Tigers hold off Yankees, move on to state qualifier
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NEW ULM -- In the end, Springfield Tigers manager Steve Helget said he put the game in the hands of a 16-year-old.
Madden Lendt pitched two innings of shutout ball and got the game-ending out on a bases-loaded flyout as the Tigers stayed rolling in the Region 2C Baseball Tournament with an 8-7 win over the Milroy Yankees Sunday night at Mueller Park.
Noah Neperman got the win in relief for the Tigers.
Nate Deutz took the loss for the Yankees, who fall to an elimination bracket game against Essig on Saturday in Sleepy Eye.
Lendt, Tyler Hach, Adiel Trevino, Jake Poehler and Brandon Wilhelmi each had two hits for the Tigers, with Trevino driving in three runs. Decker Scheffler and Hach each added two RBIs.
Brock Schultz had two hits for Milroy.
Springfield now plays on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Sleepy Eye, with a win there securing a state tournament trip.
"We really battled," Helget said. "[Justin] Haugo threw very well for us (five innings and three runs). And we played good defense and we put the game in the hands of a 16-year-old at the end."
The Tigers advanced to Sunday’s game with an 11-1 win in seven innings over St. James on Saturday, while the Yankees advanced to Sunday’s game with Springfield after beating Sacred Heart 10-2 on Saturday.
The Tigers trailed Milroy 4-3 going into the top of the eighth inning when Springfield erupted for five runs to take an 8-4 lead into the bottom of the inning.
A Lendt bases-loaded single tied the game at 4-4 before a walk to Scheffler added another run for a 5-4 lead.
Hacht's single upped the Tigers' lead to 6-4 and a Trevino two-run single had the Tigers with a seemingly comfortable 8-4 lead.
But two walks and a Schultz single ended Neperman's night as Lendt came in and held the damage to three runs -- one coming on an outfield error -- as the Yankees pulled to within a run, 8-7.
"That was a wild eighth inning," Helget said. "You hope you have enough left in the tank. We lost Jordan [Milbrath to a broken ankle] and he was a big part of what we do."
The Yankees then threatened to tie or win the game in the bottom of the ninth when Lendt walked Dave Schmidt to lead off the inning.
After a strikeout -- one of four in Lendt's mound stint -- he walked Alex Schuh and then elected to intentionally walk Andy Schmidt to load the bases.
That move paid off as Lendt got Eli Weedman to fly out to end the game and keep the Tigers going strong in the playoffs.
"This was a big win," Helget said. "We had that dropped fly ball in right field, but we play well together and they love to play the game."