Braves fall to top-seeded Jordan in Region 6C Championship game, will face Madison at state

After claiming their first trip to state in two decades the previous week, the Le Sueur Braves returned to Arlington to face the Jordan Brewers in the Section 6C Championship game. Despite allowing just five hits on the night, a trio of errors and nine walks allowed the Brewers to build a small lead which they maintained to the finish line, defeating the Braves 4-2.

As a result, Le Sueur earned the No. 2 seed out of the Region 6C, getting the second pick in the supplementary draft while also getting the opportunity to face the third seed from region 9C.

Both Le Sueur and Jordan issued one walk apiece in the first inning but nothing more came of the scoring chances but in the top of the third inning, the Braves put together a small rally. With one out, Bryce Novak sent a single up the middle before being pushed to third on a single from Tyler Pengilly.

Cole Pengilly then put a ball in play to the second baseman that scored Novak from third, putting the Braves up 1-0.

The Brewers responded immediately with a batter being hit by a pitch and with the runner at first, a pickoff attempt got past first base and allowed the Brewer to advance to third. A sacrifice fly ball to right field scored the tying run and after issuing a walk, another pickoff attempt missed the mark and once again put a runner on third.

Jordan went ahead 2-1 with an RBI single straight up the middle. In the next two innings, the Brewers added a run to extend their lead to 4-1, a lead they would maintain until the top of the ninth inning when the Braves put together another small rally, scoring one run to force a pitching change. The relief pitcher allowed two hits but a strikeout brought the game to a close.

With the Section tournament completed, seeding for the State Tournament was determined Sunday with the Braves drawing the Madison Mallards as their round one opponent. The game will be played Sunday, Aug. 18 at Belle Plaine’s Tiger Park with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.

In the supplementary draft, Le Sueur added Derek Dahlke of Belle Plaine, Riston Wojcik of Eagle Lake and Ben Hopper from St. Clair.

BOX SCORE Team — innings | runs hits errors Le Sueur Braves — 001 000 001 | 2 5 3 Jordan Brewers — 002 110 00X | 4 5 1 607424bf-882e-45cf-945b-73a1cd7e8c20