Eagles' streak snapped

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Scoring runs with two outs can mean the difference between a win or a loss.

Saturday afternoon that ability lifted state-ranked Hastings to a 10-6 win over New Ulm, snapping the Eagles' 13-game winning streak.

Jon Borden, the second of three Raider pitchers, got the win for the Raiders.

Jamie Hoffmann took the loss in relief of starter Andy Stolt.

Matt Oberlander led Hastings with a 3-for-3 performance. Matt VanderBosh and Adam Gerlach each belted home runs for Hastings.

Stolt had two hits for New Ulm, including a bases-loaded triple. Craig Spelbrink added a two-run double for New Ulm.

The Eagles, 10-0 in the South Central Conference and 13-3 overall, return to SCC play Monday afternoon at 5 p.m. when they host Fairmont.

"There were several positives that we took from this game despite the loss," said Eagle head coach Jim Senske. "One is that we won two out of three games within the last 24 hours. Two is that we had a rally against a very good (defending state champion) Hastings club, and three is we got pretty good pitching from both Andy (Stolt) and Jamie Hoffmann. We had a costly error in that (third) inning that helped keep their inning going. Otherwise, it could have been a 6-6 game."

The Raiders took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, using a walk to Nate Otto and a stolen base to get in scoring position before Oberlander collected the first of his three hits with an RBI single.

Stolt would strand Raider runners on second and third in the first inning and a runner on third in the second before Hastings finally got to the junior right-hander in the third.

A double and two walks loaded the bases before a run scored on a 6-4-3 double play that made it seem like the damage would be small. But back-to-back doubles by Jason Stoeffel and Matt Klein and a Derrick Pfeiffer base hit made it 5-0. An error, that should have recorded the third out of the inning, was very costly as it kept the inning alive for Matt VanderBosh who crushed a Stolt pitch deep over the fence in right field for an 8-0 lead.

Hastings then made it 10-0 the next inning when Stolt walked Oberlander and Gerlach laced a line shot that sailed over the head of center fielder Evan Jacobs for a two-run inside the park home rum.

"Andy is a breaking-ball pitcher; he had trouble with the wind," said Senske. "Plus, that is the best hitting ballclub that we have faced."

But in the bottom of the inning, the Eagles would send 10 men to the plate and push six runs across.

A fielder's choice and a walk preceded Spelbrink's two-run double to center field. Travis Boddy singled and Mitch Stueber reached on an error to load the bases.

Stolt then hammered a Pfeiffer pitch to deep right field for a three-run triple and cut the lead to 10-5. Stolt then came home on the very next Pfeiffer offering, a wild pitch.

"We hit a pitcher who threw with good velocity and two of our hits were for extra bases," said Senske.

The Eagle B-squad (12-3) topped Hastings 6-5. Freshman Bob Wellmann got the mound win, yielding no earned runs on four hits, striking out four.

HASTINGS 107 200 0 -- 10 14 2

NEW ULM 000 600 0 -- 6 6 3

WP--Borden, LP--Hoffmann. 2B--Otto (H), Stoeffel (H), Klein (H), Spelbrink (NU). 3B--Stolt (NU). HR--VanderBosh (H), Gerlach (H).