Baseball Tigers edged by Waseca
Published 12:00 am Saturday, April 13, 2002
A year ago, the Albert Lea High School baseball team won an exciting 10-9 game it could just as easily have lost.
Saturday, April 13, 2002
A year ago, the Albert Lea High School baseball team won an exciting 10-9 game it could just as easily have lost.
The Tigers gave it back Friday.
Albert Lea committed six errors, including three in the game-deciding sixth inning, and lost 7-6 at Hayek Field.
&uot;We usually play some wild games with Waseca,&uot; said ALHS coach Joe Sczublewski. &uot;Today we just gave them way too many opportunities. We’ve got to tighten it up a little defensively. But it’s early in the season.&uot;
The Tigers, 1-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big Nine, thought they had won the game in the bottom of the seventh inning when Adam Wacholz drove in two runs on a shot that was apparently dropped by the Bluejays’ center fielder. But the umpires ruled it a catch for the final out.
Sczublewski said it was not the difference in the game. That came in the top of the sixth, when the Bluejays scored the tying and go-ahead runs on a pair of bloop hits and three Albert Lea errors.
&uot;We gave them six outs that inning and they took advantage of it,&uot; said Sczublewski.
The Tigers took advantage of three Waseca errors and some walks in the early going, scoring twice in the bottom of the first and four times in the second.
Andy Drenth was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, Adam Highum 2-for-3 with one RBI. Matt Bracker had a run-scoring double in the first inning. David Heijerman also doubled. Jay Link had a single.
Link, a senior left-hander, started on the mound and pitched four innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, with no walks and five strikeouts. Four of the runs off him were earned.
Joel Hestness took the loss despite giving up no walks and no earned runs in the next two innings. He struck out two. Highum had two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 seventh.
The Tigers have a busy week upcoming. They host Rochester Century Monday at 5 p.m., play at Rochester Mayo Tuesday at 4:30, entertain Mankato East Thursday at 5 p.m. and travel to Austin for a 1 p.m. Saturday game.
Waseca 122 002 0 – 7 10 3
Albert Lea 240 000 0 – 6 7 6
LP – Joel Hestness