ATWATER — The Tri-Town American Legion baseball team came into Game 1 of its sub-state playoff game with Sacred Heart/MACCRAY hoping to push the action and get a good start.

That’s exactly what the Black Sox did, beating the Scarets 5-2 Tuesday night at Kingery Field.

Tri-Town opened the scoring in the bottom of the first by pushing in a run.

In the bottom of the third, after filling the bases and scoring a run off a walk, the Black Sox scored two runs on a single to take a 4-0 lead.

Sacred Heart/MACCRAY scored back-to-back runs in the top of the fourth but was unable to muster any more.

Josh Kinzler took the win on the mound for Tri-Town with five innings pitched, Ayden Gustafson was dealt the loss.

Game 2 between Tri-Town and Sacred Heart is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday in Sacred Heart. A second game, if necessary, follows.

Tri-Town is trying to earn a berth into the 34th annual state Division II tournament July 30-Aug. 1 at Sacred Heart. The Scarlets have secured a berth in the state tournament by being the hosts.

Legion Baseball

Tri-Town 5, SH/MACCRAY 2

SH/MACCRAY 000 200 0-2 11 0

Tri-Town 100 301 0-5 5 1

Hitting - SH/MACCRAY: Brady Kienitz 1-4 rbi-2, Isaac Strommer 0-3 bb, Brandan Hoberg 2-4, Tyler Froland 2-4, Brooks Asche 2-3 bb, Landon Tanner 1-4, Carter Wrede 3-3 r, Gavin Husman 0-3 r ... Tri-Town: Jack Peterson 1-3 r-2 rbi, Josh Kinzler 1-3 r-2 sb, Connor Barker 1-3 2b r, Jaxon Behm 1-3 rbi-2, Zach Bagley 1-2 2b rbi, Logan Straumann 0-2 rbi

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - SH/MACCRAY: Ayden Gustafson (L) 2 1/3-2-4-3-6-3, Wrede 3⅔-3-1-1-1-3 … Tri-Town: Kinzler (W) 5-9-2-1-2-1, Bagley (Sv) 2-2-0-0-0-2

Litchfield 7, Pierz 5

Litchfield won the first game of the sub-state best-of-three series with the victory at Pierz.

The teams play at 6 p.m. Thursday at Optimist Park in Litchfield. A second game, if needed, follows, to advance.

Junior Legion
Starbuck 12, Kerkhoven 3

Led by Nathan Dell’s 4-for-5 performance, Starbuck put together 14 hits in a win over Kerkhoven.

Dell had a double, a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base while also throwing the first 2-1/3 innings for Starbuck. Jack Larson had a pair of hits, including a triple, along with three runs and two stolen bases.

Chase Magaard scored twice for Kerkhoven. Jared Cartez and Evan Zimmer each drove in a run, with Cortez hitting for a double while drawing two walks.

Starbuck 720 021 0-12 14 2

Kerkhoven 011 100 0- 3 5 3

Hitting - Starbuck: Blake Andreas 1-5 2b rbi-2, Jack Majerus 1-3 2b r-2 2b hbp sb, Dylan Alexander 1-4 2b rbi-2 bb, Nathan Dell 4-5 2b r rbi sb, PJ Johnson 2-5 r rbi-2, Jack Larson 2-4 3b r-3 hbp sb-2, Alex Panitzke 2-3 r rbi-2 sb bb, Austin Weber 1-4 r-2, Jayce Kovarik r, Thomas Poegel r … Kerkhoven: Chase Magaard 1-4 r-2, Jared Cortez 1-2 2b rbi bb-2, Travis Engelke 1-4, Evan Zimmer 1-4 rbi, Hunter Kallstrom 1-3, Masyn Olson 0-1 r bb-2, Luke Jeseritz 0-2 rbi

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) - Starbuck: Dell 2 1/3-4-2-2-3-3, Johnson (W) 4 2/3-1-1-0-1-8 … Kerkhoven: Cortez (L) 2-7-9-5-2-3, Engelke 5-7-3-1-0-3