Carlos Cougars advance to state for sixth straight year

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The Carlos Cougars made things look easy on their way to securing a spot in their sixth straight state tournament and a berth in the Region 14C championship game.

The Cougars were a dominant force in the Resorters League this past season and nothing changed once they reached the region tournament. Carlos earned a 9-2 win over Nimrod this past Sunday to secure a spot in the 14C championship. That came after an 8-1 victory over Nisswa in the second round and a 12-6 win over Bluffton to open the tournament.

The Cougars had everything going throughout the tournament to pick up the three wins. Nate Hoelscher highlighted the game-two victory with a complete-game three-hitter. Hoelscher was affectively wild at times with five walks, but 10 strikeouts helped him overcome that. He allowed one run in the first inning before putting up zeroes the rest of the way.

His offense gave him four runs through five innings. In the ninth, they doubled that with four more to put the game out of reach. Neil Jenzen provided a lot of that offense with two home runs, three RBIs and two runs scored.

Balls were flying off the bat all day on Saturday. Aaron Noetzelman, Joe Snaza and Brad Nyberg all joined Jenzen with home runs. Noetzelman scored three runs out of the leadoff spot, while Nyberg and Snaza each added two RBIs. Matt Hoelscher also had three hits, including a double.

The opening win over Bluffton saw much of the same as the Braves could not hold down the Carlos offense.

Bluffton took a brief 4-3 lead in the fourth inning, but a six-run fifth for the Cougars swung the momentum in their favor. Carlos did not look back from there, posting single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to cruise to the 12-6 win.

Snaza once again had a great day at the plate with three hits, three runs and three RBIs. Jenzen went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, while Noah Johnson helped out with a 2-for-4 day and a run scored.

Matt Hoelscher took advantage of the offensive support in the middle innings to pick up the win. Hoelscher threw 4 2/3 innings in relief of Ben Bruggeman. He allowed just one run on one hit and two walks, while striking out six. Mark Hillesheim went the final two innings and allowed two unearned runs in the ninth before closing things out.

The three wins give the Cougars a 23-1 record heading into the Region 14C championship game, which is scheduled for this Sunday in Perham at 4:30 p.m.

There is a chance that Carlos will have to battle the only team that has beaten them this year. Clarissa is still alive and will take on Bertha today, Friday, at 8 p.m. in New York Mills. A win would advance them to a Saturday game against Nimrod to determine who would move on to play the Cougars for the championship on Sunday.

GAME STATISTICS

Carlos 9, Nimrod 2

(Statistics not available)

CARLOS 200 110 004 – 8 13 1

NISSWA 100 000 000 – 1 3 0

CARLOS PITCHING – Nate Hoelscher – (W) 9IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 5BB, 10SO

CARLOS HITTING – Aaron Noetzelman - 2-4, 2B, HR, 3 runs, RBI, BB; Justin Steidl – 1-5, 2B, 1 run; Joe Snaza – 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, 1 run; Neil Jenzen – 2-3, 2 HR, 2 runs, 3 RBI, BB; Brad Nyberg – 2-5, HR, BB, 1 run, 2 RBI; Noah Johnson – 0-3, 2 BB; Troy Putnam – 1-4; Matt Hoelscher – 3-4, 2B; Ben Bruggeman – 0-5

BLUFFTON 003 100 002 – 6 3 6

CARLOS 300 061 110 – 12 8 8

CARLOS PITCHING – Ben Bruggeman – 2 1/3IP, 2H, 3R, 1ER, 2BB, 3SO; Matt Hoelscher – (W) 4 2/3IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 6SO; Mark Hillesheim – 2IP, 0H, 2R, 0ER, 2BB, 3SO

CARLOS HITTING – Noetzelman – 0-2, 3 BB, 2 runs; Steidl – 0-3, 2 BB, 1 run; Snaza – 3-4, BB, 3 runs, 3 RBI, SB; Neil Jenzen – 2-5, 1 run, RBI, SB; Nyberg – 1-5, 1 run, RBI; Ryan Severson – 0-4, RBI; Spencer Timm – 0-0, BB, 1 run; Johnson – 2-4, BB, 1 run; Nate Hoelscher – 0-1; Dave Schjenken – 0-2, BB, 1 run; Hillesheim – 0-1; Bruggeman – 0-4, BB, 1 run

Tags: alexandria sports, area sports, sports, carlos, cougars, baseball, region, 14c