Saints 5-game win streak snapped by pair of losses to Le Center

Tuesday night, the Le Center Braves traveled to St. Peter to continue the previously postponed 1-1 tie before quickly turning around for their regularly scheduled competition. Jumping out with a pair of runs to start the night, the Braves held on to win the postponed game 3-2 before surviving a wild shootout in the second game as they earned a 7-5 victory over the Saints, snapping St. Peter’s five-game win streak.

Game 1: Le Center — 3, St. Peter — 2

Picking up in the bottom of the fourth inning with the Braves as the home team, Le Center got the bats going immediately as Joe Romo hit a leadoff single before being pushed forward by a Ryan Wolf single to left field. Back-to-back rbi singles to left and to shortstop brought home runs which would prove to the difference makers as the Braves took a 3-1 lead.

In the top of the fifth inning, St. Peter responded with a leadoff single from Adam Marxen but a fielder’s choice resulted in him being thrown out. During the next at-bat, Steve Winkler hit a ground ball to first baseman who tagged the bag and then attempted to throw out Bob Elsen at second, but the throw went awry allowing Elson to reach third.

Elsen then scored during the next at-bat when a wild pitch reached the backstop, cutting the deficit to just one run. Down by one run in the top of the seventh, St. Peter put a pair of runners on the bases with singles from Luke Larson and Marxen, but a ground ball to Le Center shortstop Marcus Collins was hauled in on the run allowing him to tag second and make the throw to first for the game-clinching 6-3 double play.

Game 2: Le Center — 7, St. Peter — 5

Starting roughly 15 minutes after the first game concluded, Le Center, playing as the road team now, immediately kept the bats hot with Chris Kleinschmidt hitting a leadoff single before ultimately scoring from third on a 6-3 groundout. St. Peter responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning when Brandon Kerling reached on an error before being brought home on am RBI single from Ryan Gebur which was followed by a Larson RBI double that got over the left fielder’s head.

In the top of the second inning, Le Center put a pair of runners on the bases but with two outs, a slick diving grab from Gebur in centerfield stranded both of them. Collins returned the favor in the bottom of the third inning when with a runner at second and one out, he made an incredible catch diving to his left on a hard liner that was headed up the middle. The Saints were still able to bring home the runner from second on the next at-bat when Gebur hit an RBI single into left field.

The Braves put together their best inning of the night in the top of the fourth with Shawn Deming drawing a leadoff walk before advancing on a wild pitch followed by a single to left and a stolen base that put runners at second and third with one out. They were brought home when Chuck Schmidt crushed a double to left field that one hopped into the fence, tying the game at 3-3. After a single from Kleinschmidt pushed Schmidt to third, a fielder’s choice allowed him to score and give the Braves a 4-3 lead.

The Saints put a pair of runners on the bases with one out in the bottom of the fourth, but a ground ball to shortstop and a pop-out to short stranded both. In the top of the fifth, Brad O’Keefe drew a leadoff walk and Culbert entered the game to run for him, stealing second and advancing to third on a groundout to shortstop. In an aggressive bit of base-running, Culbert attempted to take advantage of a seeming lapse at first after the second out, making the push home, but the Saints caught on and made the throw home where Mike Nachreiner applied the tag for the final out of the inning.

St. Peter retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when Larson ripped a two-RBI single down the left field line, putting his team ahead 5-4. Le Center showed no sign of slowing down however and in the top of the sixth, loaded the bases with no outs before an RBI single from Collins and a two-run bloop single to left field from O’Keefe pushed the Braves lead to 7-5.

St. Peter once again threatened in the bottom of the seventh inning, putting runners at second and third with two outs, but a strikeout ended any chance of a rally for the Saints, giving Le Center the victory.

With the losses, St. Peter is now 5-3 on the season and is scheduled to return to the diamond Friday, July 12 when the team hosts the Southwest Outlaws with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.