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September 1, 2008

Mankato Twins win Class B title

By Chad Courrier

CHASKA — On a perfect day, Ryan Greene would have never taken the mound, but about halfway through Monday’s first game of the Class B amateur baseball tournament’s championship series, he started to think he should get ready.

The Mankato Twins were trailing Dundas, and a Dukes’ victory would force a second championship game, with Greene as the starting pitcher.

“You only get about a half hour (in between games) to get ready,” Greene said. “It was in my head (that there would be a second game). I didn’t want it to be, but it was.”

After losing 3-2 in the opening game Monday, the Twins captured their second Class B championship in four years with an 8-3 victory over Dundas.

“We didn’t get down, we knew we were the better team,” Green said. “We just had to relax and start hitting like we had been.”

The Twins had averaged about 14 hits and eight runs in the first four victories in the state tournament but had only six hits in the opener Monday. Travis Helling, who had two hits, had a sacrifice fly in the first inning and a solo homer in the ninth for the Twins’ runs. Jay Nessler also had two hits.

“We knew we had to battle,” Nessler said. “We were hoping for one win and out, but everybody had confidence.”

Greene, who pitched two innings to get a save in an earlier victory over St. Michael, dominated early, which was what the Twins needed to stem Dundas’ momentum and allow time for the bats to wake up. He retired the first nine batters, including the last seven on groundouts.

“I was trying to throw strikes and let the defense play,” Greene said. “I was just trying to get groundballs.”

Meanwhile, the Twins, who defeated Dundas 12-2 in eight innings in Saturday’s winners’ bracket finals, finally got on the board in the third when Craig Fritz singled, took third on a bunt and error, and scored on Zach Danelson’s sacrifice fly.

Dundas answered in the top of the fourth on a double, sacrifice bunt and groundout.

The Twins broke the game open in their next at-bat, scoring seven runs, five of which came with two outs. Dane Allen singled, followed by doubles by Steve Helget and Greene, who picked up two RBIs.

After another out, Kossuke Hattori, Josh Anderson and Danelson stroked consecutive doubles.

Nessler was hit by a pitch, and both runners moved up on a wild pitch before Helling, who was named the tournament MVP, slapped a two-run single for an 8-1 lead.

“We knew that once we got our timing down, we’d get going,” Nessler said. “We had to keep battling because we knew they’d run out of pitching. Once we got the seven-spot, we knew Green would hold them down.”

Greene continued to get grounders, 14 of the next 15 batters, and the batter he walked was erased on a double play. He said that Nessler started to ask about his arm in the fifth, but he was determined to finish the game.

“I quit throwing curveballs, just fastballs and changeups,” he said. “I knew we had enough of a cushion, I didn’t need to shut them out.”

Greene, whose previous long outing this season was seven innings, said he tired in the ninth, when Dundas scored two runs on three hits, but a couple of groundouts ended the game. He finished with a four-hitter, walking one, striking out one and getting 20 infield outs.

“This is my third year with the Twins, and we’ve been itching to get another (championship),” Greene said. “We got second (in 2006), and last year, we took third. We started kind of rough at the beginning of the season, but we got it done.”

Helling, Hattori, Nessler, Danelson and Helget were each named to the all-tournament team for the Twins (23-6).

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