It was a great run in the Section tournament for the Becker boys baseball team, who ultimately was knocked out of the double-elimination tournament Monday night in Monticello.

Tigers

Last Thursday, the Bulldogs hosted the Princeton Tigers for the third game of their season rivalry and after winning a pair of close, one-run games in the first two matchups, the Bulldogs ran away with this one 11-1 in six innings.

“The team really showed up for this one,” said Coach Brett Knudsen.  “We had some fun plays and capitalized on key moments.  I hope we gave the fans a good show.”

The Bulldogs had two huge innings, the fourth and sixth, where they piled up five runs apiece to run away with the game.

Josh Groskreutz was a machine at the plate, going four-for-four in the game and scoring three runs.  Kellan Graning was three-for-three for the Bulldogs, who also had multiple hit games from Isaac Daluge, Isaac Guck, and Ethan Guck.  As a team, the Bulldogs pounded out 16 hits.

Freshman Gerad Hanle went the distance on the mound, as the lefty scattered a measly four hits and struck out six while surrendering just one unearned run.

Eagles

A huge Becker crowd and the private school Totino-Gace Eagles greeted the Bulldogs in Monticello on Saturday afternoon in what many observers described as one of the finest pitching duels in the state of MN this season.

The Bulldogs ultimately fell 1-0 in the bottom of the 10th inning in an absolute heartbreaker.

“This was one of those games you usually hear about or see in the movies,” Knudesn said.  “It was crazy to be part of it, and just unfortunate we ended up on the wrong side of the score.”

Neither team’s offense generated much momentum, as the Bulldogs ended the game with just four hits.

Becker’s Graning was truly phenomenal on the bump, as the senior continually frustrated the Eagles with his combination of fastballs, sliders and an occasional nasty splitter.

Graning struck out 10 batters and walked just one in his nine innings of work, while scattering just five hits.  He threw 77 of his 117 pitches for strikes as he faced 31 batters.

Monti

Saturday’s loss put the Bulldogs in the loser’s bracket and a Monday evening matchup with the winner of the afternoon’s Big Lake versus Monticello game, where the Magic came back from a four run deficit in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win and capture some momentum.

Becker fell to the Magic, 10-4.

“Baseball is a weird game of momentum, and unfortunately we caught a good team at a bad time,” Knudsen said.  “They were hot, and we weren’t.  It was a tough way to go out, but I am still so proud of this team.”

Monticello used a pair of four run innings to put the game on ice, notching that total in the third and sixth innings.

Groskreutz tried to bring the team back in the bottom of the seventh with a mammoth three run homer, but the Bulldogs couldn’t muster another signature comeback.

Daluge led the team with a pair of hits, including a triple, but three errors didn’t help the Becker cause.

Seniors Ethan Guck, Reid McCalla and Groskreutz all saw action on the mound for the Bulldogs, who finished the season 17-7.