SUPERIOR, Wis. – By way of their win Friday in the series opener against Crown, the Yellowjacket baseball team cemented its place of finishing no lower than second place in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) tournament. When they dropped the second game of Friday's doubleheader, the Yellowjackets were locked into the No. 2 seed, rendering Saturday's regular season finale of little consequence to them.
 
As a result, the Yellowjackets largely rested their starters as they closed out the 2023 slate against Crown.
 
Crown pitchers kept Yellowjacket hitters largely off balance, with the 'Jackets notching just two hits on the way to a 4-1 loss on a cold, wet day at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex in a game the umpires called after seven innings.
 
The Yellowjackets (20-13, 16-5 UMAC) and Polars will meet again in the first round of the 2023 UMAC tournament, coming up next weekend in Mankato, Minn.
 
Crown manufactured runs in each of the first three innings to take an early 3-0 lead.
 
The Yellowjackets had just one baserunner in the first three innings and didn't get their first hit until Ben Rhodes (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) singled to left field to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning. Rhodes then proceeded to steal second and moved to third on a passed ball. Tanner Voight (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) brought him home with an RBI ground out to make it 3-1.
 
Crown got that run back in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the inning, the Yellowjackets loaded the bases with nobody out but were unable to push a run across. In the bottom of the sixth the Yellowjackets again had a threat going, this time with runners on second and third and third and two outs, but again they were unable to score.
 
Toby Boevers (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) led off the bottom of the seventh for the Yellowjackets with a base hit up the middle and would steal second to get into scoring position, but Crown worked out of the jam. At the end of the inning, the umpires had seen enough and called an end to the contest.

Ben Welle (Melrose, Minn./Melrose Area) got the start for the Yellowjackets and pitched 2.2 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out two, taking the loss to fall to 3-4 on the year. Aiden Pfeifer (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) pitched 2.1 innings and allowed a run on four hits to go along with three strikeouts. Max Howell (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) pitched the final two innings, walking one and striking out two.
 
Next up for the Yellowjackets is the aforementioned date with Crown in the opening game of the 2023 UMAC Tournament. The Yellowjackets and Polars will play Thursday, May 11 at Franklin Rogers Park in Mankato, Minn. The first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.