Montevideo falls in final

By WCT Newsroom

August 06, 2006 at 11:00 PM

WILLMAR -- Baseball can be a game of inches, bad bounces and heartaches.

The American Legion Division II final had all that and more as defending champion Jordan tipped Montevideo in extra innings 12-10 Sunday at Bill Taunton Stadium.

Inches: Montevideo catcher Mike Hinde hit a ball to the deepest part of Baker Field in the bottom of the seventh inning that looked like it would end the game, but Jeremy Heitkamp chased it down to make a Willie Mays-like catch with his back to the plate.

Bounces: Each team got two runs on bad-hop singles off Baker Field's sun-baked infield. Jordan third baseman Michael Dabu had to leave the game in the third when Brady Johnson's hard grounder came up and struck him below the right eye.

Heartache: After trailing 4-0 after a half-inning of play, unheralded Montevideo stormed back to go up 9-4 in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by Mike Tanhoff's two-run homer.

But Jordan worked its way back to tie it with three runs in the top of the seventh on one hit, and then got two-unearned runs in the top of the eighth when Steve Beckman's vicious liner coming out of the sun didn't stick in right fielder Mike Amborn's glove.

"It's a game of inches," said Hinde, who had three of his team's 16 hits. "But that's baseball."

No one gave Montevideo much chance of getting this far. They came in as the host team after losing District 7 to Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop.

"I think we surprised ourselves a little," said left fielder Tyler Kanten, who made several fine running catches. "After we won that first game, we said why not the next one?''

Ditching his fastball after one inning, Brady Johnson pitched into the fifth inning using off-speed pitches to keep the potent Jordan line-up off balance.

James Gallagher, Tanhoff and Hinde had three hits each and Jon Altena and John Schmit two each as the first five spots accounted for 13 hits alone.

Gallagher relieved Johnson with one out in the fifth and the bases loaded. He had control problems right from the start and would walk six though he allowed only two hits -- one of those a bad-hop single.

Johnson consoled Amborn after the game.

"I told him that we shouldn't have been in that situation to begin with," said Johnson. "I told him to keep his head up."

Both teams advance to the Midwest Region Thursday through Sunday in Viroqua, Wis.

Winning pitcher Steven Beckman, who was 6-for-13 hitting and also recorded a save, was named tournament Most Valuable Player.

Jordan 12, Montevideo 10

JORDAN MONTEVIDEO

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Heitkamp cf 1 3 0 1 Gallghr 2b/p 4 3 3 0

Beckman ss 6 1 3 2 Tanhoff cf 4 3 3 2

Garnhardt 1b 2 0 0 1 Altena 3b 5 2 2 3

Oakes ph 1 0 0 0 Hinde c 5 2 3 2

Huss 1b 2 0 0 0 Schmit dh 5 0 2 1

Trapp lf 4 1 1 1 Johnson p/1b 5 0 1 1

Lucas p 4 2 3 1 Kanten lf 2 0 1 0

Dabu 3b 2 0 0 0 Schultz ss 5 0 1 0

Riesgraf 3b 3 1 1 0 Karels 1b 3 0 0 0

Kreuger c 5 0 1 1 Bergeson 2b 1 0 0 0

Malz rf 3 2 1 1 Grey 2b 0 0 0 0

Kivel 2b 2 2 0 1

Totals 35 12 10 9 Totals 39 10 16 9

Jordan 400 030 32 -- 12

Montevideo 104 410 00 -- 10

DP--none . LOB--Jordan 12, Montevideo 10. 2B--Gallagher, Hinde. 3B--Altena. HR--Tanoff. SB--Beckman. CS--Kanten, Gallagher . Sac--none. SF--Garnhardt, Trapp.

Jordan IP H R ER BB SO

Lucas 3 10 7 7 3 5

Beckman (W) 5 6 3 3 2 4

Montevideo

Johnson 4Zc 8 7 4 2 2

Gallagher (L) 3Xc 2 5 2 6 3

Quarterfinals

Montevideo 18, Royalton 8

(5 innings) -- John Schmidt and Brady Johnson each had a single, double and home run to power Montevideo.

