SPICER —
In the battle of left-handers, it was Belle Plaine’s Adam Johnson who prevailed.
Johnson limited the Mankato Mets to five hits to lead the Tigers to a 4-0 amateur baseball win in the opening round of the Class C state tournament Saturday at Green Lake Diamond.
Johnson was matched against Mankato southpaw Ashton Dorris who also pitched well but was hurt by some third-inning control problems.
“Ashton wasn’t as sharp as he usually is but he kept us in the game,” Mets player/coach Josh Anderson said. “We just didn’t give him any runs to work with.”
Belle Plaine scored the only run it needed in the bottom of the first. A leadoff single by Dan Huber, a double by Matt Schultz and a wild pitch staked the Tigers to a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers added two more in the third. Dorris hit leadoff batter Tim Huber and then walked Pat Schultz. Brad Lawson sacrificed both runners up before Buesgens drew another walk to load the bases. Jeff Miller popped to third for the second out but, before Dorris could get out of the inning, Shawn Larson lined a two-run single to right-center.
Although Johnson didn’t yield many hits, the Mets had their chances. They left two runners on in the first, a runner on third in the third, stranded two more in the fifth and two more in the sixth.
“We couldn’t get any hits with runners on base,” Anderson said. “We needed a couple of key hits but came up short.”
Belle Plaine right-fielder Shawn Larson, who finished 3 for 4 with three RBIs, said that’s exactly what they’ve come to expect from Johnson.
“When we need it, (Johnson) delivers the big pitch or the big out,” Larson said. “That’s why we send him out to the mound in games like this. He’s a bulldog.”
Both Belle Plaine’s Larson and Mankato’s Anderson said experience was probably a factor. The Tigers have been to the state tournament 13 times while the Mets qualified for the first time this year.
“That means a lot,” Larson said. “We know what it takes to play in state tournament games. Heck, we still have a guy from our state championship team in 1994.”
Anderson agreed: “It’s a big difference. Our guys have never been here before and they‚re a bunch of state tournament veterans. This is our first time and, hopefully, this is the start of something good for us.”
The Mets end their season at 19-11. Belle Plaine (28-8) moves on to play Sacred Heart at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Willmar.
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