The Minnewaska baseball team was confident that its top two pitchers would give the Lakers a chance to win in the playoffs, and that’s exactly what happened in the first two rounds of the Section 3-2A tournament on Saturday.
The Lakers, seeded third in the North half of the section, beat second-seeded Paynesville 5-1 after beating sixth-seeded Redwood Valley in a 3-2 final in the opener.
Seniors Aaron Ver Steeg and Darion Alexander both threw complete games. Ver Steeg tossed a 2-hitter in the win over Paynesville while working around six walks, and Alexander struck out eight and scattered six hits and four walks in the win over Redwood Falls.
Ver Steeg had a big day at the plate too. He homered and drove in all three runs against Redwood Falls, and also added two hits and two RBIs against Paynesville.
The Lakers (13-8) now play top-seeded Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (18-2) at Atwater on June 1 at 5 p.m.
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REDWOOD VALLEY 000 020 0 - 2 6 1
MINNEWASKA 003 000 X - 3 5 1
MINNEWASKA PITCHING - Darion Alexander - W, 7IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, 4BB, 8SO
MINNEWASKA OFFENSE - Alexander - 0-3; Mitchell Gruber - 1-2, 1 run; Aaron Ver Steeg - 1-2, HR, BB, 1 run, 3 RBI; Sam Hested - 1-3; Riley Johnson - 1-3; Dalton Friedrichs - 0-3; Torii Johnson - 0-3; PJ Johnson - 0-3; Hunter Johnson - 1-2, 2B, 1 run
MINNEWASKA 100 031 0 - 5 8 1
PAYNESVILLE 100 000 0 - 1 2 1
MINNEWASKA PITCHING - Aaron Ver Steeg - W, 7IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 6BB, 4SO
MINNEWASKA OFFENSE - Alexander - 2-3, BB, 2 runs; Gruber - 0-3, 1 run; Ver Steeg - 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Hested - 1-4, RBI; R. Johnson - 1-4; Friedrichs - 1-4; T. Johnson - 0-2, BB, 1 run; P. Johnson - 1-2; H. Johnson - 0-2, BB; Alec Larson - 1 run
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