The Hastings Raiders Baseball team picked up their second win in eight games to move to 2-6 with a wild 11-8 win against Park of Cottage Grove on Apr. 22 before dropping two consecutive outings later in the week. Apr. 23 was a close 1-0 loss where the Raiders were kept from tying the game on a controversial late game out at first base at South St. Paul. Then, against Simley, the boys fell 7-1 on Apr. 25. The Apr. 28 game was postponed due to the threat of extremely dangerous weather.
Against Park
The games against the Wolfpack always seem to be over the top wild and crazy or nail biting, low scoring affairs. Regardless of which version of the game you get, it is always a fun rivalry to watch because both teams often mirror each other very closely with the talent that each season has. This game was the wild and wacky where anything could and seemed to happen. The Raiders committed seven errors in the field in the first four innings according to the scoreboard with Park committing three. Then more errors on Park later allowed Hastings to claw back in.
Carter Lundstrom started for Hastings and he was solid through three innings with the first Park run coming at the top of the third. Hastings then put a three spot in the bottom of the third to take the lead. Charlie Meyers led off with a single, Gunnar Skov and Cole Warner walked all before Luke Niederkorn crushed a 1-0 pitch to left center for a bases clearing double.
The fourth inning was when the wheels came off for both teams. Two errors on routine plays allowed Park to start with two free runners at first and third and things just snowballed from there. Hastings quickly found themselves down 8-3 and Lundstrom’s stat line suffered because of it. Chuck Wagner stepped in to change things up and after facing three batters, it was the Raiders turn to cause chaos in the field.
Park committed two errors of their own in the fourth which allowed eight of the nine batters to reach base plus two Raiders batted twice that inning. After the chaotic fourth inning, 13 runs were scored, four errors committed, and Hastings had the lead 9-8.
Wagner did a great job holding Park to no runs in his two and two-thirds innings pitched and Hastings added some insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth. Skov led off the fifth with a single through the gap to right and that brought Wagner up for his fourth at bat. Wagner had already gone 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI, and he was not done yet. The first pitch he saw hit the sweet spot on the bat and the ping was clear, this ball was going a long way. Wagner drove the ball over the right center fence for a two-run homer to give the Raiders an 11-8 lead.
Head Coach Ryan Stoffel brought in Cole Karnick to close out the game and he shut Park down. He walked the first batter he faced then settled in to strike out the next two. A single put runners on the corners with two outs but a crafty toss home forced the lead off park batter to pop up to right field to end the game and give the Raiders their second victory of the season.
Lundstrom faced 21 batters striking out four while walking four on 78 total pitches, 46 strikes and 32 balls. Only one of the seven runs scored during his 3.33 innings pitched were recorded as earned runs. Wagner pitched 2.67 innings striking out one and walking no one on 37 total pitches, 23 strikes and 14 balls, facing 11 batters. Karnick closed the books on Park with one inning pitched where he struck out two and walked one on seven balls and 13 strikes. Hastings finished with 10 hits and Park finished with eight, 18 hits in a 19-run game.
At South St. Paul
This game was the exact opposite of the Park game. Hastings logged only five hits to South St. Paul’s four with the Packers walking away with a questionable 1-0 win. Hastings had a run score that was taken away by a bad call at first where the runner was clearly at the bag a large step before the defender, but the umpires saw the play differently and since it was the third out of the inning, the run did not score.
Matt Sherry took the complete game, 1-0 loss tossing 53 strikes, 41 balls to the 24 batters he faced. Sherry struck out four and walked three in the 1-0 loss.
Against Simley
The game against Simley started with the Spartans taking a 3-0 lead in the second inning and they never let go. Hastings closed the gap in the third inning after Marlow Strain walked and stole two bases before Niederkorn hit a soft grounder into no mans land near the mound to get strain home for the lone Raider run. Simley tacked on four more runs to complete the 7-1 win.
Karnick started on the bump for Hastings going four innings allowing five runs on four hits. Karnick walked four and struck out four of the 21 batters he faced. Colton McKnight took over in relief allowing two runs on three hits while walking two and striking out one.
Up Next
The boys will have a busy, shortened week with the Hill-Murray game from Monday being moved. First up is a trip to St. Thomas Academy on Apr. 30, then Hill-Murray make-up game at home on May 1. May 2 the Raiders host Tartan, all three of those games are at 4:30 p.m. May 3, the Raiders have the rare matinee game at Veterans Park against Prescott at 2:00 p.m. The Hawks will have concessions open for a late lunch for that game, so come hungry.
The boys get Sunday off and then return to action at Mahtomedi on May 5. The two-game road trip concludes at North St. Paul on May 7, and they return home to host the MEC leading Two Rivers Warriors on May 9. All of those games return to the normal 4:30 p.m. start time.