Eric Schmeling's squeeze bunt in the bottom of the 12th inning gave the Hayfield/Austin Athletics victory in the first round of the Cannon Falls Tournament, plating Troy Holtz as the game-winning run over the Rosemount Black Sox, 4-3, Wednesday night at John Burch Park in Cannon Falls.

Holtz and Jamie Beck received leadoff walks in the 12th, and Lee Aadahl made it safely to first with a bunt intended to sacrifice both runners over. Matt Juncker, who pitched three scoreless innings of relief for the victory, did not get his fly ball deep enough to right field for Holtz to score, but Schmeling's bunt got the job done.

The win was Hayfield/Austin's first extra-innings victory this season.

"It feels good, the guys played hard," said Holtz, the A's player/coach. "We did strand a lot of runners again which seems to be something we're doing, so we have to work on that to get better throughout the season."

The Athletics (5-10, 4-6) move into Saturday's second round and will face the winner between tonight's 7:30 p.m. game between the host Cannon Falls Bears and the St. Charles Sting.

Dave Meyer was transfered to the A's roster to pitch, and he went nine innings before leaving with a 3-3 tie through regulation. Juncker tossed three innings for the win.

Juncker and Beck each had two hits to lead the A's into the semifinals of the third-annual eight-team tournament. Lake City and Pine Island play Friday at 6 p.m., and Eagan and Minnesota Lakes meet in the final first-round game Friday at 8:30 p.m.

Saturday's semifinals are at 5 and 8 p.m., and the championship game is Sunday night at 6 p.m. The tournament is a double-elimination format.

Call Ross Thede at 434-2234 or e-mail him at :mailto:sports@austindailyherald.com.