The Austin Greyhounds are returning to the Class B State Amateur Baseball Tournament after they defeated home-town rivals the Austin Blue Sox, 4-2 Saturday night at Marcusen Park.

With both teams combining for 18 hits total, the win came largely on the defensive game of the Greyhounds led by shortstop John Frein who alone had six put-outs, including two diving grabs on groundballs.

Frein himself seemed almost prophetic on the fact of defense just before making the first of two plays that required him to lay full out.

“Just before that I told (Nick) Bowe, ‘this game will be decided by who makes the most plays,’” Frein said after the game. “It felt good.”

Things didn’t look so rosy early on for the Greyhounds after the Blue Sox jumped to a 2-0 lead in the second off Hounds’ starting pitcher Dave Meyer.

Dan Swift led off the inning with a booming double followed by a single from Pat Wolard up the middle. Swift would score one batter later off a fielder’s choice when Sean Breslin grounded out.

Two batters later Wolard scored on a sacrifice fly from Jason Denzer.

Aside from a threat in the fifth inning though, it would be the last time the Blue Sox really pushed the Greyhounds despite a less than perfect outing from Meyer.

“This is the first time we started any of our games against the Hounds with the lead,” the Blue Sox’s Josh Kunze said. “If you don’t get to Dave when he’s struggling, you won’t.”

Meyer himself admitted his own problems on the mound.

“I really didn’t have my best night,” Meyer said. “My slider wasn’t there until the last pitch of the game-thank God.”

That last pitch proved a season killer, getting pinch hitter Duell Higbe to strike out swinging with one runner aboard.

“Out mentality didn’t change much through the whole game,” Frein said of the Blue Sox’s early lead. “We weren’t that worried.”

The Greyhounds took over the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third and they came with only one hit in the inning.

With one out Nick Rohne was put on base after being hit by a pitch from Breslin. The very next batter, Bowe walked and Matt Cano followed that with a single, after which began the Blue Sox’s fielding nightmare.

Rohne scored on Cano’s single with the other two runs coming on a fielding and throwing error. The Blue Sox would end the night with an uncharacteristic four errors.

It marred an otherwise nice start by Breslin who cruised through the first inning and pitched out of a jam in the second.

“We wouldn’t put Sean out there if we didn’t think he was the best,” Kunze said. “(The Hounds) did a nice job of putting bat on ball.”

Breslin would eventually be knocked out in the bottom of the seventh, giving way to Joe Huffman. He went six and a third innings giving up four runs, two earned, as well as eight hits.

Breslin seemed to get his stuff back in the fourth which included two strikeouts, but in the fifth inning trouble returned. After reaching on a walk and advancing to second on a pass ball, Rohne scored off a single from Bowe to make it 4-2. Bowe finished the night going 2 for 3 with a single and double.

After that it was all in the gloves of the Hounds led by Frein.

“It was all John Frein tonight,” Meyer said. “The plays he made. Believe me that was key to the entire night. Everybody played well.”

“Honestly, this is the Greyhounds of the 04, 05 season,” he added.

Meyer went the distance in the win, giving up 10 hits and two earned runs with three strikeouts.

The Greyhounds will play their first game of the state tournament in the single-elimination first round in Shakopee at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 17 against Mankato who defeated Marshall in the best of three tournament.

The Greyhounds aquired Kunze, and Brady Banse of the Blue Sox and Nate Rost of Faribault in the state tournament draft.