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Springfield stops Nicollet in 2A baseball playoffs

Staff photo by Steve Muscatello Springfield’s Decker Sheffler (5) is congratulated by his teammates after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning of the Tigers Section 2A playoff win against Nicollet Friday in Springfield. For more photos of this event go to cu.nujournal.com

SPRINGFIELD — After the first inning, Springfield looked nearly unstoppable offensively.

But after a momentum-shifting throwout in the bottom of the second, Nicollet gained some life.

Still, No. 3-seeded Springfield fended off a scare against No. 14-seeded Nicollet in winning 5-2 in the first round of the Section 2A playoffs on Friday.

Everything was going swimmingly for the Tigers (16-4), who ended the season ranked No. 4 in Class A. But after senior catcher Hunter Johnson threw out Henry Scheitel on a steal attempt in the bottom of the second, the Tigers became more hesitant on the base paths, giving the Raiders (2-15) some much-needed confidence.

“He’s the only senior on our team and we have a ton of confidence in him,” Nicollet coach Alex Robideau said of Johnson. “If our second baseman and shortstop get to the base, we really think we can throw out anyone. Hunter is great behind the plate.”

Springfield lost a lot of its hitting mojo after that point as well, with a lot of its hard-hit balls getting snagged by left fielder Dustin Bode and center fielder Anthony Macias.

“The momentum changed because we started hitting balls hard and we had seven hard-hit balls right at them,” Springfield coach Bob Fink said. “In the first inning they fell — and one fell over the fence — and the others didn’t. If you have seven hard-hit balls in a three-inning stretch that are right at people where they made nice plays, it’s tough to make things happen.”

Before then, however, Springfield came out on fire offensively, stringing together five-straight hits for four runs — highlighted by freshman Decker Scheffler’s two-run home run from the No. 2 spot.

The Raiders scored two earned runs off sophomore Hunter Mathiowetz in the top of the third inning. Ean Thomsen drove in Matt Juberian with a sacrifice groundout before Ben Radke, who got on with a slick double to left field, scored on a wild pitch with a 2-1 count to cut the Tigers’ lead to 4-2.

“That’s what we wanted to do coming into it was make it close, make it interesting,” Robideau said.

Springfield answered in the bottom of the third as senior Carter Cook notched his second RBI with a sacrifice flyout to center field that brought in Tanner Vogel to make it 5-2.

Mathiowetz lasted five innings in earning the win, having given up two earned runs on four hits with seven strikeouts.

Senior Branden Flock got the save with five strikeouts in two innings of work in a solid outing on the mound for the Tigers.

“Last year, [Flock] struggled a little bit early, then come playoff time we all know what happened — he was unhittable,” Fink said. “Branden’s a gamer and I know he’ll do the job.”

Thomsen got the loss for the Raiders in five innings pitched, having given up five earned runs on seven hits. Freshman Riley Hulke pitched one inning of relief and gave up one hit.

Springfield advances to double-elimination play in Section 2A. It will host No. 6-seeded Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Riverside Park. The two rivals split during the regular season, which should make for a competitive battle on Tuesday.

Nicollet 002 000 0 — 2 4 0

Springfield 401 000 x — 5 8 0

Thomsen, Hulke (6) and Johnson; Mathiowetz, Flock (6) and M Rummel.

W – Mathiowetz (S) 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 77 pitches

L – Thomsen (N) 5 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 89 pitches

Sv – Flock (S) 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 31 pitches

Leading hitters – Nicollet: Radke 2-3 1 R 1 K 2B, Thomsen 1-2 1 RBI 1 K; Springfield: Scheffler 1-2 2 RBI 1 R 1 BB HR, Vogel 2-3 2 R 1 K 2B, Fink 1-3 1 RBI 1 R 2B, Cook 1-2 2 RBI.

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