Electricity wreaked havoc all night during Cleveland vs Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton at ISJ Field in Mankato on Friday.
First it came in the form of lightning, which pushed the game back to an 8:30 start. An hour and 45 minutes later, the lights timed out, delaying the game another 30 minutes or so.
But the Clippers, coming back from one bad frame, had electricity in their offense as well, and when the marathon game finally ended at 11:15, the Clippers had defeated the Bulldogs 5-3.
“I was really happy with everybody,” said second-year head coach Charlie Haugen. “The first game you can’t expect everything to be perfect, and everything is not going to go our way. We had that one bad inning, but we didn’t let that get to us at all. Even with the delays, everybody stayed with it and just kept after it. It was super fun to watch as a coach.”
After hitting a hard grounder to the shortstop, centerfielder Braeden Smith took second when the throw to first was in the dirt. He scored when second baseman Alex Kortuem stroked a hit to right field.
The Bulldogs took the lead in the fourth when starting pitcher Miles Tomaszewski walked the first two batters. Both advanced after freshman’s pickoff throw skidded past third base. After the easy steal, a balk scored the runner on third. And with a third strike passed ball, the Bulldogs posted their first run with no outs and runners at the corners.
After a balk, the Bulldogs went up 2-1. The Clippers didn’t throw when the next batter bunted, and the Bulldogs had runners at the corners with one out. The runner at third scored on a wild pitch, but Tomaszewski, regaining his composure, limited the damage when he struck out the batter and the next one two, and the Clippers were only down 3-1.
And they quickly regained the lead and didn’t allow another run.
With one out, right fielder Nathan Seeman walked and scored when third baseman Carson Lyons hit a line drive to center field for a double.
“It was a green light on the play, and Nathan just decided he was going to go,” Haugen said. “Carson put a great swing on it, and it worked out really well for us.”
After Lyons stole third, he scored on a Caleb Connor infield single. Courtesy running for Connor, the catcher, Jackson Shouler took second when Tomaszewski hit a line drive to right field for a single. First baseman Kale Kelley walked, and after Smith got hit by a pitch, Shouler was forced home, and the Clippers led 4-3.
Adding an insurance run, Seeman walked again in the fifth, advanced on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on a Lyons ground out. After, Brennan Kortuem took over on the mound and didn't allow another run.
The Clippers outhit the Bulldogs 5-2.
Tomaszewski had two hits. Carson Lyons, Connor and Alex Kortuem each had one hit. The Clippers struck out a dozen times, eight times looking.
Fixing the stuck bats will come with getting more game reps, Haugen said.
“There’s going to be some first-game jitters. We’ve seen live pitching in practice, but it’s a different ball game when you see live pitching. It’s frustrating for the first game but nothing to hang my head about because we swung the bat when we needed to and made the plays when we needed to, and you have to be grateful for that.”
In his four innings on the mound, Tomaszewski struck out 11, walked five and gave up two earned runs. Brennan Kortuem allowed two hits and two walks while striking out six.
Brennan Kortuem started the game at shortstop. Lyons went to shortstop when Kortuem took over on the mound while Tomaszewski went to third. Kyle Connor played left field. Aiden Domras also served as a courtesy runner.
Assisting Haugen are Danny McCabe, Alec Rogers and Dalton Thelen.
The Clippers open their field tonight when they take on Madelia at 4:30 p.m. JV follows.
Above: Shortstop Carson Lyons sets up to make the second half of a double play.
