Baseball: Osakis, Kensington split Resorters League doubleheader

KENSINGTON - The 2022 Resorters Baseball League is in full swing and two teams that are confident that they can make some noise this year, the Osakis Hawks and Kensington Norsemen, split a doubleheader on Sunday.

In game one, the pitching by Osakis’ Lane Berberich and the defense behind him stole the show in a 6-0 shutout win.

“It was a great game,” Osakis player/coach Doug Zimmel said. “Lane Berberich pitched a heck of a game.”

Berberich threw four strikeouts in his complete-game performance on the mound.

Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press

The Hawks (2-4) got on the board early in game one with a two-RBI single by Drew Fearing in the top of the first inning and with runs in the second inning off of a Hunter Infanger RBI triple and a sacrifice fly by Berberich. Luke Staloch had a triple to begin the second inning for the Hawks.

“Our defense played terrifically, and our offense came together,” Zimmel said. “It was a good all-around game.”

Brandon Giesler led the Hawks in hits with two, while Carter Rost also had a hit.

Osakis added insurance runs in the fifth inning with an RBI single by Rost and in the sixth inning with an RBI triple by Berberich.

The Hawks’ momentum from earning its second win of the season didn’t carry over into game two as the script was flipped, and it was Kensington that jumped out to an early lead and held on to win 5-4.

Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press

“We just hit the ball where their guys weren’t, I guess,” Kensington coach Eric Paulzine said. “We just hit a little better, had better base running, got the outs we needed and put everything together.”

Kensington, who is 3-3 in league play, had a 5-0 lead after the top of the third inning thanks to an RBI single by Eric Elbe in the first inning, a two-RBI double by Kevin Jenks in the third inning, a run off of an Osakis error and an RBI off of a fielder’s choice that Justin Cummins hit into.

Through three innings, Osakis had been held scoreless.

“We moved some guys around (in the field) and made some defensive adjustments,” Paulzine said.

But the Hawks tried to make a comeback with a two-run home run by Staloch in the bottom of the fourth inning and two runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press

Tate Breitkrutz shut the door on the Hawks in the bottom of the seventh to help Kensington hold on to the 5-4 win. Breitkreutz had three strikeouts in one and two-thirds innings pitched.

Elbe was the starter on the mound for the Norsemen in game two. He threw for five and one-third innings and struck out seven while allowing four hits and four walks.

He was the Norsemen’s reliever in game one and threw five strikeouts in five innings after Trent Kolowski pitched the first two innings of that game.

The Norsemen had seven hits in game two, led by Elber with two. Isaiah Sykora and Breitkreutz also had a hit in the game.

In addition to the Staloch home run in the fourth inning, the Hawks had hits from Giesler, Fearing and Waylon Muenzhuber.

Rost threw for the first five innings of the game and had seven strikeouts. Mason Moore pitched the final two innings for the Hawks and struck out three batters.

Kensington expects that its strong team chemistry can lead it to some wins throughout the season.

Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press

“Our team is very close, even away from the game,” Paulzine said. “We are like a family; that is our biggest strength.”

And it’s this strength that Paulzine expects to lead to more growth as the season goes on this summer.

“We just got to hit the ball more in practice,” Paulzine said. “We’ve just got to keep practicing, keep working hard, fix the little things and then I think we’ll get everything right.”

Zimmel described Kensington as a team with a lot of young talent with some older talented mixed in.

For Osakis, Zimmel believes the bats will lead the way.

“When we can get the offense rolling, we have some good at-bats,” Zimmel said.

1/14: Osakis' Hunter Infanger rounds third base and heads for home plate to score a run in a 6-0 win in game one of a doubleheader against the Kensington Norsemen on June 26, 2022. Osakis won game one but lost game two 5-4.

2/14: Kensington's Isaiah Sykora tries to make a side arm throw to first base in a game against the Osakis Hawks on June 26, 2022. Each team won a game in the doubleheader.

3/14: Osakis' player-manager Doug Zimmel steps into the batter's box in game one of a doubleheader against the Kensington Norsemen on June 26, 2022. Each team won a game on the day.

4/14: Eric Paulzine has the Kensington Norsemen off to a 3-3 start to the 2022 season in the Resoters League, following a split of a doubleheader against the Osakis Hawks on June 26, 2022.

5/14: Osakis' Hunter Infanger scored one of the early runs in a 6-0 win for the Hawks over the Kensington Norsemen on June 26, 2022. Osakis split the doubleheader with Kensington.

6/14: Kensington's Tanner Bennett makes a throw from third base to first base during game one of a doubleheader against the Osakis Hawks on June 26, 2022. Following a a split of the doubleheader, Osakis is 2-4 in the Resorters League, while Kensington is 3-3.

7/14: Osakis' Lane Berberich slides into first base in game one of a doubleheader against the Kensington Norsemen on June 26, 2022. Osakis and Kensington split the doubleheader.

8/14: Kensington's Kevin Jenks had a two-RBI double in game two of a doubleheader against the Osakis Hawks on June 26, 2022, that helped his team in the earn. Osakis took game one of the doubleheader 6-0.

9/14: Drew Fearing of the Osakis Hawks (left) tags out Eric Elbe of the Kensington Norsemen (right) at second base during a Resorter League game on June 26, 2022.

10/14: Kensington's Tate Breitkreutz catching a pop fly at second base during game one of a doubleheader against the Osakis Hawks on June 26, 2022. Each team won a game in the doubleheader.

11/14: Osakis' Carter Rost threw for five innings in a game two loss to the Kensington Norsemen on June 26, 2022. Osakis won game one of the doubleheader.

12/14: Colten Fortenberry and the Osakis Hawks are off to a 2-4 start in the 2022 season in the Resorters League, following a doubleheader split against the Kensington Norsemen on June 26, 2022.

13/14: Kensington's Isaiah Sykora touches home plate to score a run in a win over Osakis 5-4 in game two of a doubleheader on June 26, 2022. Osakis won game one 6-0.

14/14: Osakis' Mason Moore pitching during game two of a doubleheader on June 26, 2022, against the Kensington Norsemen. Both teams won a game in the doubleheader.

Zimmel added that the team is trying to limit the number of times that they “shoot themselves in the foot” when it comes to pitching and fielding.”

The Resorters Baseball League, which is a part of the Minnesota Baseball Association, includes many teams in the area such as, Osakis, Kensington, the Ashby A's, Alexandria Black Sox, Carlos Cougars, as well as the Urbank Bombers, Long Prairie Predators and the Sauk Centre Titans.

Game one:

Osakis - 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 - 6 7 0

Kensington - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 3

Game two:

Kensington - 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 - 5 7 3

Osakis - 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 - 4 4 1