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MADISON -- The Minneota Mudhens will put their season on the line today when they take on the Morris Eagles in the Region 9C elimination bracket in Madison.
Today’s matchup will be the second of the season between the Mudhens and the Eagles. The teams first met back on July 7, when Minneota’s pitching and defense held Morris scoreless for a 2-0 Mudhen victory.
Ryan Dalager pitched the full nine-inning shutout, striking out 14 batters while limiting Morris to four hits and four walks. On the offensive end, Alex Pohlen led the team with two doubles while Peyton Gillund, Austin Buysse and Ben Skorczewski each had a pair of singles. Austin and Brock Buysse each also drove in a run.
For the Eagles, Brett Hanson threw seven innings, allowing two runs on eight hits, while Mac Beyer led the team offensively with two doubles and a single.
The Mudhens started the region tournament on a high note with a 2-1 win over Chokio. While the No. 5 Madison Mallards upset Minneota in the second round, 8-0, the Mudhens bounced back with a 10-0 win over the No. 11 Hancock Orphans to stay alive and advance to another weekend.
Morris came out on the shorter end of the four-way tie for first place, settling for the No. 2 seed in the bracket. They took down the No. 7 Benson Plowboys in their tournament opener 6-5 before falling to No. 3 Clinton 11-1. Still, they topped off Chokio 3-1 to set up the Minneota matchup.
Minneota finished the regular season as the Land O’ Ducks champion, earning the top seed in the Region 9C tournament. Heading into today’s game, the Mudhens have compiled a 15-7 record while the second-seeded Eagles enter the matchup at 12-3.
Pitching and defense have been the gameplan for the Mudhens all season long and that shouldn’t change when it matters most. In addition to Dalager’s success on the mound this season, Danny and Jake Hennen have been the pair of aces for the Mudhens.
Danny has been a mainstay of the Mudhens’ rotation since their inception while Jake had his breakout season last year. The duo helped lead Minneota to its first state tournament appearance last season, taking down Dumont in the Region 9C Championship to earn the top seed in the process, and will look to make it two in a row this year.
Through the end of the regular season, Danny and Jake Hennen led the team in innings pitched with 66 and 56 1/3 frames respectively. Their 1.50 and 1.76 ERAs were also both team-bests. Dalager got less work, compiling a 1.82 ERA over 24 2/3 innings, but was particularly effective while on the mound; his 41 strikeouts and four saves were both team-bests.
Over Minneota’s last 10 games, they’ve held their opponents to two or fewer runs eight times, the two exceptions being last weekend’s loss to Madison and an 8-5 comeback victory at Cottonwood on July 17. While their pitching can be nearly taken for granted at this point, the only question that remains for the Mudhens is whether or not they will get the run support necessary to seal the victory.
Still, the bats have been there consistently as of late. In that same 10-game stretch, the Mudhens have scored seven or more runs five times. While three of the times failing to reach that mark have come in the last four games, the team has shown over the last two seasons that it knows how to string together hits when it matters most.
Ben Skorczewski and Alex Pohlen have been the team’s most consistent bats, putting together a .888 and .885 OPS respectively. They’ve each also accounted for one of the team’s three homers, with the other coming from manager Tyson Sonnenburg. Sonnenburg’s 11 RBIs were also second only to Austin Buysse’s 12.
Game time in Madison is slated for 2 p.m. The winner of Minneota and Morris’ matchup will go on to play Madison at 4:30 p.m