Buena Vista 7, UW-Superior 6 | UW-Superior 10, Buena Vista 9
TUCSON, Ariz. (March 19, 2018) – The Yellowjackets got their first win of the 2017-18 campaign Monday, coming back to beat the Buena Vista Beavers in the final innings.
Game 1
The Yellowjackets got to work in the bottom of the first inning as Brandon Rolf (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) led-off with a single through the right side and then moved to scoring position by stealing second. It was then Cory Albertson (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) singled and then advanced to second on the throw, allowing Rolf to score with a throwing error from third.
Bryce Flanagan (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd) brought in the second score of the inning on a single to center, moving C. Albertson home. The Yellowjackets were up 2-0 after one.
Buena Vista then scored two in the following inning, getting one hit; Elliot Danhoff (Gladstone, Mich./Gladstone) was able to get out of the jam with a popup and fly out.
The Beavers would add two more runs in the third to make it a 4-2 game, but Superior rallied. After a Flanagan triple, Stephen Albertson (Stillwater, Minn/Stillwater) would ground out to short. Then a Rolf triple brought Zach Remund (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) and Alex Osness (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) home after two-straight singles.
The Beavers would score one in the following half inning to tie the game at five.
Superior fought back in the bottom of the sixth inning, playing base-to-base as pinch hitter Nick McNosky (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle) moved pinch runner Sam Haines (Paynesville, Minn./Paynesville) and Osness into scoring position. Haines then used his speed to reach home on a wild pitch and go up one score.
The game would continue back-and-forth in the final two innings as the Beavers scored two on a few walks from the 'Jackets, taking a 7-6 lead in the top of the seventh.
C. Albertson was able to reach first in the bottom of the final inning, and pinch hitter Braeden Barr (San Diego, Calif./Grossmount) singled to right center to move the game-tying run to third, but the Yellowjackets couldn't find one more hit as they fell to the Beavers.
Game 2
McNosky got the first inning started with a bang, smashing the ball past the left field wall for a one out homer, putting Superior up early 1-0.
A Ryan Castaneda (San Pedro, Calif./Junipero Serra) single led off the second inning for Superior and would lead to loaded bases after Mike Rodriguez (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech) drew a walk and Greg Pitts (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel) bunted his way to first. Rolf then drew a walk of his own for the easy RBI and a 3-0 lead.
After a pitching change from the Beavers, a sacrifice fly from C. Albertson would score Rodriguez. It was then Barr's turn to bring a few home, singling to center field and scoring Pitts. Finally, Rolf was brought home on a fielding error by the short stop to make it a 5-0 game after the first two innings.
The Beavers bounced back in the second, third, and fourth, and fifth innings, putting up five runs in the fourth to make it a 9-5 game after five.
The Yellowjackets would find their rhythm once again in the sixth inning when M. Rodriguez led off with a triple down the right field line, followed by a Pitts double for the score. With two outs, the Yellowjackets added another run when Barr singled to the pitcher, pushing Pitts home. Two more would score in McNosky and Haines when Osness doubled down the left field line, tying the game at nine.
M. Rodriguez would make his way back to the batter's box in the inning, and was able to draw a walk to bring in Castaneda for the game winning 10th run.
Ryan Rukavina (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld) would pitch the final two innings for the win, throwing one strikeout and not allowing a hit.
Up Next
Superior will have Tuesday off but will pick things up again on Wednesday when they face the Carroll Pioneers and the Oberlin Yeomen at 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
