Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye Junior Legion’s Carson Uecker smiles and heads back to the dugout after getting out of an inning during a junior legion baseball game against Madelia on Tuesday at Sleepy Eye Ballpark.

By Travis Rosenau

trosenau@nujournal.com

SLEEPY EYE — Sleepy Eye starting pitcher Carson Uecker had one bad inning in Tuesday evening’s junior legion baseball game with Madelia.

But one bad inning didn’t spoil the bunch.

In his first pitching start this summer and despite issuing four walks in the third inning, Uecker bounced back with a 1-2-3 fourth inning and finished with eight strikeouts while his team hung on for a 5-4 win at Sleepy Eye Ballpark.

Uecker pitched four innings and allowed six walks and one hit for one earned run, which came in the third inning when he walked Jackson Martinez to score Jeremiah Garza, but he was in the zone for the most part.

In Uecker’s defense, he’s used to pitches coming at him while behind the plate. But Tuesday, the catcher got the opportunity to start on the mound and made the most of it.

“I pitched in Sioux Falls last weekend just one inning, but this is my first start in, like, years,” Uecker said. “Last year I didn’t pitch much, this year, I didn’t pitch at all, but this is my first start in years.”

For his first start in “years,” Uecker didn’t look like a rookie despite a shaky third inning that he was able to work his way out of by allowing just one run to score.

“I wasn’t really finding my curveball right away, so that kind of sucked, but I found it in the last inning,” Uecker said. “I’m fine with it, maybe lessen up those walks and stuff, but, yeah.”

Sleepy Eye head coach Brandon Streich said he liked Uecker’s aggressive approach on the mound.

“He was pretty aggressive in the zone,” Streich said. “He was missing his spots, but I attribute that to not pitching very often. But he grinded it out, left some bas runners on. He grinded out that third inning where he left a couple runners on and then he came out with that 1-2-3 inning to kind of close the door and say, ‘Hey, I can take control of this. I can do what you need me to do,’ and that was huge. He pitched in the Sub-State Championship last year and did really well, so I know he’s capable of doing that.”

The lone hit Uecker surrendered was a single off the bat of Garza to lead off the game.

Kolten Tande had a five-inning start on the mound for Madelia in the loss, allowing six hits and four walks for five runs, four earned. He struck out one. Zach Jacobs pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning in relief for Madelia, striking out every batter he saw.

Merrick Mathiowetz pitched 1/3 of an inning in relief for Sleepy Eye in the fifth, allowing five walks and three runs to score while striking out one. Karter Haala took over for Mathiowetz, got out of the inning and finished the game for the save, allowing no hits, no walks and no runs while striking out five.

“Versatility is good and versatility can’t just be limited to the positions you play,” Streich said. “It can be the different roles that you embrace where, whether you’re a starting pitcher, a relief pitcher or you’ve got to come in and close like Karter. He started for us all year, came in today and threw really well.”

Mathiowetz and Jacob Fulmer each had a double to lead Sleepy Eye’s six-hit game. Fulmer’s double came in the bottom of the fourth to score Haala and Landry Folkens, who both reached on walks, making it a 5-1 game.

In the top of the fifth, Madelia got three straight walks to Noel Davila, Tande and Jacobs before Grev bunted in a run to make it 5-2. An error scored another run before a walk to Martinez filled the bases again.

Mathiowetz got a strikeout, but a walk to Oden Lehman made it a 5-4 game and forced another Sleepy Eye pitching change that brought Haala to the mound. Haala got a strikeout and forced a pop out to end Madelia’s threat.

Sleepy Eye started the scoring in the second on a sac fly from Haala to score Mathiowetz, who doubled to lead off. An error allowed Folkens, who singled after Mathiowetz’s double, to score, making it a 2-0 game.

After Madelia got a run back in the third, Sleepy Eye took it back in the bottom of the third on an error for a 3-1 lead.

In Uecker’s 1-2-3 final inning, he struck out the first two batters he faced before forcing a groundout to Mathiowetz at shortstop.

Taking Uecker’s spot behind the plate for the game was Adam Braulick, who Streich said did a nice job in what was his first start behind the plate this season.

Sleepy Eye now prepares for the Southwest Sub-Sub State playoffs, which begin Saturday in Sleepy Eye when Windom takes on Heron Lake/Okabena. Slayton will play the winner of that game at 9 a.m. Sunday, with Sleepy Eye taking on Springfield in an 11:30 a.m. Sunday game.

The playoffs will conclude Monday night or Tuesday if needed.

All games will take place at Sleepy Eye Ballpark. The top three teams from the tournament will move on to the DII Southwest Sub-State Tournament, which being on July 20 in Luverne.

“If guys can embrace their roles and take the team aspect first, we’re going to be all right,” Streich said.