Baseball: Tigers lose late lead vs. Chaska

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After plating just three runs in three games over the weekend, Farmington generated seven runs on 11 hits Monday night and was in position to pick up its second win of the season.

The Tigers led 7-5 through six innings and starter Zach Wallace had just retired the first batter of the seventh. The next batter followed with a single and that’s when the game began to unravel. Chaska ended up scoring runs five on six hits in the frame and pushed Farmington’s losing streak to six games with a 10-7 Missota Conference win in Farmington.

“We started throwing the ball around a little and they strung together some hits,” Farmington coach Mike Winters said. “We actually did a good job coming back for the first time this year.”

The Tigers (1-8) trailed 2-0 after half an inning, but answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first. Jake Baskerville, Nate Graham and Sebren Baer started the rally with three straight hits to produce the first run and Wallace hit an RBI ground out to make it 2-2.

Chaska led 5-2 before Farmington plated two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Graham led off with a single and scored the first run on a Baer triple. Ty Vincent drove in Baer with a base hit.

The Tigers took their first lead with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Wallace and Zak Payne reached on hits and both came around to score on a go-ahead two-run double by Spencer Merle. Graham followed with his third hit of the game to score Merle and make it 7-5.

Wallace left the game after allowing two one-out hits in the seventh. Dayne Eich came in in relief and got just one out while allowing three runs on four hits and a hit-by-pitch.

Eastview Tournament

Some solid pitching couldn’t make up for a struggling offense during a pair of losses at the Eastview Tournament Saturday.

Eich and Vincent combined to hold St. Louis Park to three earned runs in the tournament opener, but the Tigers were held scoreless until the seventh in an 8-2 loss.

Against host Eastview, Jonathan Ellis limited the Lightning to three earned runs on three hits over seven innings, but got nothing to show for his effort in a 7-0 shutout.

“Our pitchers pitched well enough to win, but nine of the 15 runs we gave up were unearned. That’s inexcusable in varsity baseball,” said Winters, whose team had seven errors in two games. “We have to improve our approach and mental toughness to turn this thing around.”

An RBI fielder’s choice by Baer and a Wallace RBI single accounted for the Tigers’ lone runs on Saturday.

Zumbrota-Mazeppa 1,

Farmington 0

Merle worked six innings of two-hit ball on Friday night, but the Tigers managed just three hits and couldn’t plate a run in a 1-0 road loss.

“We just didn’t capitalize on our limited opportunities,” Winters said.

Andy Sharratt and Cole Luskey combined to work a scoreless seventh out of the bullpen for the Tigers.

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