Austin VFW baseball team falls to Rochester Post 1215
Published 10:50 pm Friday, June 12, 2015
Austin pitcher Jack Dankert delivers against Rochester Friday night at Marcusen Park. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Austin Post 1216 VFW baseball team rallied to take the lead after a slow start, but Rochester Post 1215, which includes players from Mayo, took had the final burst and it beat Post 1216 11-8 in the opener of the Austin VFW tournament in Marcusen Park Friday.
Austin VFW’s Jakob Crouch dives back into first under the tag of Rochester’s Carter Pasternak Friday night at Marcusen Park. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Post 1216 scored four runs with the help of two extra base hits in the to of the sixth inning to take the lead for good. Austin (5-4 overall, 4-0 District) had taken an 8-7 lead in the bottom of the fifth when Riley Retterath singled in a run with two outs. Austin tied the game at 7-7 when it scored three runs in the fourth and Phillip Zynda scored the tying run on a double steal.
Rochester scored the first seven runs of the game.
“We started out flat and I don’t think we were ready to play baseball the first three innings,” Austin head coach Mark Conner said. “We were a tale of two teams tonight and unfortunately we saw one of those teams at the beginning and we saw the same team at the end. We kind of hit our peak in the middle.”
Post 1216 has just a few players this back from last year and the team is hoping to gain experience and improve throughout the year. Conner said the goal is to win the District, and the tournament in Austin will be a good chance for the team to get a tune-up.
“They’re an awfully young group and they’re getting used to play at this level, but they’ve all got high school experience,” Conner said. “It’s like we were two years ago where we had a lot of first year players. We’re hoping to build and prepare for them for the future. It’s a good group of kids. We had a lot of effort tonight.”
Mayo 4 1 2 0 0 4 0 — 11 15 4
Austin VFW second baseman Forrest Lewis waits for the ball on a stolen base attempt by Rochester’s Lucas Janes Friday night at Marcusen Park. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Austin 0 0 4 3 1 0 0 — 8 8 1
Austin pitching: Jack Dankert, 3 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 3 K, 1 HBP; Forrest Lewis (L) 3 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 ER, 2 K, 1 HBP; Riley Retterath, 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 HBP
Austin hitting: Retterath, 2-for-3, RBI, R, BB; Dankert, 1-for-2; Phillip Zynda, 2-for-3, 2 R, BB; Pete Conner, 1-for-4, double, RBI, R; Lewis, 1-for-3, RBI, R, BB; Josiah Bothun, 0-for-3; Garett Ruroden, 2-for-4, RBI, SB, 2 R; Tyler Robertson, 0-for-2, 2 BBs; Jake Lunt, 0-for-1, BB; Jakob Crouch, 0-for-1, BB
