Greyhounds, Indians split doubleheader

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- The Sleepy Eye St. Mary's Knights gave the New Ulm Cathedral Greyhounds three extra outs. It cost them seven runs.

The Greyhounds' seven unearned runs were more than the difference. Cathedral outscored St. Mary's 11-8 Thursday night in the second game of a Tomahawk Conference baseball doubleheader at Johnson Park.

St. Mary's took the first game 5-4.

"That's the thing about a game like this," St. Mary's coach Bruce Woitas said. "You can't give a team extra outs and we did that, and they cashed in on them."

St. Mary's (7-4, 6-3 Tomahawk) committed three errors in the second game, not that many. But it was the timing.

"They made some very nice plays that won the (first) ballgame," Cathedral coach Bob Weier said. "The second game, they didn't make the plays and we won the ballgame. That's probably the story of the whole day."

The second game was tied at 4 entering the top of the sixth inning. Knights starter Chad Armburster retired the first two batters and it appeared it would be an easy inning.

But Armbruster walked the Greyhounds' Nos. 8 and 9 batters. Then came the errors and the Cathedral (10-3, 8-3) runs.

"Sometimes, you can get by having the errors and it's not going to hurt you," Woitas said. "Other times, you're going to get nipped by it, and today we got nipped by it."

Corey Schnobrich reached on the Knights' error in the sixth that would have gotten them out of the inning unscathed. Worse, Adam Neubauer scored on the play for a 5-4 lead.

Dusty Wilfahrt, who got the win in the second game, aided his own cause with a two-RBI double to the gap in right. Two batters later, Kyle Helget singled in Wilfahrt for an 8-4 Greyhound advantage.

"Chad throws hard," Weier said. "I told the kids just because he throws hard, don't swing hard. ... We hit him hard the the first inning and he adjusted. He started throwing the breaking ball and we had another talk. Then he started coming with the curve ball and after a couple of innings we started adjusting to that."

The Knights answered with four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Brett Braulich hit a lead-off single, and Mathiowetz and Andy Cook hit consecutive RBI doubles.

Cook, who went 2-for-5 with three RBI, scored on a throwing error that allowed Armbruster to take second base after singling. Armbruster later scored on Dusty Mangen's infield single to retie the game at 8.

Randy Braun (1-2) came out for Armbruster, who allowed four earned run on nine hits and struck out 11, in the top of the seventh. Braun didn't allow a hit, but walked two and hit a batter.

St. Mary's committed two errors in the inning. The first did cost them a run, but it was the second that cost them the game. And there would be no Knights rally in the bottom of the inning this time.

"We didn't have that many errors in a sense, we had three in this game," Woitas said. "But they all hurt us."

Something else hurt the Knights -- 10 stranded baserunners.

"We put the ball in play pretty consistently," Woitas said. "(But) we left some runners on base. We didn't get some key hits."

Wilfahrt (4-1) went the distance. It wasn't a masterpiece; he surrendered 10 hits and walked eight.

In the first game, Darrin Haala (3-0) threw a complete game, allowing two earned runs on six hits. He struck out nine and walked four.

St. Mary's used a pair of two-run innings to edge Cathedral. Armbruster hit an opposite-field two-run homer in the first inning and he figured into the Knights' two-run top of the fifth.

Armbruster, who went 3-for-4, doubled to lead off the fifth and scored on Mangen's single to right field for a 4-2 Knights lead. Braun, who singled ahead of Mangen, scored on Brett Braulich's sacrifice fly.

Adam Prochniak (1-1), who worked the first five innings, took the loss. John Knisley worked a scoreless sixth and seventh without allowing a hit.

"I think the first game, you've got to credit some of the defensive plays," Woitas said. "Braun had that great catch in right, he actually had two. Mathiowetz had that one at deep shortstop. Those were key in the first game.

"I guess we have to feel pretty good about getting a split."

Ditto for Cathedral.

"We had our chances in that first ballgame," Weier said. "In that respect, I'm a little disappointed. But I'm happy that we were able to come back and beat their ace to gain a split. That keeps us in the hunt for the conference and it helps us for our seeding. I'm happy with a split against a very good ballclub."

St. Mary's will play Minnesota Valley Lutheran Monday at Johnson Park. New Ulm Cathedral will play at Springfield Monday.

In junior varsity, The Greyhounds blanked St. Mary's 3-0 in game one, and the Knights defeated Cathedral 1-0 after nine innings in game two.

1st Game

ST. MARY'S 200 120 0--5 8 2

CATHEDRAL 200 000 2--4 6 2

Haala and Cook. Prochniak, Knisley (6) and Helget, Prochniak (6). W--Haala 3-0. L--Prochniak 1-1. 2B--St. Mary's, Armbruster. 3B--None. HR--St. Mary's, Armbruster. T--1:43.

2nd Game

CATHEDRAL 300 014 3--11 9 2

ST. MARY'S 120 014 0-- 8 10 3

Wilfahrt and Prochniak. Armbruster, Braun (7) and Cook. W--Wilfahrt 4-1. L--Braun 1-2. 2B--Cathedral, Schnobrich, Wilfahrt, Palmer, J.Knisley; St. Mary's, Mathiowetz, Cook. 3B--None. HR--None. T--2:15.