Baseball: Red Wing dominates Hastings

Senior Zach Garner was hit by a pitch to start the game for Red Wing and came around to score on an error by Hastings as the Wingers grabbed a 1-0 first inning lead they never gave back en route to a 9-1 victory Monday at Jack Ruhr Field in Miesville.

Garner started on the mound for sixth-ranked Red Wing (17-1, 13-1 Missota) and reached base in all five of his at-bats as the Wingers pounded out 13 hits and did not make an error in the win.

“I feel like this game we kicked it into gear,” Garner said.

Garner finished 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBI in addition to pitching three innings as he paced Red Wing from beginning to end.

“I felt a little more confident at the plate,” Garner said. “I tried to drive it up the middle and … be a little more aggressive.”

But Garner wasn’t alone.

The Wingers got contributions from nearly every spot in the lineup, especially the bottom of the order. Red Wing’s 7-8-9 hitters finished 6-for-11 with three RBI and six runs scored.

After Garner gave the Wingers a 1-0 lead in the first inning, the bottom of the lineup got rolling and scored three runs in the second inning.

Red Wing got four consecutive singles with one out from seniors Dayton Johnson, Erin Foley, Karsten Lampman and Garner to score two runs before senior David Goggin hit an RBI groundout to second base that put the Wingers up 4-0.

Hastings scored its lone run in the third inning on a single by Aaron Stoneberg to plate David McConnell. Stoneberg led the Hawks, going 2-for-3.

The Hawks threatened again in the fourth inning, putting the first two runners on base but Johnson recovered to strike out the next three batters and leave runners stranded on first and second base. Johnson was dominant after the early hiccup, striking out five in three innings to get the win.

“He settled down and got better as the game went on,” Red Wing head coach Jim Bohmbach said. “You got to get comfortable on the mound.”

Red Wing added another run in the sixth inning on a double down the right-field line by Garner and four more runs in the seventh inning thanks in large part to three hits by pinch hitters. Senior starter Mike Stegora singled to start the inning but ninth-grader Ty Buck got a pinch-hit single and scored, senior Dillon Lewis hit a pinch-hit double off the left-field wall and junior Preston Blaney tripled into the left-centerfield gap to bring in two runs as a pinch hitter.

Senior Carsten Meyer pitched a scoreless seventh inning for the Wingers to secure the victory and he has yet to allow a run through 12 innings.

“He’s had a great year,” Bohmbach said. “Every time he’s out there, he does his job.”

Red Wing will attempt to keep momentum going into the Section 1AAA playoffs this weekend but first the Wingers face Ellsworth Tuesday at the Red Wing Athletic Field.

“This has been one of the easier seasons,” Bohmbach said. “You just have to show up with the bats and balls. … Late in games, these guys get better.”

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