MAPLE LAKE – Orphans veteran pitcher Mike Dockendorf held the Saints at bay, leading his team to a 4-1 victory Sunday in the Region 12C playoffs.

The loss ended the Saints’ season.

Dockendorf gave up just six hits and, just as importantly, no walks, while his teammates played flawless defense behind him. He struck out six, including three straight to end the game in the ninth inning.

The Saints took an early 1-0 lead in the second, as a Michael Leffler sac fly drove in Tyler Brandel. But Howard Lake responded with two in the bottom half, and were never seriously threatened after.

Tyler Zweibohmer took the loss on the mound.

Check out Friday’s Enterprise Dispatch for a full recap.

The DC 18U baseball team  split their last two games of the 2020 season, defeating Delano 7-5, and losing in extra innings to Glencoe-Silver Lake 16-11.

Against Delano, the Chargers let an early 5-0 lead slip away, but rallied for two unanswered runs to score a 7-5 victory over the Tigers.

Grayson Londerville was the winning pitcher for DC. He had one bad inning – the third – but otherwise held a tough Delano team in check.

Londerville and Sanders Asplin – DC’s top two hitters at the top of the lineup –  scored six of DC’s seven runs.

Londerville had a tremendous game, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored, a walk, and four stolen bases.

Asplin went 1-1 with three runs scored and two RBI, while J. Niemela added two RBI.

Against GSL, the Chargers had leads of 5-0, 8-2, and 11-5 in their game against Glencoe-Silver Lake, but in the end watched as the visiting Panthers scored 11 unanswered runs, including five in the top of the eighth inning, to take a 16-11 victory.

The meat of the Chargers order, hitters 3, 4, and 5 (Austin Kantola, Jacob Niemela, and Jackson Martin) did the majority of the offensive damage.

Martin had the biggest blast of the day, hitting a home run and driving in three. J. Niemela had three hits, including two doubles, and drove in four, while Kantola had two hits and scored two runs.

Check out Friday’s Enterprise Dispatch for a full recap.

The DC 18U baseball team dropped three games in recent action, falling to Wayzata 6-4, Annandale 3-2, and Litchfield 6-1.

Wayzata 6, DC 4

DASSEL – Wayzata outhit the Chargers 12-5 in a 6-4 victory at Dassel.

DC simply could not find the timely hit, as they had six walks and three hit batters, but left nine men on base.

Four out of the team’s five hits, and all four RBI, came from the top two hitters in their lineup, Grayson Londerville and Sanders Asplin.

Asplin went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Londerville reached base all four times with a single, a double, and two walks. He also drove in two, and scored a run.

Annandale 3, DC 2

ANNANDALE – The Annandale Cardinals scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to take a walkoff, 3-2 victory over the Chargers.

DC managed just five hits in the game, and six baserunners total.

The Chargers scored runs in the first and second to go up 2-0. In the first, Londerville led off with a single, stole second, reached third on a groundout, and scored on a ground ball off the bat of Austin Kantola.

In the second, N. Niemela hit an RBI double to score Halonen.

That would be it for offense from DC, however, and the Cardinals rallied for two in the fourth before getting their run in the seventh on a triple and game-ending infield error.

Litchfield 6, DC 1 

DASSEL – The visiting Dragons rallied late to score a 6-1 victory over the Chargers.

“It was a tight game for five innings, but a huge seventh for Litch put us away,” said Flick.

Indeed, starting pitcher Jackson Martin cruised through five scoreless innings, but gave up two runs in the sixth, and four in the seventh.

The Chargers’ only run came in the second inning. Halonen led off the inning with a single, moved to second on a N. Niemela single, and after a double play, scored on a Terning single.

Jacob Niemela was the only DC player with more than one hit, going 2-for-3.

The DC Saints will face Howard Lake Sunday at Maple Lake at 2 p.m. in the Region 12C playoffs. Howard Lake fell to Maple Lake 10-8 in their first round game.

If the Saints win, their season will continue on Wednesday, Aug. 12 at Maple Lake; if not, they are done for the year.

MAPLE LAKE – The DC Saints were shut out by top-seeded Buffalo in the first round of the North Star League/Region 12C playoffs Wednesday, losing by a score of 8-0.

Buffalo’s Jon Euerle held the Saints scoreless through six innings.  He gave up seven hits and one walk, while striking out five.

Eric Newman and Nolan Triden combined for two scoreless innings.

Michael Leffler started the game for DC, giving up four runs in three innings. James Howell gave up four runs (two earned) through five innings.

Brett Renshaw and Eathan Soefker both had two RBI for Buffalo.

Check out Friday’s Enterprise Dispatch for a full recap.

DASSEL – The DC Saints secured the eighth and final Region 12C playoff spot with a 3-1 win over Litchfield Sunday at Saints Field.

Jordan Flick went the distance on the hill, giving up one run on six hits. Owen Boerema took the loss for the Blues, giving up three runs (two earned) through seven innings.

DC outhit the Blues 7-6. John Hohenstein had two hits to lead DC, and scored a run. J. Flick and Jeff Janckila each had RBI hits.

Check out Friday’s Enterprise Dispatch for a full recap.

The Saints will now play top-seeded Buffalo in the first round of the Region 12C playoffs Wednesday at Maple Lake. The Bulldogs ended the season a perfect 10-0, and defeated the Saints 2-1 at home earlier in the year.