Austin Post 1216 knocked off by Owatonna
Published 4:51 pm Sunday, July 19, 2015
Evan McAlister of Austin Post 1216 slides past a tag at home plate against the Rochester Knights in Marcusen Park Saturday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
The Austin Post 1216 VFW baseball team had its season come to an end when it lost 7-3 to Owatonna in the Sub-District Finals in Marcusen Park Sunday.
Austin had to win two elimination games to get to the game against Owatonna and if had beaten Owatonna the two teams would’ve met again Monday for a trip to the District tournament.
“Going 3-0 and moving onto the next weekend was the way to go. When you put yourself in a hold and you’ve got to work your way back it takes more pitching, it takes more energy and it just takes a lot more out of your team to get there,” Austin head coach Mark Conner said. “The team responded well to the task at hand and we knew Owatonna was going to be a battle no matter where we met them.”
Austin’s Pete Conner takes a swing in Marcusen Park Saturday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Austin led Owatonna 2-0 going into the bottom of the third inning, where Owatonna tied the game at 2-2 with back-to-back two out RBI hits. Owatonna took the lead for good in the fifth, when it scored on three straight two-out bases loaded walks. Austin walked nine batters in the loss and Owatonna walked zero batters.
“Walks will haunt and unfortunately we couldn’t afford to do that,” Conner said.
Although their season is over, Post 1216 gained some valuable experience this season for a squad that didn’t have a lot of experience at the beginning of the summer.
“I’m excited about next year,” Conner said. “This year they were a number four seed in a 16-team district full of good teams. We put ourselves right were we wanted to be in the Sub-District, unfortunately it didn’t go our way and we’re not moving on.”
Austin 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 — 3 6 1
Owatonna 0 0 2 0 5 0 X — 7 6 6
Austin pitching: Jack Dankert, 2 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 0 R, 2 K; Jake Lunt, 2 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 1 K; Evan Horstmann (L) 2/3 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 ER, 1 K; Josiah Bothun, 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 R
Austin hitting: Forrest Lewis, 2-for-4, 2 R, SB; Dankert, 1-for-2, 2 SB; Hunter Johnson, 1-for-3, R; Pete Conner, 1-for-3, double; Phillip Zynda, 0-for-3, RBI; Tanner Steene, 1-for-2, SB; Evan McAlister, 0-for-3; Garett Ruroden, 0-for-3; Tyler Robertson, 0-for-1; Lunt, 0-for-1
