The Becker Buzzards began state tournament play last weekend in Fergus Falls with two shutout wins.

 

The Buzzards took on the host Fergus Falls Bulldogs in the first round of the state tournament and came away with a 5-0 win.    

 

Becker scored first when Steve Newman led off the bottom of the first with a double.  He advanced to third on a bunt single by Rich Petty and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jason Pfingsten.  

 

The Buzzards added three more run in the bottom of the second when  Matt O'Neill walked, moved to second on a ground ball and came in to score on a Jason Baune infield single.  Baune later scored on a passed ball and after bunting for a hit, Newman scored on a Fergus Falls error to make the score 4-0.  

 

The final run of the game came in the fifth when Baune reached on a single, advanced to second on a Petty bunt single and scored on a Pfingsten base hit.

 

Tanner Bakke picked up the win on the mound by firing six shutout innings.  He allowed just two hits while striking out four.  Craig Hern came on in the seventh to close things out and allowed two hits and had two strikeouts.  

 

Newman had three hits while Baune, O'Neill and Petty each had two hits.

 

With the win, the Buzzards advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class B tournament where they took on the Loretto Sox, winning 6-0.  

 

Again, the Buzzards got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the first when  Pfingsten walked with two outs, stole second base and scored on a Hern triple.  

 

The Buzzards added two runs in the third when  Pfingsten reached on a fielder’s choice and Hern on a Sox error.  Singles by Doug May and O'Neill scored both runners to make it 3-0.  

 

The game’s final runs came in the sixth when  Hern reached on a walk and was followed by a Jim Schmitz single.  May ripped a single off the glove of the third baseman, which scored Hern from second.  O'Neill then reached on an error, putting runners on second and third.  Tony Graning hit a ball sharply at the second baseman and when it was mishandled, May and O'Neill scored to make the final score 6-0.

 

Pfingsten picked up the complete game shutout on the mound.  He allowed three hits and struck out 12 without allowing a walk.  

 

May had three hits in the game, while O'Neill continued a hot weekend with two more hits.

 

The two wins put the Buzzards in the state semifinals.  They will take on the LeCenter Braves at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Belle Plaine.  With a win, the Buzzards would advance to the championship game at 6:30 p.m. Sunday evening in Waconia.