Sunday afternoon, the Becker Buzzards hosted the Alexandria Classic Clippers in a doubleheader.
After a pitching gem from Tanner Bakke gave the home team the win in the first game, 6-2, the Buzzards fell behind early and despite a furious comeback dropped the sequel 11-9.
In the opener, Bakke was in control all game, going all seven innings, scattering four hits and striking out four hitters. Manager Jason Baune credited some excellent defense, including several smooth plays by veteran second baseman Deron “Sparrow” Trovall, with being a big key to the win.
Alexandria took a 1-0 lead in the third, but the Buzzards answered back on a Steve Newman single and a sacrifice fly from Nick Allerson.
In the fourth inning, John Kern drew a walk and Trovall was plunked with a pitch before Newman singled again to load the bases. A Jason Wald sacrifice fly notched a run before Todd Klaers and Matt Koester both singled with RBI’s to give Becker the 4-1 lead. Newman and Wald would each later cross home plate with insurance runs as Becker rode Bakke’s arm to the win.
Game two was not one of the best performances by the four-time state champions, but a huge comeback in the final inning made things interesting.
The Clippers used some timely hits and took advantage of numerous Buzzard errors to jump out to an 11-1 lead heading to the bottom of the fifth. It looked like the game might end due to the 10-run rule, but the Buzzards showed the fight that has led them to so many championships.
Wald led off with a single, stole second base and scored on a Matt Koester single to keep the Buzzards alive, albeit trailing 11-2.
After a scoreless sixth, the Buzzards brought the crowd to life with a furious comeback in the bottom of the seventh. After Newman, Wald, and Koester all walked to load the bases with one out, Allerson, Brian Kolbinger, and Ryan Williams each singled to plate a total of four runs. Jon Kern then reached on an error to plate another run and Trovall walked to load the bases again. Newman came back to the plate and singled to score two more runs and cut the lead to 11-9.
This forced Alexandria to use their third pitcher of the inning and he was able to coax a pop-up and a fly ball to end the threat.
Brian Kolbinger was the tough luck losing pitcher going 3-1/3 innings while Todd Klaers worked 3-2/3 innings of solid relief.
Despite the loss, Baune was impressed with his team’s play including Newman, who was named the “Tri-County Lumber” player of the day as he went a combined 5-for-7 with two walks and five runs scored on the afternoon.
“He also caught a great game behind the plate in the first game of the doubleheader,” said Baune.
With the split, the Buzzards moved to 4-1 on the season in league play. In order to challenge the team, Baune scheduled a 6:30 p.m. Friday night game in Clearwater as they will take on the Rivercats, a team from the MBA amateur league.
“We will see if our old age and treachery can overcome their youth and athleticism,” said Baune. Outside of their usual yearly tilt with the Becker Bandits, this will be the first game in many years where the Buzzards will take on a younger team outside the MSMABA.
Their next league games will be on Saturday, August 1 when they travel to Menahga to take on the Urbank Goldtimers and the Menahga Relics with games at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
