Toppers win first regional game in Clear Lake

By Kelsie Hoitomt

CLEAR LAKE — The Glenwood City baseball team traveled to Clear Lake last Friday, May 24 for the Level 1 Regional game which they won 12-1. Earlier in the week they finished a suspended game in Spring Valley.

The Toppers proved they were a force to be reckoned with early in the game after blowing up the batters box in the second inning.

They had seven runs scored starting at the middle of the lineup with Jake Carlson, Brennan Kessler, Matt Tone, Adam Holmquist, Mitch Hurtgen, Mitch Junker and Richard Croes crossing the plate.

The third inning resulted in a goose egg for the Toppers and they allowed the Warriors to score their only run of the game for a 7-1 score going into the fourth.

Croes started off the fourth inning with a walk and then moved to second base after Jeff Kopacz singled. With two runners on base, Kyle Peterson jacked one out to the fence for an RBI double. He would cross home plate for the Toppers third run of the inning for a 10-1 lead.

The game came to an end in the fifth inning after the Toppers’ ten-runned the Warriors after RBIs from Kopacz and Peterson put Junker and Croes across the plate for the final two runs.

Peterson was the winning pitcher of the game with just one run scored on two hits and three walks allowed with five strikeouts in five innings.

Spring Valley

The Toppers began their suspended game against the Cardinals with the score knotted at 4-4 going into the second inning. The Cardinals took the lead in the second with three runs scored and then one in the fourth to double their lead.

The Toppers tried to fight back with two runs scored in the fifth and one in the sixth, but they just couldn’t pull off the extra run needed in the seventh and lost by one run with a 9-8 final.

The Hilltoppers traveled to Alma on Tuesday, May 28 to play the second game of the regional tournament against the Pepin/Alma Eagles. The regional final will be played today (May 29) with Sectionals beginning on Tuesday, June 4.