BURNSVILLE -- Willmar turned an offensive loss into a tournament-extending win Thursday, splitting a pair of games to stay alive in the State Division I American Legion Baseball Tournament.
Post 167 lost a three-hour game to Eastview 21-12, then came back to knock out Cold Spring 15-5 in eight innings.
Willmar will play Apple Valley at 10 a.m. today in the loser's bracket.
"After the 21-12 defeat we needed to show what kind of character we had. Cold Spring had just blown a 6-0 lead and lost 13-6. We came out and scored a couple of runs and got clutch hitting and base running," said Willmar coach Dave Oehrlein. "I'm proud of the guys coming back after a three-hour game in the morning, we really showed a lot today."
Willmar collected a total of 27 hits in the two games, but committed eight errors.
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Eastview 21, Willmar 12
Eastview didn't pound Willmar's pitchers, rather, they bunted and bunted and bunted.
"I bet they bunted 10 times, at least," Oehrlein said. "We left 14 guys on base. We didn't make the plays. They had one extra-base hit. They'd get a guy on and they were bunting all the time. They're quick and that's their game."
Eastview posted 13 runs in the first four innings while Willmar didn't get a big rally until a Jordan Smith three-run home run in the fourth inning to make the score 13-7.
Post 167 climbed to within three runs in the eighth with Smith doubling in two runs and Matt Seehusen driving in another.
But Eastview sent 10 batters to the plate in the ninth to collect six runs on just three hits. Willmar had one error and four walks.
Smith had a total of four hits and Mike Dunham added three. Alec Saunders had two hits, both doubles, and three RBI. Logan Birkland scored three times without collecting a hit as he reached base in the first after getting hit by a pitch, in the fourth on an error and in the eighth on a walk.
Eastview 333 400 016 -- 21 19 3
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Willmar 102 400 230 -- 12 13 6
HITTING - Eastview: Pat Coyne 4-for-6, rbi; Nick Gorski 3-for-6, 5 rbi; Ryan Wyberg 2-for-5, 2 rbi; Taylor Augustin 2-for-5, 2 rbi ... Willmar: Mike Dunham 3-for-6, 2 runs; Jordan Smith 4-for-5, 2b, 3-run HR, 3 runs, 5 rbi; Matt Seehusen 2-for-4, 3b, 3 runs, 2 rbi; Alec Saunders 2-for-4, 2 2b's, 3 rbi; George Jacobson 2-for-5
PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) -- Eastview: Mike Barry 41/3-6-7-6-4-4; Scott Webschall (W) 2-4-2-2-2-0; George Jensen 21/3-3-3-3-1-7 ... Willmar: Jordan Smith (L) 3-11-9-9-2-4; Alex Malmgren 5-8-10-10-4-2; George Jacobson 1-1-2-1-1-1
Willmar 15, Cold Spring 5
David Anderson struck out five and walked five in going the distance, scattering eight hits while the offense clubbed 14 hits.
Willmar sent up 12 batters to the plate in the fifth to score six runs on four hits, two walks, a hit batsman and a sacrifice bunt.
Smith went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and three RBI. He singled home a run in the first, drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth and hit an RBI double in the eighth.
Seehusen had two hits, including a triple, scored two runs and had four RBI. His triple drove in two runs in the eighth.
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Alec Saunders drove in four runs, including the eventual game-ender on a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Willmar 221 060 04 -- 15 14 2
Cold Spring 100 002 11 -- 5 8 2
HITTING - Willmar: Mike Dunham 2-for-4, 3 runs, rbi; Logan Birkland 4-for-5, 2b, 4 runs, rbi; Jordan Smith 3-for-4, 2b, 2 runs, 3 rbi; Matt Seehusen 2-for-3, 3b, 2 runs, 4 rbi; Alec Saunders 1-for-4, 2b, 4 rbi; Alex Malmgren 1-for-4; Matt Odom 1-for-5 ... Cold Spring: Nick Loxtercemp 2-for-4; Brian Hanson 1-for-3, 2 rbi; Cole Schmitz 1-for-3
PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) -- Willmar: David Anderson (W) 8-8-5-5-5-5 ... Cold Spring: Scott Schroeder (L) 4-8-7-5-6-5; Chris Lardy 1/3-2-4-4-1-0; Scott Theis 12/3-1-0-0-3-1; Adam Backes 2-3-4-4-1-1
