Home Talent: Poynette, Knuteson blank Waterloo

Strong pitching, a big double play and an opportunistic offense resulted in a 10-0 win over Waterloo for Poynette in Home Talent League play on Sunday.

Andy Knuteson threw a complete game, his first of the year, to lead the Indians, scattering five hits and striking out two on only 84 pitches.

“Andy did a great job on the mound today,” said Davy Tomlinson, Poynette’s manager. “Every pitch was working, and his defense was good.”

A key double play in the third inning was crucial to Poynette’s success on the road.

“That double play in the third was a huge momentum shift in our favor,” said Tomlinson. “We had just scored some runs, and they were threatening to answer back, but that play took the wind out of their sails, and we even got a couple more runs right after that play.”

Poynette only had six hits on the day, but Waterloo committed four errors, issued six walks and hit three batters with pitches.

“We didn’t rack up a ton of hits today, but we made the most of the free passes and their defensive miscues,” said Tomlinson.

It was Poynette’s second shutout of the season. Ian Nowell went 2-for-4, with Tomlinson going 2-for-3 and Dacota Potter finishing with two hits. Nowell also had two runs and drove in a pair. Tomlinson also had two RBIs.

Poynette is now 6-10 overall, including a 3-5 league mark, a 1-4 Night League record and a 2-1 record in exhibition play.

Sun Prairie 8, Poynette 2

The Indians outhit Sun Prairie 11-7 but came out on the short end.

“We did a good job of racking up a bunch of hits, but we just couldn’t come up with the clutch hit to knock in more runners,” said Tomlinson. “We played well defensively, but unfortunately, we gave up too many free passes and it hurt us.”

Poynette stranded 14 runners, including nine in scoring position. Nowell had two RBI singles while going 4-for-5. Joel Thimsen went 3-for-5, while Carson Frost was 2-for-4, with a double.

Will Eckstein took the loss, going six innings and allowing five earned runs. He struck out four and walked six. Knuteson and Carter Hansen also pitched.