The No. 5 Austin Greyhounds Class B amateur baseball team saw its run in the Dewey Tauer Invitational come to end in the championship game against the ninth-ranked hosts from Red Wing. The 'Hounds bowed out in thrilling fashion however, dropping a seesaw affair Sunday 4-3.

"It was a pretty tough game, either team could've won," said 'Hounds manager John Frein. "We had a bunch of chances to tie it back up, but they played really well."

Austin had blasted their way into the final game thanks to a 7-1 pasting of the Dundas Dukes on Saturday.

Five of those runs came in the third inning. Grant Lunning, Frein, and Tate Cummins had consecutive singles to bring home the first run. An error by the shortstop plated another run, and Matt Cano made it 3-0 with an RBI base hit. A Craig Selk sacrifice fly and and Tim Kaplan groundout brought in two more runs.

The 'Hounds added to their lead in the next inning with two scores off of Dukes starter Mike Wilford. Frein and Cummins both had run-scoring singles after Matt Raso was hit by a pitch and Lunning doubled.

That would be more than enough run support for Scott Meyer, who threw seven scoreless innings for the win. He gave up just three hits while walking one and striking out two. Nick Rohne threw the final two innings, allowing a run on two hits to go along with two strikeouts.

Cummins had three hits and two RBI's to pace the Austin offense. Lunning and Frein both had two hits as well.

This second round win put them in the championship game on Sunday against Red Wing.

The 'Hounds were sailing along with a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the sixth when starter Matt Raso ran into trouble. He escaped the inning giving up just three runs thanks to some fine defense in the outfield.

"He just ran out of gas there in the sixth," said Frein of Raso. "It was real hot out there; temperature was definitely a factor."

That brought in Meyer to start the seventh, fresh off his masterful performance against Dundas. But the Aces greeted him with another run to take the lead for good at 4-3.

The 'Hounds had a number of chances for the equalizer though. They had already stranded Lunning at third after his leadoff double in the sixth, when they had three consecutive groundouts against a drawn-in infield.

A botched hit-and-run in the seventh took Selk off the basepaths after his base hit. Jamie Morrison led off the next inning with a single and was sacrificed to second, but Frein crushed a line drive right at the leftfielder to end the threat.

They were at it again in the ninth when Rohne doubled with one out. Selk then dribbled a single through the right side of the infield. With runners at the corners, Kaplan hit a sharp grounder up the middle that the pitcher snared to keep Rohne at third.

Both teams were quite adept at leaving runners on base, as 23 combined hits led to only seven runs between the two squads.

Josh Vonch got the win finishing up for Red Wing starter Josh Thygeson, who allowed all three Austin runs over 4 and 2/3 innings.

Rohne, Lunning, and Selk all had two hits each, with Rohne and Lunning both doubling as well. Morrison continued his hot-hitting as of late with a 3-for-3 afternoon.

As for the pitchers, Raso gave up three runs on eight hits and a walk over six innings of work, striking out one. Meyer threw two innings in relief to pick up his first loss of the season, surrendering the go-ahead run on four hits. He didn't walk or strike out a batter.

"We're looking forward to next time," said Frein of their July 15 rematch with the Aces. "It's already got an X on our schedule."

The Greyhounds are now 12-5 after this weekend's action. They head to Shakopee Tuesday to take on the Indians before returning to Marcusen Park Wednesday for a Southern Minny League contest with the Rochester Royals. Gametime is 7:30 p.m.

Championship Game:

Austin002010000--3110

Red Wing00000310x--4121

WP--Vonch.LP--Meyer (5-1).

2nd Round:

Dundas000000010--151

Austin00520000x--782

WP--Meyer (5-0).LP--Wilford.