Bluffton currently ranked second in Class B

Payton Rondestvedt sends a shot down the line during Saturday’s game in Deer Creek.

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Despite being a Class B team this season, the Bluffton Braves are making waves so far this season. The Braves are currently ranked second in the state, just one point behind Jordan in the state rankings. 

Last week Bluffton picked up three more wins, including  1-0 win over Deer Creek on Saturday night, before edging Henning in a pair of games at home on Sunday. 

Isaac Hamann held Deer Creek to just one hit over five innings of action on Saturday.

Saturday

Bluffton’s Isaac Hamann and Deer Creek’s Nolan Coyle combined to give up just four hits in an exciting game between the Braves and Shockers on Saturday night. Fortunately for the Braves, they were able to do just enough to come away with a 1-0 win in a game that was suspended in the bottom of the sixth inning due to inclement weather.

After both pitchers cruised through the first three innings of action, Hamann led off the top of the fourth inning with a double. He reached third base on a Payton Rondestvedt error and scored one batter later on a Connor Davis sacrifice fly to center field to make the score 1-0. It would be the only run either team would pick up in the game as Hamann and Coyle were brilliant on the mound.

Tyson Barthel connects with a pitch during Saturday’s game in Deer Creek.

Hamann picked up the win for the Braves as he went five innings and gave up just one hit and struck out four batters along the way.

Sunday

Isaac Hamann, Connor Davis and Justin Dykhoff each collected two hits as the Bluffton Braves picked up a 7-0 win over Henning in the first of two games between the two teams on Sunday.

Bluffton broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth inning when Payton Rondestvedt reached on an error and Dykhoff connected with a double. Both batters would eventually cross the plate to make the score 2-0. They added three more runs in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth inning on an Isaac Hamann RBI single and a Rondestvedt RBI double to end the game by a score of 7-0. 

The best scoring chance for the North Stars came in the top of the sixth inning when Nick Lindberg and Rowan Finseth reached first and second base with two outs. Both runners were stranded on base.

Rondestvedt gave up three hits and struck out nine batters to collect the 7-0 shutout win for Bluffton, while Nick Lindberg took the loss on the mound for the North Stars.

In the second game of the afternoon, Bluffton was able to come away with an 11-1 win over Henning. Rondestvedt and Tyson Barthel each smacked a home run in the win. Barthel hit his home run in the top of the second inning, while Rondestvedt hit his bomb in the top of the third inning.

The Braves wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Barthel put Bluffton on top 2-0 in the second inning, before they scored two more runs in the third and fourth innings and broke the game open in the top of the sixth inning with five more runs. 

The lone Henning run came in the bottom of the fourth inning when Austin Koep reached on a fielder’s choice. He scored on a Jayden Harig single, but it wasn’t enough as the Braves came away with the win. Henning also had a chance to crack the scoreboard with runners on second and third with two outs in the third inning, but the runners were stranded on base. 

Bluffton was led offensively by Hamann and Cody Geiser who picked up two hits each, but all nine starters collected at least one hit apiece. 

Owen Harig led the way for Henning as he collected a pair of singles in the loss. Seth Sansness took the loss on the mound for Henning. 

Bartel picked up the win on the mound as he went five innings and struck out three hitters. He gave up just one run, before Dustin Geiser pitched a scoreless sixth inning in relief.