Colfax baseball team drops conference games to Spring Valley and Mondovi
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by Marlys Kruger
Sports Correspondent
With help from ten free passes, the Colfax baseball team held a one-run lead in the final inning in the game at Spring Valley April 8, but let it slip away, losing 7-6. Twenty-four hours later they played on their home field and were shut out by the defending Dunn-St. Croix Conference champions, Mondovi by a score of 6-0.
Spring Valley
The ten walks were helpful in the scoring department but the Vikings struck out 13 times in the contest. Colfax jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Kade Anderson singled and moved up on an error, Mason Yarrington drew a walk, Zach Hiitola singled and Orion Nichols had an RBI ground ball out.
The Cardinals pecked away at the lead, scoring once in the first, twice in the second and another run in the third for a 4-2 lead. Drew Buchner started the fifth inning with a free pass for Colfax, stole second and with a wild pitch and walks to Anderson and Nichols, Buchner came home to close the gap to 4-3. Spring Valley matched that run in their half of the inning but the Vikings scored three runs in the top of the seventh without a hit. Anderson, Yarrington and Hiitola patiently drew walks and a ground ball and a couple of passed balls put the Vikings up 6-5.
Needing just three outs to come up with their first conference win, Yarrington, who had come on in relief of Hiitola in the sixth, started the seventh with a strikeout and a fly ball out. But that third out always seems to be the hardest to get as the Cardinals used a double, two free passes and a single to score a pair of runs for the walk-off win.
The Vikings had just three hits in the contest, one each from Anderson, Hiitola and Caleb Bailey. They left nine runners on the base paths but swiped seven bases, three by Anderson, two by Yarrington and one by Buchner and Hiitola.
Hiitola pitched the first five innings, allowing five runs on five hits with seven punch outs and four walks. Yarrington hurled one and two thirds inning giving up two runs to absorb the loss with three strikeouts and three walks.
Mondovi
The bats were silent again for Colfax as they managed just three hits against Buffalo pitcher Austin Remington. The Vikings drew one walk but had trouble making contact by striking out 12 times. Nichols started on the mound, hurling five innings and surrendering five runs with five Ks and three base on balls. Peyton Hover came on for the final two innings, giving up one run with two hits, two strikeouts and one walk.
Mondovi scored two runs in the first on just one hit, with two batters getting hit by a pitch, and after back to back strikeouts, a single plated both runners. The Buffaloes scored another run in the third on a walk, two stolen bases and a ground out and added two in the fifth on just one double. Their final run in the sixth came by way of a walk, stolen base and a single.