Friday evening, the St. Peter Saints opened the 2024 MBA State Tournament at Belle Plaine’s Tiger Park as they faced the Union Hill Bulldogs, the second-seeded team out of section three. Despite scoring a run in both the first and second innings, a five-run inning from Union Hill in the third put the Saints into a hole they would be unable to dig out of, eventually falling 9-3.
Things couldn’t have started out much better for the Saints with leadoff hitter Sam Wenner ripping a a double down the left field line followed by a Cody Booker RBI single in the right centerfield gap. Booker attempted to stretch the single into a double but the throw from the outfielder was on the mark and he was tagged out after putting St. Peter up 1-0.
Jovan Rodriguez added a two-out single that dropped into right field but he ended up stranded after a groundout on the next at-bat. In the bottom of the first, pitcher Josh Robb allowed a baserunner on a single that ultimately reached third, but the Saints got out of the jam with a pop foul hauled in at third base.
In the top of the second inning, Jeff Menk hit a one-out single to left field and he was advanced on a sacrifice bunt from Billy Hanson. Tyson Sowder, batting out of the nine spot in the lineup, smashed a double into a gap in the defense that scored Menk and extended the lead to 2-0.
The game would fundamentally change in the bottom of the third inning when a fielding error with out-out was followed by a hit-by-pitch and a walk to load the bases. Another walk on a full count resulted in the first run of the night for the Bulldogs and a two-run double into right field put them ahead 3-2.
The Saints handed the ball to draftee Jared Miller of Belle Plaine who struck out his first batter before another two-run double extended Union Hill’s lead to 5-2. The Saints took that gut-punch and the offense struggled to find its rhythm again with hits sporadically making little impact. Union Hill added a run in the bottom of the fifth inning and three more in the sixth to take a 9-2 advantage.
With the season on the line and facing a seven-run deficit in the top of the ninth, CJ Siewert drew a two-out walk folloed by a Sowder walk that allowed Wenner to hit his second double of the night, an RBI shot into left field, but a flyout to centerfield ended any hopes of a long rally.
As a result, the season for St. Peter officially came to a close although it will be considered a success as the squad made its first appearance at the MBA State Tournament since 2017.
BOX SCORE Team — innings | runs hits errors St. Peter Saints — 110 000 001 | 3 8 4 Union Hill Bulldogs — 005 013 00X | 9 9 0 c1fecd7e-a661-4217-8ca8-22ed4b5b5d44
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