SLEEPY EYE — Taran Helget of Sleepy Eye St. Mary's hit a double to lead off Jon Peterman in a Tomahawk Conference baseball game against Sleepy Eye.
That goal ultimately made the difference in the game, and the Knights won 1-0 on Friday.
The game was the first of a doubleheader, with St. Mary's winning the second game 4-3.
Game 1 was a pitching double between Sleepy Eye's Winsten Nienhaus and St. Mary's Mark Anderson for most of the game. However, Anderson allowed just three hits and was relieved by Helget in the sixth inning, but Nienhaus held on until the eighth inning, allowing five hits, including the winning hit, in the final two innings.
Helgett pitched 2 1/3 innings as a reliever on the mound, allowing no hits and one strikeout in the win. Anderson started the game with eight strikeouts.
Staff photo by Ari Selvey Sleepy Eye's Cole Eckstein leads off from second base during a Tomahawk Conference baseball game against Sleepy Eye St. Mary's Friday at Sleepy Eye Ballpark.
At the plate for the Knights, Peterman and Brandon Schmitz both went 2-for-4, with Peterman one RBI and Helget an RBI double.
Nienhaus suffered the loss to Sleepy Eye, striking out six, allowing nine hits and one earned run. At the plate, Nienhaus also had a hit and a stolen base, and Isaac Lent and Carson Uecker each had a hit.
After allowing a single to Schmitz in the first inning, Nienhaus and the Sleepy Eye defense recorded 10 consecutive outs, including three strikeouts in the second frame. But Anderson showed similar dominance at St. Mary's, where only Caden Evers and Carson Uecker were in scoring position through the first five innings.
The Knights first reached scoring position in the fifth inning on a double by Kessler Severson, but were stuck there on a two-out fly. Sleepy Eye was in danger of scoring in the 6th inning when Lent got to third base with a single, a bunt, and a wild pitch, but Hergett, who was sent in for cleanup, grounded out and ended the inning.
Both teams had no runs until the seventh inning, so the eighth inning started with Sleepy Eye's defense. After Nienhaus got two outs in the first inning, Peterman, Schmitz, and Helgett recorded three consecutive hits, including an RBI double by Helgett. Cody Schultz picked up a strikeout to end the inning, but the damage was done and Sleepy Eye was unable to respond with a score of his own in the bottom of the inning. Instead, Helget went 1-2-3 innings and earned the win.
Schmitz pitched in Game 2 for the Knights, pitching a complete game and winning 4-3. Schmitz allowed 11 hits, four strikeouts, and three earned runs. At the plate for the Knights, Helget was once again the leader, going 2-for-2 with two hits and one RBI. Schmitz and Anderson each had an RBI in the game.
Lent had six strikeouts and allowed two earned runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings in the loss to Sleepy Eye. Austin Uecker led the team at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one RBI, and Schultz had a hit and two RBIs. Lent also had an RBI in the game, and Kaden Klein and Gavin Strong each had two hits.
St. Mary's hosts Springfield on Monday. Sleepy Eye is scheduled to travel to Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop on Monday.
