Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Howard Lake, Lester Prairie, Winsted, Watertown, Mayer, New Germany, Waverly, MN and the surrounding area

AMATEUR BASEBALL: Region 12C Preview


REGION 12C BASEBALL TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
(Courtesy of Ryan Hayes)

Wednesday, August 5 – 7:30pm
#1-Buffalo Bulldgos (10-0) v. #8-Dassel-Cokato Saints (6-6)
Buffalo ran away with the league going 10-0 and won their only non-league game last week against the always
talented Cold Spring Springers. The top of the order for the Bulldogs has been deadly! The combination of
Haight, Duske, O’Donnell, and Renshaw gives opposing pitchers minimal room for error. Just saw some news
today that Ramon Vega Jr will be headed to the Northwoods League and looks like he will miss region playoffs,
he’s been hot as of late and could be a blow to that solid lineup. Buffalo has a couple of options on the mound
for their game 1 starter as Eric Newman (4-0 2.95 ERA) led the league in wins, yet Mr. Bulldog Jon Euerle
went 2-0 with an ERA of 1.50. D-C on the other hand got back to the regions by pitching well, and playing very
solid defense. They will either go with Tyler Zweibohmer (1-1 1.88 ERA) on 3 days rest, or Jordan Flick (2-1
2.67 ERA) on 2 days. He’s done this before folks. Win or lose versus the Bulldogs, they are going to be a
tough team to beat twice with two of the top pitchers in the league; as well as the addition of Dylan Weber and
Jim Althoff, both have been consistent additions to the Saints lineup to go along with Tyler Brandel, and John
Hohenstein. The Saints may also have history on their side, as the 2015, 2016, and 2019 #1 seeds in the
Region 12C playoffs have gone 0-2.

Thursday, August 6 – 7:30pm
#2-Delano Athletics (8-2) v. #7-Maple Plain Diamond Devils (4-6)
Maple Plain was able to fend of Dassel-Cokato 4-3 last week to lock itself in to regions without playing in
league playoffs. The Diamond Devils won their last three games in big part of because of the hitting display
Billy Soule and Mike Frericks put on during the final week of season. Max Marshall, and Kyle Bode have been
the go to arms for the Diamond Devils in 2020, but don’t be surprised if they roll with the always tough Judd
McKown in game 1. Delano has relied on their strong lineup through most of the season, Hanson, Paulson,
and Hart all finished in the top 10 in the NSL in hitting in 2020, which has helped them overcome some early
season lack luster pitching performances. Max Otto went 3-1 with a 4.91 ERA this season, yet Jake Gleason,
Matt Arens, Cade Lommel, and Jeremy Maschino have all picked up wins for the Athletics this season. We’ll
see who they give the ball to game 1.
Friday, August 7 – 6:00pm
#4-Howard Lake Orphans (6-4) v. #5-Maple Lake Lakers (5-5)
A 6pm start time doesn’t give the Maple Lake faithful much time to get good and loosened up for a ballgame,
but being that they are the host, that gives them all a good excuse to get out of work early on a Friday to get
primed for this rivalry game. Howard Lake will no doubt give the ball to Mike Dockendorf (3-1 2.05 ERA) who
has looked like himself after some early arm issues. The Orphans also have some guys swinging the bat well
in 2020. Stud centerfielder Steve Boger at .438, Brad Bickmann .385, and Jake Gruenhagen .333 give the
Orphans some much needed pop in the lineup this year. Maple Lake is an interesting one in this most unique
of years. Often times we’ll find a couple of their pitchers dominating, and a few hitters in or near the top 10 in
batting, but some injuries, and changeover has the Lakers looking much younger this year without those
recognizable names. They had rolled out several different pitchers, Grant Mergan being their most consistent
in the league going 2-1 4.05 might get the ball in game 1, but we could also see Mitch Wurm who has a few
appearances this year get the ball in front of the home crowd on Friday night. Either way, don’t count out the
Lakers playing at Irish Stadium.
Friday, August 7 – 8:30pm
#3-Hutchinson Huskies (8-2) v. #6 Loretto Larks (5-5)
Once we get to Friday night of the first weekend of regions, the games seem to be tight matchups. Though the
Huskies and Larks are separated by 3 games, Loretto has played very well down the stretch. They have gotten
some good innings out of Donny Schroeder and Colton Petron. Michael Bohlke may be their wildcard on the
hill potentially starting their first or second game. The Larks will need to get some more production out of their
young lineup in order to keep pace with Husky bats, but as we have seen in years past, anything can happen
in August. Hutchinson will most likely go with VanDeSteeg. Which one? That we don’t know. Jeremiah went 3-
1 with a 0.90 ERA, however younger brother Dan has been throwing in some big spots for the Huskies
enabling them to finish 8-2. Dan along with Matt Piechowski have led the offense this year for Hutchinson
hitting .396, and .425 respectively, not to mention Jayden Fleck has been heating up as of late. The Larks will
need a good outing to knock off the defending Region 12C Champions.

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