The Becker Buzzards three-peated as state champions last weekend, beating Rosemount 12-2 in Class A men’s 35+ baseball in Belle Plaine Sunday afternoon.
Becker began the playoffs the weekend before, beating the Jordan Alers 4-0. The win moved them to a Saturday game against the Apple Valley A’s — and the Buzzards dispatched of the A’s by a tight, 3-2 score.
That win sent them to the championship game against the Rosemount Pipers, who had beat the Prior Lake Mariners 12-1 and Verndale Geezers 6-2 to make the title game.
Recap
Saturday evening the Buzzards traveled to Belle Plaine to take on the Apple Valley A’s in a Class A state semifinal.
The game was low scoring and competitive throughout. After a scoreless first inning, the Buzzards jumped out to an early lead when Doug May led off with a walk and came all the way around to score on a double off the bat of Kyle Sytsma. Sytsma eventually scored when Matt O’Neill reached on an error.
The A’s cut the lead in half with a run on a walk, hit and error to make it 2-1.
The Buzzards were able to get that run back when Rich Petty reached on a dropped third strike and Jason Pfingsten was hit by a pitch to start the inning. After a groundout advanced the runners, Sytsma hit a fly ball to left that was deep enough to score Petty making it 3-1.
The score remained 3-1 until the top of the fifth when the A’s used a lead off single and a couple Buzzard errors to score a run and make it 3-2.
The game stayed 3-2 as it headed to the seventh. After retiring the first two batters, Pfingsten allowed back to back singles to put runners on the corners. That would be as close as the A’s would get as Pfingsten struck out the #3 hitter to end the game and give the Buzzards a trip to the state championship game.
Pfingsten went all seven innings and allowed two runs (both unearned) on seven hits and two walks. He struck out three batters.
The championship game was played Sunday afternoon in Belle Plaine and the Buzzards took on the Pipers of Rosemount.
The Pipers took an early lead with a run in the top of the first, but the Buzzards responded with a run in the bottom of the inning when Petty singled and scored on a Doug May double.
In the bottom of the second, the Buzzards took the lead when Matt Koester led off with a triple and scored on a Jason Wald sacrifice fly.
The Pipers knotted the game with a solo home run in the top of the third.
With the game tied at two, the Buzzards took a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, three straight batters reached as Matt O’Neill was hit by a pitch, Brian Kolbinger singled, and Steve Newman doubled to plate a run. A Petty sacrifice fly scored Kolbinger and gave the Buzzards a 5-3 lead.
The Buzzards added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth when Kyle Sytsma singled and pinch runner Jason Baune came in to score on a Matt O’Neill sacrifice bunt.
Numerous great defensive plays including diving catches from Jason Wald and Nick Allerson kept the score 6-2 headed to the bottom of the sixth when the Buzzards delivered the final blow, six runs to take the championship game by a final of 12-2.
Tanner Bakke picked up the victory by pitching six innings and allowing two runs on five hits and a walk. Steve Newman, Rich Petty, Doug May, Matt Koester, Matt O’Neill, and Brian Kolbinger all had multiple hits in the game.
The Class A state championship was the Buzzards third straight championship with the last two coming in Class A.
Their final record was 13-2.
