Border West 11U baseball qualifies for State

Sam Peterson

Grant County Herald

There were two state qualification positions available at the Eye of the Tiger Tournament in Morris over the weekend and the Border West 11U baseball team had their eyes set on one of them. The team earned wins over Montevideo and Minnewaska, but lost to Eden Valley-Watkins in the championship game. The second-place finish was good enough to qualify the Bucs for the state tournament July 25-27 in Brooklyn Park.

Border West 2

Montevideo 0

In their first action of the season, the Bucs met up with Montevideo in the first round of the Eye of the Tiger Tournament. It was a defensive battle between both teams, but by the end of six innings of play, the Bucs came away with a 2-0 victory.

The Bucs took a lead in the bottom of the first inning by scoring a single run. Border West added another run in the bottom of the fourth to make the final score 2-0.

Border West finished with just three hits as a team. Hudson Hoppe was 1 for 2 with a triple and an RBI. Easton Haugen went 1 for 2 with a double and a run and Axl Gilsdorf was 1 for 2 with an RBI.

Hoppe earned the win on the mound for the Bucs, pitching four innings and allowing no runs off two hits and struck out 10.

Monte 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BW 1 0 0 0 1 X 2

Hitting – Hudson Hoppe 1-2 3B, RBI; Easton Haugen 1-2 2B, R; Axl Gilsdorf 1-2 RBI; Teague Paul 0-2 R, SB; Abe Fischer 0-1 BB; Gage Stotesbery 0-1 BB

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) – Hudson Hoppe (W) 4-2-0-0-2-10; Teague Paul 2-0-0-0-0-5

Border West 13

Minnewaska 2

In the semifinals, the Bucs met up with the Minnewaska Lakers. Border West had the upper hand the entire game and cruised their way to a 13-2 victory over the Lakers.

The Bucs started the game fast with three runs in the first, three more in the second and four in the third to take a 10-0 lead after three innings. The Lakers did score two runs in the top of the third, but the Bucs responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame and added another in the fifth to make the final score 13-2.

Hoppe led the team on offense, going 3 for 3 with a homer, three runs and three RBI. Haugen also had a multi-hit game, finishing 2 for 3 with a double, two runs and an RBI. 

Teague Paul earned the win on the mound and pitched four and a third innings and allowed no earned runs off four hits and struck out three.

Waska 0 0 0 2 0 0 2

BW 3 3 4 2 1 X 13

Hitting – Hudson Hoppe 3-3 HR, R-3, RBI-3; Easton Haugen 2-3 2B, R-2, RBI; Jeter Paul 1-2 2B, R; Abe Fischer 1-2 R; Olie Babcock 1-2 2B, R, RBI-2; Kaleb Anderson 1-1 R-2, BB, SB; Teague Paul 0-2 R, BB; Chase Blume 0-3 R; Axl Gilsdorf 0-1 R, BB, SB; Gage Stotesbery 0-0 BB-2

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) – Teague Paul (W) 4.1-4-2-0-1-3; Hudson Hoppe 1.2-1-0-0-0-2

EV-W 14

Border West 1

After winning their first two games, the Bucs advanced to the championship game of the Eye of the Tiger Tournament against Eden Valley-Watkins. Border West did hold a very brief lead in the game, but EV-W had two huge innings in the second and third to run away with a 14-1 win in four innings.

Border West opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first inning with a single run to take a 1-0 advantage. Eden Valley-Watkins came roaring back by scoring eight runs in the top of the second and had another huge inning in the third with six runs to take a 14-1 advantage. The Bucs needed to score at least four runs in the bottom of the fourth to keep the game alive, but EV-W hung another zero on the board to secure the 14-1 win in four innings over the Bucs.

Border West finished with four hits from four different players. Teague Paul finished 1 for 2 with a double and a run. Jeter Paul went 1 for 2 with a double and an RBI. Chase Blume was 1 for 2 with a double and Haugen finished 1 for 2 with a steal.

Haugen got the start on the mound and pitched three innings, allowed six earned runs off 12 hits and struck out five.

EV-W 0 8 6 0 X X 14

BW 1 0 0 0 X X 1

Hitting – Teague Paul 1-2 2B, R; Chase Blume 1-2 2B; Easton Haugen 1-2 SB; Jeter Paul 1-2 2B, RBI

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) – Easton Haugen (L) 3-12-14-6-2-5; Caleb Karsky 1-1-0-0-0-1