Indees beat Augusta, fall to E-S, ECIL

The Independence/Gilmanton baseball team began the week with a lopsided win, but then lost a couple of close games.

The Indees put up 14 runs in a mercy rule win over Augusta at home last week Tuesday. On Friday, however, the team struggled late as Eleva-Strum walked off a 5-4 winner. Then I/G couldn’t get going at the plate in a 4-0 loss to Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran on Saturday.

I/G began this week with a 6-7 overall mark, 5-7 in Dairyland Conference play behind E-S (6-6), Whitehall (8-4), Melrose-Mindoro (9-3) and Osseo-Fairchild (10-2) in the Large Division. 

The Indees hosted O-F on Tuesday and play at Whitehall on Thursday. They’ll finish the regular season at Melrose-Mindoro this coming Tuesday. 

I/G 14 Augusta 4

I/G’s bats got going halfway through the game as the team went on to win by the mercy rule in six innings.

Both teams scored one run in the first inning and that’s how the score stood until the bottom of the third when Payton Hovey doubled in two. Hovey later scored on a sacrifice to give I/G a 4-1 lead through three innings.

Glenn Turner and Preston Solberg hit RBI singles in the fourth to make the score 7-1. Solberg scored on a sacrifice fly before Chase Back homered to left field, making it 9-1.

Eric Lopez hit a long ball in the fifth, a two-run shot that put his team ahead 11-2. After Augusta scored two runs in the top of the sixth, Nolan Schank and Turner hit RBI singles in the bottom half of the inning. Turner’s hit brought two runs in to end the game as I/G took a 10-run lead.

The Indees had 14 hits in the game as Turner went three-for-three with three RBIs. Lopez and Schank also had three hits, Lopez batted in two and Schank drove one home. Solberg and Back both had two hits and two RBIs, Hovey had one hit and three RBIs.

Lopez was the winning pitcher, striking out seven while allowing one hit and two walks in 4.2 innings. 

Eleva-Strum 5 I/G 4

The Cardinals scored three runs late, including the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh.

The Indees scored three runs in the first inning and took a 4-2 lead into the sixth, but three straight singles helped the Cardinals tie the game. 

After I/G stranded a leadoff single in the top of the seventh, E-S led off the bottom half of the inning with a single and ended the game with another. 

I/G was aggressive at the plate in the first inning as Eric Lopez doubled to start the game and scored on a double by Chase Back. Back later scored on a groundout before Turner singled to make the score 3-0.

After E-S scored two in the bottom of the first, Back hit an RBI single in the second.

Lopez was three-for-four at the plate while Back was two-for-four. Both also pitched as Back started and was on the mound into the fifth inning before being relieved by Lopez. Payton Hovey took the mound in the seventh. The trio combined to strike out seven while allowing five earned runs on four hits and eight walks. 

ECIL 4 I/G 0

I/G never got going offensively, wasting a solid outing from its pitching staff.

Hovey and Ricky Lopez allowed just four hits in the game, while striking out one without a walk. None of the runs allowed were earned as I/G committed five errors.

The Lancers took the lead with one run in the first then scored three in the second. 

I/G managed just two hits in the game — one by Hovey, the other by Ricky Lopez.