by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
Despite a high-hitting game last Wednesday, the Garretson 16U baseball team took the loss against Baltic.
Garretson got things started at the bottom of the first when Tyler Erickson scored, thanks to a single fly from teammate Cole Jessen. Erickson would go on to hit three more balls at bat, with one being a double, and score four overall points for the team.
However, Baltic turned that victory upside down for Garretson by scoring five points at the top of the second inning, when pitcher Ian Buettner had a bad run of walks.
Garretson held Baltic to the score of 1-5 until the bottom of the third, when Erickson singled thanks to a grounder from teammate Dylan Wolf. Buettner followed shortly after when Treyton Decker hit a grounder to Baltic's third baseman, and Wolf scored on a line drive to center field by Brecken Weir.
Now sitting at 4-5, Garretson defense kept Baltic from scoring again at the top of the fourth with a solid double play by Riley Lafferty-Maack and Wolf, while they gathered three more at the bottom of the inning. Garretson pulled ahead 7-5 when Erickson and Jessen scored thanks to a double by Decker.
Baltic then turned on the offense, gathering four more points over the next two innings while holding Garretson to one. It was the top of the seventh that sealed the teams' fate, when Baltic took home 7 more points, driving the score to 16-8.
Toeing the mound for Garretson were Buettner, Jessen, and Decker, who faced 10, 19, and 18 batters respectively. Buettner allowed one hit and five runs. Jessen struck out four and allowed seven hits, while Decker struck out four and allowed six hits.
Erickson led the team in runs and hits, bringing four points to the scoreboard and 3 hits in 3 at bats. Teammates Buettner, Decker, and Weir followed closely with two hits in four at bats. Rounding out the score were Jessen, Buettner, Wolf, and Lafferty-Maack, who each scored once during the game. Garretson piled up 12 hits, and Buettner led in stolen bases with three while teammates Jessen, Erickson, Wolf, and Noah Schotko each successfully stole one.
Baltic's Beau Breece stepped on the mound for two innings, striking out five and allowing four hits. Pitching relief were AJ Grunewaldt and Riley Schultz. Baltic piled up 14 hits to Garretson's 12, and had nine stolen bases.
Garretson takes on Elkton at Tandberg Field in town on Thursday, July 13 starting at 5:30 p.m., then heads to Parkston on Saturday. They'll be at home again on Monday, July 17 facing off with West Central at 7:00 p.m.
