Hastings opened June looking for a spark, and the Hawks found one before running into two tough league losses later in the week. Hastings entered the week at 4-5 after dropping three straight games to NSP, Dundas and Miesville, then returned to Veterans Park for three home games in five days. The Hawks hosted the Minneapolis Cobras on Wednesday, June 3, at 7:30 p.m., in dry, warm and windy weather, then stayed home for a Friday, June 5, 7:30 p.m. game against Dundas and a Sunday, June 7, 2 p.m. game against Lakeville. The week gave Hastings a big non-league win, a late rally that came up just short, and another hard-fought home game that turned in the middle innings.
The Hawks started the week with their best offensive finish in a while, beating Minneapolis 12-3 on Wednesday night. The Cobras scored twice in the first inning, but Hastings did not let the early hole grow. Gavin Odman worked through traffic, and the Hawks’ offense waited until the third inning to take control. Hastings scored six runs in the third, added one in the fourth, then put the game away with five more in the eighth.
Hastings finished with nine hits, but the bigger story was how much pressure the Hawks put on the bases. Dylan Larson stole three bases, Kelin Rasmussen stole two, and Cooper Desutter, Cade Kimmes and Johnny Teigland also stole one each. Rasmussen went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, Teigland went 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI, and Max Kaplan drove in three runs. Larson, Jason Greeder, Max Krebs and Kimmes each added one hit. Bennett Brathol had a sacrifice fly and one RBI, Desutter was hit by a pitch, walked, stole a base and drove in a run, and Cooper Pagel also picked up an RBI after entering the game.
The pitching carried the lead from there. Odman earned the win, allowing three runs on seven hits over five innings, with two walks and five strikeouts. Zach Simon followed with two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out four. Reece Cox closed the game with two more scoreless innings, giving up one hit and two walks while striking out six. Hastings pitchers struck out 15 Cobras batters in all. Minneapolis had nine hits, including doubles by Luke Crawshaw and Matthew Popp, but left 11 runners on base. The Hawks won 12-3, with Odman getting the pitching decision, and moved to 5-5 on the season.
Two nights later, Dundas returned to Hastings and again made things difficult for the Hawks. The Dukes scored one run in the first, one in the third, one in the fifth, two in the sixth and two in the eighth, building a 7-0 lead before Hastings and the umpires made the ninth inning interesting. Kyle Oswald was the biggest problem for Hastings, going 3-for-3 with three doubles and five RBIs. Ryan Cahoon scored twice and had two hits, while Mike Ludwig added two hits and an RBI.
Hastings was quiet for eight innings against Zach Klempke, but the Hawks did not go away. In the ninth, they pushed across five runs and brought the tying run into the picture before the field umpire made a catastrophic blunder that would have been highlighted on ABC’s Wild World of Sports.
Hastings was poised to have the comeback of the 2026 season scoring five runs before the two out baffling call was made. Runners were on first and third when Drossel bounced a grounder to deep short stop. A great defensive stop was made but Drossel’s speed easily beat the throw to first. So much so, that he was two full steps past the bag before the ball made it to the first baseman’s glove. Or that is what everyone watching saw, everyone except the umpire in the field.
The press box and crowd erupted with the assumed single and the Hawks were now one run away from tying the game with a runner in scoring position with their best hitter coming to the plate and a lot of speed on the bases. Instead, the cheers quickly turned into boos and other choice words as the umpire called Drossel out at first and the Hawks fell 7-5.
Dylan Larson had the key run-scoring hit in the inning and finished 1-for-5 with two RBIs. Kane Sheahan went 2-for-4 with an RBI, Griffin DiTeodoro went 2-for-4, Gavin Odman drove in a run, and Cade Kimmes added one hit and one RBI. Kelin Rasmussen and Evan Khrin each had one hit and scored once.
Eddie Moore took the loss for Hastings, allowing two runs on one hit over four innings, with five walks and two strikeouts. Dennis Reinhart gave the Hawks three innings in relief, allowing three runs, one earned, on four hits, with one walk and three strikeouts. Jordan Jeske allowed two runs in one inning, and Simon threw a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts. Hastings finished with nine hits and two errors. The Hawks did not have an extra-base hit, but Sheahan and DiTeodoro each had multi-hit games.
Hastings came back Sunday afternoon against Lakeville and started fast, but the Loonatics took over in the middle innings and won 11-6. The Hawks scored two runs in the first inning and added another in the third, giving themselves an early chance. Kelin Rasmussen supplied the loudest swing of the day for Hastings, hitting a home run and finishing 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Evan Khrin also had two hits and scored a run.
Lakeville answered with three runs in the third, three more in the fourth and one in the fifth to move in front 7-3. Gavin Renwick hit a home run and drove in four runs for Lakeville, while Nolan Mancini went 3-for-3 with a double, two runs and one RBI. Theo King, Jacob Weckop, Renwick and Jack Deutsch each had two hits, and Tate Gage added a double. The Loonatics added four more runs in the eighth, which became important when Hastings tried to climb back again.
The Hawks scored three runs in the eighth, cutting into the lead, but they could not finish the comeback. Jack Seleski scored twice and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Charlie Rud and Ben Teigland each drove in one run, and Cooper Pagel scored after entering the game. Hastings drew eight walks and was hit by four pitches, but the Hawks finished with four hits and left 12 runners on base.
Lakeville won 11-6. Ben Teigland took the loss for Hastings, allowing six runs on nine hits over four innings, with two walks and three strikeouts. Bennett Brathol worked three innings, allowing four runs on three hits, with four walks and five strikeouts. Seleski pitched the final two innings, allowing one run on two hits and striking out three. Rasmussen had the Hawks’ only extra-base hit with his home run, while Rasmussen and Khrin each had multi-hit games. After the loss, Hastings ended the week at 5-7 on the season.
Hastings will travel to Northfield on June 10 at 7:30 p.m., then travel to Red Wing on June 12 at 7:30 p.m. The Hawks will visit Lakeville on June 14 at 2 p.m., travel to River Falls on June 17 at 7:30 p.m., and continue the road stretch at Hampton on June 20 at 2 p.m.