Amateur Baseball: Aces' season ends in extra innings
Red Wing's Josh Thygesen gets thrown out at the plate in the bottom of the 13th inning against Sartell on Saturday at Memorial Park Baseball Stadium in New Prague, Minn. Photo courtesy of Jeff Cunningham
Teddy Tauer got the starting nod for Red Wing on Saturday against Sartell. Tauer pitched six innings of shutout baseball before giving way to Keith Meyers. Photo courtesy of Jeff Cunningham
Mitch Matter hits a single into left field in the bottom of the 13th inning against Sartell on Saturday. The hit was what led to Thygesen getting thrown out at home. Photo courtesy of Jeff Cunningham
Pitcher Keith Meyers chats with catcher Dixon Irwin on the mound in the ninth inning of Red Wing's game against Sartell on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Jeff Cunningham
Red Wing pitcher Teddy Tauer gets fired up after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning with a strikeout. Photo courtesy of Jeff CunninghamEmbroiled in a pitcher's duel, the Red Wing Aces came up just short of extending its season to the Minnesota Class C State Tournament quarterfinals by coming up one run short to Sartell on Saturday. That one run, just so happened to be the only run scored in the game as well ... in the 14th inning.
For the Aces, starting pitcher Teddy Tauer went pitch-for-pitch with Sartell's David Deminsky, who was drafted in the 44th round by the Minnesota Twins in 2010 and advanced as high as Fort Myers — the Twins Class A Advanced affiliate in that same year.
Tauer threw six innings of shutout baseball, striking out seven, walking three and scattering three hits. Deminsky lasted 10 innings, struck out 11, walked one and gave up five hits.
With neither starting pitcher able to last the duration of the game, each team needed to dig into its relief corps to find the win. And again, neither team's pitching staffs disappointed.
Aces' draftee Keith Meyers, coming from Cannon Falls, threw the remaining eight innings for Red Wing. He struck out five, walked one and gave up four hits, as well as the game-winning run.
For the Muskies, Max Koprek came on in relief of Deminsky to throw 3 ⅔ innings. He struck out one, walked two and gave up two hits.
The Aces had a great opportunity to put the game away in the bottom of the 13th inning when Mitch Matter hit a ball to left field, but Josh Thygesen was thrown out at the plate.
After Sartell scored a run in the next half inning, Red Wing again threatened to score by putting two runners on in the 14th inning. Sartell made a pitching change and brought in John Schumer, who then got the last Aces' batter out to wrap up the game.
Thygesen led the Aces offensively by logging two hits, one walk and a stolen base. Matter, Brady Schroeder, Kyle Blahnik, Zach Garner and Seth Yeatman all recorded one hit each.
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