Photo by Samantha Davis Sleepy Eye’s Jake Mielke (left) and Wabasso’s Joe Liebl (right) share a laugh at first base after a play  in a non-league matchup Wednesday night at City Field. The Indians prevailed for a 7-6 win.

By Samantha Davis

sports@nujournal.com

WABASSO — The Sleepy Eye Indians survived Wabasso’s late rally to erase a once six-run lead, and prevailed for a 7-6 win in a seven-inning, non-league game Wednesday evening, snapping a seven-game losing skid.

“It was good. The guys came tonight and gave us a good chance to win,” Sleepy Eye manager Scott Salfer said. “Luke Mielke did a good job throwing on the mound. Got a little tired in the last inning, but he did a heck of a job keeping us ahead for as long as he did … It was a good team effort.”

Early errors hurt Wabasso, as Sleepy Eye scored its first four runs in the first inning off four defensive errors. The Indians extended their lead to 7-1 with another trio of runs in the top of the fifth. The Jaxx brought themselves back into the game behind five runs in the bottom of the frame, but it wasn’t quite enough as the final two innings went scoreless on both sides.

“[We] started slow, but the bats started to come alive and we started getting some base hits,” Wabasso manager Dustin Tietz said. “That’s what this game was for, an exhibition game, used it for good practice going into the playoffs.”

Luke tossed the first four innings for Sleepy Eye, and Jake Mielke relieved the final two.

Luke finished with three strikeouts, while allowing eight hits and three walks. Jake recorded one strikeout with one walk and one hit.

For Wabasso, CJ Theis pitched six innings before Carter Guetter stepped in as relief for the seventh.

Theis tossed one strikeout, allowing nine hits and two walks. Carter had one strikeout and one walk.

“It [the pitching] was good for the most part. It was a good pitching duo,” Tietz said. “Both teams were efficient. Aside from the legitimate hits and errors, both pitchers pitched well.”

Down by six going up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth, Wabasso got bases loaded with no outs with a trio of walks for Noah Anderson, Joe Liebl and Samuel Guetter.

Anderson got the rally started, scoring off a Carter RBI single, as Liebl followed behind off a Josh Guetter RBI.

Keeping bases occupied, both Carter and Samuel ran home from a Theis two-run RBI single with a grounder to center field, cutting into a 7-5 deficit.

Wabasso brought the game within one, down 7-6, with a Colton Taylor RBI single to score Josh.

Sleepy Eye was able to put an end to the Jaxx’s momentum with a strikeout and an outfield fly ball catch.

The sixth inning went scoreless for both teams, as did Sleepy Eye in the top of the seventh in its final at-bat.

With Wabasso looking for a tie or walk-off in the bottom of the seventh, Sleepy Eye prevented any offense with a strikeout and pair of infield plays to end the game and save the victory.

Overall, Sleepy Eye recorded 12 hits and one error to Wabasso’s 10 hits and four errors.

“I think, like with every team, you just want to keep the bats going. You want to get hits after hits after hits,” Salfer said. “We had some guys that were a little bit hungry for an at-bat hit, so they showed up tonight … Chino Luna had a couple nice hits that helped the team get going.”

For Sleepy Eye, Luna led offensively going 3 for 3 at the plate, including a double, along with a team-high two RBIs. Marcus Martinez followed with two hits and one RBI.

Taylor, Josh, Carter and Theis all recorded two hits for Wabasso, while Theis led with two RBIs.

Sleepy Eye jumped to its 4-0 lead in the first inning with runs from Jacon Fulmer, Jon Petermann, Thor Weiss and Jake.

Fulmer got the night’s first run off Weiss’ infield hit, who reached base and allowed Fulmer to take home off the same Wabasso fielding error.

Petermann charged home off a wild pitch, while Weiss and Mielke scored off Luke and Luna RBI singles, respectively.

Carter scored Wabasso’s first run in the bottom of the fourth inning, tagging third base and going home off an Adryen Tietz sacrifice fly ball to right field.

Yet, Sleepy Eye found a quick response in the top of the fifth with its three runs coming from Petermann and a Luna two-run RBI double with a fly ball to deep center field to score both Weiss and Jake, for its 7-1 advantage before Wabasso’s rally.

As the regular season nears an end for both teams, Wabasso (6-14) will next remain at home to host the Marshall A’s (13-8) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in a Corn Belt League matchup.

“We’ve got Marshall on Friday and Willmar on Sunday,” Tietz said. “And, there are playoff implications on those [games].”

Sleepy Eye (7-10) will stay on the road to take on Springfield on Sunday for its final regular-season game with a 5 p.m. first pitch.

“We’re going to try and treat it like a playoff game,” Salfer said. “That’s what’s going to be coming up next. We want to give them our best, and we hope they bring their best for us too.”