Montevideo fell behind 7-3 before tying the game 7-7 with four runs in the third inning. Schmit doubled in one run and Johnson singled in another. An error, a balk, two walks and a wild pitch led to the other two runs.

Montevideo then exploded for 10 runs on 11 hits in the bottom on the fourth inning to put the game away.

Johnson solo homer leading off the bottom of the fifth inning invoked the 10-run rule.

Jon Altena hurled three innings of relief for the win. He gaveup three hits and one run.

James Gallagher, Mike Tanhoff, Altena, Mike Hinde and Payton Schultz had two hits each.

ROYALTON MONTEVIDEO

ab r h bi ab r h bi

RSnyder lf 4 2 3 1 Gallagher 2b 3 3 2 1

Jendro ss 4 2 2 0 Tanhoff cf 2 3 2 2

Gurbada cf 2 0 1 0 Altena 3b 4 1 2 3

Trutwin dh 2 1 1 3 Hinde c 3 3 2 0

MtGottwalt p 0 0 0 0 Schmit dh 3 3 3 0

MkGottwlt 1b 3 1 0 0 Grey lf 0 0 0 0

ASnyder 3b 3 0 2 1 JAnderson pr 0 1 0 0

Lanners 2b 3 1 1 1 BJohnson 1b 4 1 3 4

Pressler rf 2 1 1 0 Kanten p 3 1 1 0

Segler c 3 0 0 1 Amborn rf 1 0 0 0

Bergeson 2b 1 1 1 0

Schultz ss 3 1 2 2

Totals 26 8 11 7 Totals 27 18 18 12

Royalton 250 01-- 8

Montevideo 304 (10)1--18

DP--Royalton 2. 2B--Gallagher, Tanhoff, Schmit, B.Johnson, Schultz. HR--Schmit, B.Johnson. Sac--Trutwin, Tanhoff. SB--Gallagher 2, Tanhoff, Altena, Hinde. CS--Dahlke.

Royalton IP H R ER BB SO

MtGottwat 2 7 6 6 1 0

Jendro (L) 1Zc 5 6 6 2 2

ASnyder 1Xc 6 4 2 0 1

Montevideo

Kanten 2 8 7 3 1 0

Altena (W) 3 3 1 1 1 5

Quarterfinals

Montevideo 3, Nashwauk-Keewatin 1

Jon Altena pitched a four-hitter and Montevideo's offense made the most out of five Nashwauk-Keewatin errors to advance to the championship game Saturday.

Altena dominated N-K batters, retiring 13-in-a-row in the middle innings. Montevideo's defense came through with inning-saving plays to hold N-K to just one run. In the fourth, center fielder Mike Tanhoff tracked down a deep drive with an over-the-shoulder catch to rob a sure double from Joe Martire. Later in the inning, first baseman Brady Johnson dove to his right to smother a hot shot from Chris Bonderson and threw to Altena covering the bag for the final out.

Montevideo ended the game by catching Matt Borgman trying to steal second base.

Offensively, Montevideo put the ball in play, then let N-K throw it away. Gallagher started the game with a single to center and took second on an errant pickoff throw. After moving to third on Tanhoff's sacrifice bunt, he scored on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead.

In the third, Gallagher smacked a two-out double to center, took third on another wild pitch and scored on a series of three throwing errors. As Tanhoff stole second, the throw sailed into center field. The throw to third was wide, which allowed Tanhoff to score for a 3-1 lead.

Altena finished with six strikeouts and one walk.

NASHWAUK MONTEVIDEO

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Velo ss 3 0 0 0 Gallagher 2b 3 2 2 0

Clusiau lf 3 0 1 0 Tanhoff cf 2 1 0 0

Sletten p/3b 3 0 1 0 Altena p 2 0 1 0

Martire 1b 3 0 0 0 Hinde c 2 0 0 0

Wright rf 3 1 1 0 Schmit dh 3 0 0 0

Bondrsn 3b/p 2 0 0 0 Johnson 1b 3 0 0 0

Cannata 2b 3 0 0 0 Kanten lf 3 0 0 0

Borgman cf 2 0 1 1 Vien 3b 2 0 0 0

Yoder c 2 0 0 0 Schultz ss 2 0 1 0