Dragons Comeback Falls Short Against Milaca

Pine City's baseball team hosted Milaca on Thursday afternoon.

Both teams came in feeling like they have yet to play a complete game. Both were fairly good on defense, but the offenses have struggled to get things going. This was an important game for both as it was a section game as well.

The Wolves got off to a quick start, with one hit they were able to score two runs to take an early. Pine City was unable to answer back in their half of the 1st. Defenses played well as expected, but in the bottom of the 2nd the Dragons were able to score their 1st run of the game due to a fielding mishap. The next two innings though the Wolves pitching took over, striking out 5 of the 6 Dragon batters. Milaca's offense was able to score two runs across the two innings taking a 4-1 lead heading into the 5th. It seemed like the Wolves had everything going their way, but Pine City was able to turn the tide in their favor. In the bottom of the 5th inning the Dragons loaded the bases. And with one swing they were able to score two runs and close the gap to one run. In the last 3 innings, Milaca was only able to grab one hit and could not manage to expand their lead. And now it seemed like everything was going Pine City's way. It came down to the 7th inning, the Wolves had two quick fly outs and were in danger of losing a chance at expanding their lead. The next at bat was able to hit a double to keep their scoring chance alive. But Pine City forced another fly out and it came down to the final three outs. Milaca was able to strikeout the first two batters and it looked all but over. Then a throwing error with the third batter lead to him reaching. The next batter hit a single, and with a double steal, the Dragons had runners in scoring position. All they needed was a base hit to tie and possibly win. The 5th batter of the inning was quickly down 0-2, but drew a ball on the next pitch. The next pitch was in the center of the zone, and was hit to center field. But it hung in the air too long and was caught and Milaca sealed the 4-3 win.

With the loss the Dragons fall to 3-8 on the season. They'll play in Rush City today.

The Wolves moved to 2-11 on the season and grab their first section win of the year. They'll play in Foley today.

Pitching

Pine City:

Asa Schwarzbauer: 6 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, 7 K's

Nick Stewart: 1 inning, 1 hit

Milaca:

Brady Ouverson: 7 innings, 5 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 14 K's