Bluffton to face Bemidji on Saturday for 5B title

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

In what can only be described as one of the wildest finishes in the history of the Bluffton Braves, Bluffton was down to its final strike, before Connor Davis connected with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game at 8-8 and give the Braves a chance at what looked like almost certain defeat heading into the bottom half of the frame.

Down 8-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, Bluffton needed a bit of hope and a prayer as their backs were against the wall against Roseau on Sunday afternoon. Gabe Geiser and Isaac Hamann led off the inning with back-to-back singles, before Payton Rondestvedt popped out to the pitcher for the first out of the inning. 

Josh Dykhoff quickly found himself down 0-2 in the count, but the righty battled back to push the count full, before hitting a towering three-run home run over the right field fence to give the Braves a bit of hope as they trailed by a score of 8-7. 

After Kobe Snyder grounded out to the third baseman the Braves were down to their final out when Davis stepped up to the plate. Davis fouled off a 3-2 pitch as he was down to his final strike, before connecting with a game-tying solo home run to left field to complete a tremendous comeback for the Braves and give them a second chance at life as they tied the game at 8-8. 

Following the home run, Justin Dykhoff once again forced a full count, before he was hit by a pitch to bring Tyson Barthel up to the plate. Barthel quickly got down 0-2 in the count, before he hit the third home run of the inning for Bluffton and gave the Braves an unbelievable 10-8 walk off win and put them in the drivers seat of Region 5B.

Earlier in the game, Roseau and Bluffton traded runs with the score tied at 2-2 following the bottom of the fourth inning. 

Bluffton took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when Davis hit an RBI single to bring Josh Dykhoff across the plate. The Braves added to the lead in the seventh inning when Snyder hit a sacrifice fly after Josh Dykhoff was intentionally walked to load the bases to give Bluffton a 4-2 lead.

Unfortunately, Roseau was able to take the lead in the top of the eighth inning when they scored six runs, including a go-ahead three run home run with two outs. All of the damage for Roseau came with two outs in the inning, but set up the unbelievable finish for the home Braves team.

Davis led the charge offensively with three hits for Bluffton, while Justin Dykhoff and Geiser finished with two hits and Barthel finished with two hits and four RBIs in the win.

Hamann started the game for the Braves as he went 7 2/3 innings and gave up nine hits, eight earned runs and struck out seven batters, while Isaac Kawlewski picked up the win in relief as he went 1 1/3 innings and gave up two hits and struck out two batters. 

Following the loss, Roseau fell to Bemidji by a score of 11-5 to set up a rematch between the Braves and Bemidji Blue Ox for the Region 5B championship on Saturday at 11 a.m. in Bluffton. 

If the Braves lose the first game the two teams will play a second game in a winner-take-all championship for the right to represent Region 5B at the state tournament. Bluffton is currently an impressive 21-1 on the season. 

AB R H     BI

Isaac Hamann 3 1 1 0

Isaac Kawlewski 0 0 0 0

Payton Rondest. 5 0 0 0

Justin Dykhoff 5 1 2 0

Kobe Snyder 4 1 1 1

Connor Davis 5 2 3 2

Josh Dykhoff 2 2 1 3

Kolsten Lofgren 0 0 0 0

Tyson Barthel 4 1 2 4

Wyatt Hamann 3 0 0 0

Carson Davis 1 0 0 0

Gabe Geiser 4 2 2 0

HITTING- 2B- Justin Dykhoff; HR- Connor Davis, Josh Dykhoff, Tyson Barthel

PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-k)- Isaac Hamann 7 2/3-9-8-8-4-7; Isaac Kawlewski 1 1/3-2-0-0-0-2

Saturday

Tyson Barthel and Josh Dykhoff combined to give up just three hits and struck out nine Bemidji Blue Ox batters as the Braves advanced in the winner’s bracket of the Region 5B tournament on Saturday by a score of 2-0. 

The Braves took the lead in the bottom of the first inning when Josh Dykhoff reached on an error with two outs and came around to score thanks to another Bemidji error and a walk to take a 1-0 lead. 

Bluffton added to their lead in the sixth inning when Tyson Barthel led off the inning with a walk and would later cross the plate when Isaac Hamann connected with a sacrifice fly to center field to give the Braves a bit of breathing room as they went up 2-0. 

Bemidji had their chances to not only tie, but to take the lead, as they had the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh inning and also had a runner on first and third with two outs in the eighth inning, but couldn’t get the runs across the plate. After a lead off single in the top of the ninth inning, Dykhoff settled down and struck out three straight batters to end the game. 

Barthel picked up the win on the mound as he went 6 2/3 innings and gave up two hits, Dykhoff pitched the final 2 1/2 innings and gave up one hit.

The Braves collected just four hits as a team, including two from Kobe Snyder and one each from Wyatt Hamann and Josh Dykhoff. 

AB R H     BI

Isaac Hamann 4 0 0 1

Payton Rondest. 3 0 0 0

Josh Dykhoff 4 1 1 0

Kobe Snyder 3 0 2 0

Connor Davis 2 0 0 0

Justin Dkyhoff 4 0 0 0

Tyson Barthel 3 1 0 0

Logan Pulju 2 0 0 0

Wyatt Hamann 1 0 1 0

Carson Davis 1 0 0 0

PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-k)- Tyson Barthel 6 2/3-2-0-0-5-6, Josh Dykhoff 2 1/3-1-0-0-1-3