Becker’s two amateur baseball teams continued action in the past week, with the Bandits dropping a pair of league games and the Buzzards picking up a win in a close contest that was highlighted by some adept lineup maneuvering by the team’s acting manager.

Bandits

Last week, the Bandits dropped a 5-2 contest to Lake Cafe of Big Lake.  Becker managed just six hits in the game and gave away a pair of unearned runs because of some defensive lapses.

Mitch Louden led the Bandit attack at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a walk, while Matt Krenz, Zach Wenner, Connor Rolf and Dalton Fouquette each had a hit apiece in the game.

Cam Fischer took the start on the mound and lasted 4.2 innings, while scattering three hits and striking out three Big Lake hitters.  Just two of his four runs surrendered were earned.

Matt Moe came on in relief and went the final 4.1 innings, striking out four and giving up just one earned run.

Sunday, the team suffered a shellacking at the hands of the Monticello Polecats, 13-2.  The team again managed just six hits total for the game, while the pitching staff gave up 10 earned runs.

Louden again had a pair of hits for the Bandits, while Krenz added a 2-for-3 performance with two RBIs and a double.

Andrew Kolbinger took the start on the mound and lasted two innings as he struggled a bit with his control, giving up three walks and hitting two batters.  Fischer came on in relief for two innings and then Ryan Groskreutz pitched two innings of two-hit ball.  Krenz finished the game off with one inning of work on the mound for the Bandits.

Wednesday night, the Bandits were to take on the Albertville Villains and then are off over the holiday, resuming play July 7 with a home game versus the Luxemberg Brewers.

Buzzards

Sunday, the Becker Buzzards squeaked out a 5-4 win over Fergus Falls in a game that saw Manager Jason Baune miss due to a nagging injury he suffered when he dove for a fly ball in the Buzzards’ loss to the Bandits earlier this season.

Acting Manager Brian Kolbinger seized the managerial reins and was forced to navigate some interesting lineup changes.  With the win, however, Kolbinger maintained an undefeated record in games where he served as the manager.

Becker jumped to the early lead with a pair of first inning runs, as Rich Petty and Jason Pfingsten scored with the key hit being a single by Chico Schroeder.

The Buzzards would again strike for a pair of runs in the third inning, as Kolbinger delivered a key hit from his designated hitter position as he was batting for starting pitcher Tanner Bakke.  Matt Koester and Nick Allerson both touched home plate that inning to score the runs.  In the fourth inning, Pfingsten scored his second run of the game to finalize the Buzzard scoring.

All together, the Buzzards pounded out nine hits, with Allerson leading the way with his 2-for-3 performance.

Bakke drew the start on the mound and was effective in four innings of work before Kolbinger came on in relief on the mound in the fifth.  However, in that inning, Petty was tossed by the umpire for arguing a play at first base and then the shuffling began.  Because the Buzzards had started the game with just 10 players, Bakke now had to enter the game in Petty’s spot in the order and he came back to the mound to resume pitching with Kolbinger shifting to play defense in the field.  This created the strange phenomenon where Bakke not only picked up the win in the game, but was also credited with the save.

The Buzzards are now off until July 10 when they travel to Menahga to take on Clarissa and Verndale in a doubleheader.