Back with a couple of wins in an up-and-down season, the junior high boys won both games of a twin bill against visiting Madelia on Monday.
In game one, the Clippers, made up mostly of seventh graders but with two eighth graders filling out the lineup, won 8-4. With all eighth graders in the lineup, the Clippers also won game two, but no score or stats were available.
Alec Rogers, who, along with Carter Dylla (CHS 2022), is coaching the teams, said the Clippers have been upping their game lately.
“There was a time in the season when we were struggling to make easy plays, but the last week, we’ve really been turning it around. We had a conversation after the last game about working hard and putting the time in during practice to be one percent better. Today, I made a goal to see that one percent in a game.”
The younger group of Clippers scored 1-0 in the first inning and never trailed after. Jonathan Cink singled and scored on an error. In the second, Bray Lassiter and Brennon Holicky walked. After a double steal, Lassiter scored on a Geoffrey Gehrke ground out. Holicky stepped on the plate during a Max Freier ground out, and the Clippers led 3-0.
The Blackhawks got on the board in the fourth on a walk and steals, but the Clippers responded with five runs. Freier led off with a single. Evan Hoffmann and Cink walked to load the bases for Urijah Hoheisel, who came through with a two-RBI single. Up next, Tyler Smith doubled for two more Clipper runs. After Smith scored on a Carson Jindra single, the five-run limit ended the inning.
On three singles and a double, the Blackhawks scored three runs in the fifth, but after a Cink strikeout and a flyout, the game ended on a ground out.
Cink went all five innings on the hill. He allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out nine and stranding three Madelia runners.
The Clippers outhit the Blackhawks 8-4. Keeping the ball in play, they only struck out twice while walking seven times. Cink had two singles. Smith hit a single and a double. Hoffman, Freier Hoheisel and Jindra all hit singles.
Madelia committed one error. The Clippers were error free.
Sometimes with seventh and eighth graders combined into one team, other times split, the Clippers are 5-6.
They opened their season on April 8 by defeating host MCW 16-6. Two days later, they traveled to Northrup and topped Martin Luther 17-4. But the next day they fell hard to visiting LeSueur-Henderson 14-3 in game one but edged the Giants 2-1 in game two. They lost to host St. Clair 7-6 and 10-3 and to visiting St. Clair 3-1 and again 3-1 but came back to beat MCW in Cleveland 8-7. On May 1, Martin Luther came to town and nipped the Clippers 14-13.
The Clippers return to action tomorrow (May 8) in a double header at Le Sueur.
Above: Tony Hollerich reaches out to field a pickoff throw in game two.
