Late rallies keep Miner/McCook in the hunt for Class B crown; Corsica still alive for Legion title

MILBANK — Two late-inning rallies kept the Miner/McCook Legion baseball team alive in the Class B state tournament in Milbank.

A five-run eighth inning and 10 runs in the final three frames helped Miner/McCook knock Winner/Colome out of the tournament on Saturday and three runs in the bottom of the ninth helped the team defeat Vermillion 6-5 Sunday.

“We just hung in there and got the hits when we needed them,” Miner/McCook coach Derrin Miller said.

“They just hang in there until the bitter end and it’s worked out. It’s nerve-wracking, that’s for sure and I’m getting a lot of gray hair, but it’s fun.”

Gavin Gassman started against Vermillion and allowed five runs on eight hits in 8 1/3 innings. Greg Mehlbrech recorded the final two outs in the top of the ninth and was credited with the win after the team rallied in the bottom of the ninth.

Gassman was 2-for-5 at the plate and Austin Miller finished 2-for-3.

Collin Bertram was Vermillion’s lone player with multiple hits. He had two singles and was the losing pitcher.

Bertram entered in the ninth inning looking for the save but allowed the tying and go-ahead run.

On Saturday, Winner/Colome led by as many as four runs in the contest, but Miner/McCook walked away with a 14-10 victory to advance on the consolation side of the bracket.

Zach Shrank got the win on the mound for Miner/Mccook, throwing 5 1/3 innings of relief. He allowed three earned runs and struck out four.

Austin Miller was the only player for Miner/McCook to record multiple hits as the team finished with 11. Miller was 4-for-6 with five RBIs and two runs scored.

“He’s hitting the ball good and it’s a good time to be coming alive,” Miller said.

JD Farley took the loss on the mound for Winner/Colome. He allowed ten earned runs in 7 2/3 innings. At the plate, Farley went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Miner/McCook takes on Groton in an elimination game at 5 p.m. today in Milbank.

Corsica 3, Milbank 2

Corsica 5, Webster 4

MILBANK — After losing its first game of the tournament, Corsica picked up two wins to remain in the hunt for a Class B state Legion baseball championship at the state tournament in Milbank.

Corsica downed host-team Milbank 3-2 Saturday before using a three-run eighth inning to beat Webster 5-4 on Sunday.

Kris Menning got the win on the mound Sunday, throwing the entire game and allowing four runs on six hits and five walks. He struck out five.

Webster got out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning before being shut out the rest of the game.

“The game started off real rocky,” Corsica coach Bob Bamberg said. “They jumped up right away and for (Menning) to settle down and throw a complete game without giving up another run was big.”

Corsica got two runs back in the second inning, but still trailed until three runs in the eighth put the team up for good.

“We scored those two and then we were kind of stagnant,” Bamberg said. “It seemed like whenever we’d get a couple of guys on, we just couldn’t get the hits to bring them in.”

Corsica was helped out by the bottom of the batting order as Brennan Hilzendeger and Zach Milligan recorded back-to-back doubles in the eighth to take the lead.

Hilzendeger drove in two from his eighth spot in the order before Milligan knocked him in to take the lead.

“They came through back in the districts against Irene, too,” Bamberg said. “It was nice that they came through at the time that they did.”

Alex Kocer picked up the win in Saturday’s game while Aaron Groeneweg got the save.

Kocer allowed two runs on eight hits in seven innings and Groeneweg didn’t allow a hit in his two innings.

Kocer and Adam Fink each had three hits in Saturday’s game while Menning had two.

Corsica goes up against Flandreau after the 5 p.m. game today in Milbank. Flandreau is the only unbeaten team remaining in the tournament; all other teams would be eliminated with a loss.

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