three hits.

Mike Koplitz earned the victory with five innings of relief, surviving a late Braham rally that saw the Snappers score a run in the eighth and two more in the ninth to make things interesting.

Brody Bakken and Colton Schusted each had two hits for Braham, with Schusted collecting two RBIs.

That was the second loss in a tough weekend for the Braham Snappers, which began with some promise as the Snappers pounded Ham Lake 11-1 on Friday, July 19.

Four Braham hitters – Bakken, Schusted, Jacob Johnson and Jared Johnson – each had a pair of hits, while Schusted finished with three RBIs and Bakken drove in two and scored three times.

Jacob Johnson started and earned the win by allowing just one hit and one run in 5.2 innings, while Jesse Johnson pitched the final 2.1 frames and surrendered only one baserunner on a walk.

The following evening the Snappers were on the wrong end of a 7-6 loss to East Bethel that took 11 innings.

Braham surrendered two runs in the ninth to tie the contest, then gave up the eventual winning run to East Bethel in the 11th.

Jesse Johnson had a big day at the plate, collecting four hits – including a double – and scoring two times, while Sam Widman added a pair of singles.

The Isanti Redbirds began last week on a down note as they were no-hit by Hinckley’s Isaiah Brennan in a 5-0 loss on Saturday, July 20. Isanti managed just three walks and made a hard-luck loser out of Phil Bray, who allowed eight hits and three earned runs in seven innings of work.

The following afternoon the Redbirds bounced back in style with a pair of victories.

Isanti began the day with a 7-5 victory over Elk River. Luke Selken had two doubles and scored three times while driving in two, while Mitch Dunbar, Tommy Heifort and Packy Lind also had two hits apiece against the Lumberjacks.

Heiford earned the win with five strong innings of relief in which he allowed just one run.

Then the Redbirds pounded East Bethel 15-0 in five innings thanks to 15 hits and nine walks. Matt Duong had three of those hits and collected four RBIs, while Lind had three hits and scored three times.

Bray and Duong split time on the mound and combined to allow just one hit and one walk while fanning six in five scoreless frames.

The North Branch Nighthawks also began last week with a loss, dropping a 6-0 decision at Princeton on Thursday, July 18. The Nighthawks managed just one hit, a single by Clint Mattson, while errors led to five unearned runs pinned on starter Nick Pilz.

North Branch bounced back to bludgeon Nowthen 9-0 on Saturday, July 20. Jimmy Skroch had a double among his three hits and scored three times, while Andrew Orf collected three singles that led to two RBIs and a run scored.

Lucas Goggin was dominant over the first seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and five walks while fanning eight to earn the win.

The next afternoon North Branch dropped a 7-2 decision at Hinckley in a contest that saw the Nighthawks commit more errors (four) than they had hits (three).