It was Froehling the father vs. Froehling the son in a coaching duel when Cleveland squared off against host St James Area on Saturday for the finale of a quadrangular tournament.
And it was Froehling the elder who prevailed, Landis Froehling to be precise, winning the see-saw battle over Walker Froehling’s Clippers 5-4.
While it would be natural to have a rematch in 2027, if there is one, it won’t be a father against son as Walker’s dad is retiring as the Saints head coach after this season.
“I have lifetime bragging rights,” he said.
It was the last game of the Clippers’ regular season. Today (Thursday), the sixth-seeded Clippers host 11th-ranked GFW in the first round of the section tournament.
The Clippers had a chance to tie the double-A Saints in the top of the seventh when leadoff batter Alex Kortuem walked, advanced to second when a pickoff attempt at first went awry. With two outs, Nolan Schlaak sent a hit into left field, and Kortuem turned the corner and headed home.
Kortuem did his best to slide around the catcher, but the game ended on a perfect throw with a perfect tag.
“A hundred times I would send him on a hit like that,” Walker Froehling said.
The Clippers, who had beaten Triton 9-7 earlier in the day, got off to a good start against SJA when Tony Hollerich led off the top of the first with a walk, advanced on a Carson Lyons sacrifice bunt and scored when Miles Tomaszewski sent a grounder into left field.
Next up, Caleb Connor got hit by a pitch, and when Braeden Smith found a vacant spot of land in short center field, the Clippers were in front 2-0.
Capitalizing on a walk, a single with an error tacked on, an RBI ground out, a wild pitch that allowed a run, two more walks and an infield error, St. James, who had fallen to Sleepy Eye 10-0 as part of the tournament the night before, put up three runs in the second to lead 3-2.
The Clippers didn’t waste any time deadlocking the game though as Lyons led off the third with a hard-hit infield single and scored when Tomaszewski bashed a hit to the center field fence for a double.
The Saints retook the lead in the fourth on a hit batter, a wild pitch and an RBI single.
But the Clippers tied the game 4-4 in the fifth when Lyons led off with a double, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored when Kortuem hit a line drive into center field.
Taking the first pitch of the bottom of the fifth over the left field fence, the Saints responded quickly to lead 5-4.
The Clippers out hit the Saints 9-7. Tomaszewski was three for three with a double and two singles for three RBIs. He also walked. Lyons hit a single and a double. Schlaak hit a pair of singles. Smith had one single and an RBI. Kortuem had a single and an RBI. They walked four times, got beaned twice, struck out four times and abandoned 10 on base.
Tomaszewski started on the hill. In four and two-thirds innings, he gave up six hits, five walks and beaned one for four earned runs while striking out six. Lyons took over with two outs in the fifth. He allowed one hit, no walks and struck out two. The Clippers erred three times, one fewer than SJA.
Cleveland 9, Triton 7
The Triton Cobras, also a double-A team, fell 9-8 to Sleepy Eye right before they took on the Clippers. On a pair of singles and a passed ball, they led 1-0 after the top of the first. The inning ended on a double play when Smith in center field threw to Hollerich at third to catch the runner.
The Clippers got on the board with a run in the second when Kortuem and Smith walked, Kiptyn Coon got hit by a pitch to load the bases with no out and Kortuem scored on a Schlaak groundout.
Triton took the lead in the top of the third inning after three walks, an RBI single and another walk forced in a run.
The Clippers flipped the game around in the bottom of the third, scoring six runs on three hits to take the lead, 7-3. After Connor got hit by a pitch, Kortuem grounded into a fielder’s choice, Smith singled and Coon walked to load the bases, Schlaak singled for two RBIs. Jack Mons walked. After Coon scored on a passed ball, Hollerich drove in two runs. Hollerich scored when Carson hit caromed off the right fielder’s glove for a 7-3 Clipper lead.
The Clippers would need the pair of runs they scored in the fourth. They when Connor walked, Kortuem singled, Smith hit an RBI single and Kortuem stole home.
The Cobras surged for four runs in the fourth on a single, an infield error, an RBI single, another infield error for an RBI and finally an RBI double that pulled them within two, 9-7.
But neither team scored after that. The Cobras hit a one-out double in the seventh, but after a line out, Mons rung up the next batter looking, and the Clippers held on for the W.
Triton out hit the Clippers 8-6. Smith hit two singles and brought home one run. Hollerich had a triple and two RBIs. Schlaak had a single and three RBIs. Kortuem and Tomaszewski each had a single. The Clipper walked seven times, got hit by three pitches, struck out five times and left eight on base.
Kortuem threw the first four and two thirds inning. He allowed six hits and eight walks for two earned runs while striking out eight. Mons took over with two outs in the fourth. He allowed two hits and one walk while striking out four. Triton marooned seven on base.
Cleveland erred twice while Triton had one error.
The winner of Cleveland vs GFW takes on the winner of third-seeded Sleepy Eye vs. 14th ranked Mountain Lake at the high seed next Monday. Springfield is on the same side of the bracket and ranked second. On the other side is top-seeded Madelia and fourth-ranked Mankato Loyola as well as fifth-ranked New Ulm Cathedral.
Above: Shortstop Carson Lyons reaches for a throw as a Saint runner slides into second.
Tony Hollerich tags out a SJA runner at third.
Alex Kortuem reaches for a bunt.
Carson Lyons took the mound against SJA in the fifth.
Kiptyn Coon chases down a fly ball into right field. SJA’s Veteran’s Park had a lot of character, including an outfield that sloped down towards the infield.
Landis Froehling and son Walker Froehling