The Hastings Hawks started July with a little bit of everything, a late rally, a walk-off win, a road trip, and a short holiday game that got away early. Hastings entered the week at 9-10 after a weather postponement against Red Wing on June 28, then hosted the Burnsville Bobcats on Wednesday, July 1 at 7:30 p.m. before traveling to John Burch Park in Cannon Falls for a 2 p.m. game against the Bears on Saturday, July 4. The week gave the Hawks a chance to steady things at home before a busy stretch of July games, and for one night, they did it in dramatic fashion.
Burnsville grabbed the first lead Wednesday at Veterans Park, but the game stayed close because Hastings pitching worked around traffic all night. Vinnie Wodele started for the Hawks and was sharp right away. He threw two hitless innings, walked one and struck out six, giving Hastings the kind of early mound work that kept the game quiet while the offense tried to get started. Burnsville broke through in the third after Johnathan Santelman walked, stole second and later scored on a Ben Meuser single. The Bobcats added another run in the fourth when Gus McIntire singled, Patrick Karlen was hit by a pitch, Santelman singled to load the bases, and Zach Andreasen drew a walk to bring in McIntire for a 2-0 lead.
The Hawks had chances early, but they also ran into a few frustrating endings. Jack Seleski walked in the first but was caught stealing. In the second, Johnny Teigland doubled and Bennett Brathol lined a hit, but Hastings could not turn it into a run. The third inning brought another chance when Zach Simon walked, Seleski singled and Max Kaplan singled, but Burnsville escaped again. The score stayed 2-0 until the sixth, when the Hawks finally stacked together the kind of inning they needed. Teigland singled, Evan Khrin moved him up with a groundout, and Brathol doubled to score Teigland. Gavin Odman followed with a double of his own to score Brathol and tie the game at 2-2.
Burnsville answered in the seventh with two runs to take the lead back. Jacob Neutz walked, Noah Juliar reached on a fielder’s choice, and Blake Tritch also reached on a fielder’s choice. Joe Robinson singled to score Juliar, and Tritch later scored on an error during Jonah Dawson’s at-bat, giving the Bobcats a 4-2 lead. Reece Cox kept the Hawks in it from there. Cox threw four innings in relief, allowing four hits and two runs, one earned, while striking out three.
Amidst some very solid pitching from Cox, more officiating drama stymied the Hawks comeback attempts. Previously during the Dundas game, a blown call in the bottom of the ninth ended the Hawks comeback from finishing off the Dukes, and against the Bobcats, it was almost déjà vu all over again.
The bottom of the seventh started with a Max Kaplan walk and Kelin Rasmussen, one of the Hawks leading batters, was up. Rasmussen drove a pitch to the deep left corner for a home run off the foul pole. Fan erupted and the bench followed suit thinking the game was tied. The single umpire however, had a different idea, calling the home run foul. HCTV was on hand to catch the action, and their replay clearly showed a home run, but, this is amateur baseball and video replay is not allowed. After the ruckus settled from the wrong call, Rasmussen flew out on the next pitch and the following batter hit into a double play ending the seventh with Hastings still trailing 4-2.
Cox worked through baserunners and helped set up the late rally by keeping Burnsville off the board in the eighth. Gavin Odman then took over in the ninth and threw a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out one.
That made the bottom of the ninth matter, and Hastings took full advantage. Seleski led off with a double, then moved to third on a Kaplan groundout. Kelin Rasmussen drove him home with a triple, cutting the deficit to 4-3. During Teigland’s at-bat, Rasmussen scored on a wild pitch, tying the game at 4. Teigland grounded out for the second out, but the inning was not done. Khrin singled to keep the Hawks alive, and Brathol followed with his second double of the night, moving Khrin to third. Odman then put the ball in play and reached on an error, allowing Khrin to score the winning run in a 5-4 Hastings win.
Hastings finished the Burnsville game with 12 hits, six extra-base hits and a late push that wiped away eight innings of frustration. Brathol went 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, one run and one RBI. Seleski went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and a run. Krebs went 2-for-5 with a stolen base. Teigland went 2-for-5 with a double and a run. Rasmussen had the ninth-inning RBI triple, Odman doubled and drove in a run, Kaplan added a hit and two walks, and Khrin had a hit, two walks and scored the winning run. Odman earned the win on the mound. Johnathan Santelman took the loss for Burnsville after allowing three runs, two earned, in two-thirds of an inning.
The second game of the week was much tougher for Hastings, as Cannon Falls scored early and kept the Hawks from building any sustained offense. The Bears took a 3-0 lead in the first inning after Jayden Burr walked, Jack Meyers walked and Ben Schmitz singled to load the bases. A defensive miscue allowed Burr to score, then Tyler Meyers singled to bring in Jack Meyers and Schmitz. Cannon Falls added two more in the second. Peter Haggerty reached on an error, Aaron Lagios singled and Burr singled to load the bases. Jack Meyers reached on a fielder’s choice, with Haggerty scoring and Lagios coming in on another error, making it 5-0.
Hastings did get runners on base, but Keith Meyers kept the Hawks off the scoreboard. Johnny Teigland singled in the first. Gunnar Skov and Taylor Pagel singled in the second. Cory Wolters walked in the third, but he was caught stealing to end the inning. The best scoring chance came in the fourth, when Skov reached on an error and Cole Werner doubled, putting runners at second and third. A groundout ended the inning, and the Hawks were still down 5-0. Cannon Falls added one run in the fourth when Schmitz doubled, Tyler Meyers singled, and Schmitz later scored on an error during Matt Weber’s at-bat.
Cannon Falls stretched the lead again in the sixth. Burr singled and Jack Meyers singled to put two on. A wild pitch moved both runners up, and Tyler Meyers singled to score Burr, making it 7-0. Hastings got another single from Evan Khrin in the sixth, and Taylor Pagel added his second hit of the game in the seventh, but the Hawks could not push across a run. In the bottom of the seventh, Haggerty singled, Lagios walked and Burr walked to load the bases. Jack Meyers ended the game with a three-run double, scoring Haggerty, Lagios and Burr for a 10-0 Cannon Falls win in seven innings.
Hastings finished with six hits in the loss. Taylor Pagel led the Hawks at the plate, going 2-for-3. Teigland, Khrin, Skov and Werner each had one hit, with Werner’s double standing as the team’s only extra-base hit. Wolters drew the lone Hastings walk. Jordan Jeske took the loss on the mound, throwing 6.33 innings. He allowed 12 hits and 10 runs, five earned, with six walks and two strikeouts. Keith Meyers earned the win for Cannon Falls, throwing all seven innings. He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out nine.
The split moved Hastings to 10-11 on the season. The win over Burnsville showed the Hawks still have late-inning punch, especially when the bottom half of the order and the middle of the lineup both contribute. The Cannon Falls game showed how quickly a game can turn when free baserunners, errors and timely hits pile up. The Hawks had 18 hits over the two games, but most of the damage came in the opener, when they scored five runs over their final four offensive innings and put together one of their sharper rallies of the season.
Hastings will host the Hudson River Rats on July 8 at 7:30 p.m., then travel to Prescott on July 11 at 1 p.m. and Faribault on July 12 at 2 p.m. The Hawks return home July 15 to face Shoreview at 7:30 p.m., then host Prescott on July 18 at 3 p.m.