Sleepy Eye eliminated

By HANS BIEBL

Journal Sports Writer

ROCHESTER -- Sleepy Eye Post 7 was eliminated from the Minnesota State American Legion Baseball Tournament Thursday afternoon in Rochester, with losses to Bemidji and Hastings.

Bemidji started the fall of Post 7 with a 4-1 pitchers duel in the early game, and Hastings ended Sleepy Eye's summer with a 9-4 win in the evening contest.

Bemidji 4, Sleepy Eye 1

William Naylor of Bemidji tossed a complete game, two-hit win and struck out nine Sleepy Eye batters in the first game.

After both Naylor and Sleepy Eye starter Chad Armbruster had struck out a combined eight batters in the first two innings of game one, Bemidji Post 14 scored three runs in the third and another in the fourth to secure the win.

Armbruster went seven innings and gave up three earned runs on eight hits and two walks, in addition to his eight strike outs.

Trailing 4-0 in the sixth, Sleepy Eye managed a run when Cody Walter tripled to right-center, and Darrin Haala picked up the RBI with a ground out to first. Armbruster, the losing pitcher, had the only other Sleepy Eye hit with a double in the fourth.

Hastins 9, Sleepy Eye 4

In the evening elimination game, Hastings scored nine early runs to send Post 7 home with a 9-4 loss.

The game started with Post 7's hopes high after Walter began the game with a triple, and Andy Konz singled him in to take an early 1-0 lead.

But Hastings responded with three runs of their own in the first inning off Sleepy Eye pitcher Darrin Haala.

Two more runs in the second, three in the third and one in the fourth by Hastings were too much for Sleepy Eye to overcome.

Down 9-1 in the fifth, Sleepy Eye mangaed a run in the fifth on another Konz RBI single.

A Sleepy Eye two-out, seventh inning rally was not enough to neutralize the Hastings early-inning damage.

Brian Meyers of Hastings threw the win in four innings of work while giving up four hits and striking out five.

Haala went the distance in the loss for Sleepy Eye. He gave up nine runs and eleven hits on three strike outs and five walks.

Konz was 2-for-3 in the game with two RBI, and Walter was 2-for-4 with the triple.