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Errors plague New Ulm Legion Blue

Staff photo by Steve Muscatello New Ulm Legion Blue starting pitcher Nathan Hauser tosses a pitch during an Upper Midwest Classic game against Le Sueur-Henderson on Saturday in Essig. For more photos of this event go to cu.nujournal.com

By Travis Rosenau

Journal Sports Writer

ESSIG — When errors begin to pile up early on, it can really hurt a team down the stretch. That’s what happened to New Ulm Legion Blue on Saturday, when it committed four errors in the first inning that led to four runs scored.

Blue fell to 0-4 in the Upper Midwest Classic after an 8-4 loss to Le Sueur-Henderson in Essig.

Nate Hauser received the loss with five runs allowed, although only one run was earned. He gave up six hits and one walk in four innings with two strikeouts.

“Nate was a little rusty to start, but he focused in and gutted it out,” Blue coach Ed Tietel said. “He didn’t have his best stuff today, but after we got through some of the stuff early, he kept us in the game and gave us a chance.”

Blue took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after Hauser scored on a sac-fly from Luke Scheid.

Hauser was 2 for 4 for Blue with two runs scored. The bottom of the first was when the errors began to pile up and hurt Blue.

After three hits and four errors, Le Sueur-Henderson grabbed a 4-1 lead.

In the third, Blue cut the lead to 4-2 after a fielder’s choice out by Ryley Hansen scored Hauser from third.

Hansen was 2 for 4 with an RBI for Blue.

Blue added two runs in the fifth inning on a sac-fly from T.J. Sweere and an RBI single from Tyler Walls, who went 2 for 3. But Le Sueur-Henderson got those two runs back in the bottom of the sixth to extend its lead to 8-4.

Blue had a chance to make some noise in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded and two outs, but a flyout ended the game.

Blue had nine hits and allowed five errors in the game, with every error occurring in the first two innings.

“We were not sharp to start the game,” Tietel said. “We spotted them some runs and if you take away that first four-run inning, we were right there with them. But I think we lacked a little bit of urgency to start the game.”

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