The Blue Earth Pirates broke into the top three spots in the Region 4C standings.

And, that can only mean one thing they’re headed to State.

They defeated Minnesota Lake in the first round of region playoffs last Saturday. They also tallied a win last Sunday when they played against Waterville.

The first game against Minnesota Lake ended with a 3-2 score in Blue Earth’s favor.

Although, the Pirates had to come back from behind in the seventh inning for the win.

Minnesota Lake scored the first run of the game in the top of the second inning. It wasn’t until the top of the seventh inning that they scored again.

This gave the Pirates’ opponents the upper hand in the game. However, that was just the motivation Blue Earth needed.

Aaron Wendt hit a single to get on base. Zach Dahl followed that up by taking a base on balls. Cody Sukalski loaded the bases by taking another base on balls.

All three managed to cross home plate, which is all it took to earn the lead.

Blue Earth didn’t allow Minnesota Lake to score any additional runs in the next two innings, and put an end to the game.

Dahl was 1 for 3 hitting. He hit one double, took one base on balls and scored one run.

Wendt was 1 for 2 at bat, taking two bases on balls and scoring one run.

Sukalski took one base on a walk and scored one run.

Bob Olson was 1 for 3 batting and had two RBIs. TJ?Schmidtke was 1 for 3 hitting, took one base on balls and had one RBI.

Lee Hodges was 2 for 4 and hit a double.

Hodges also pitched for the Pirates. He pitched 8 2/3 innings, had five strikeouts and allowed seven hits and two runs.

Wendt pitched the last 1/3 of an inning.

Blue Earth 5,

Waterville 2

Blue Earth then played Waterville on Sunday, Aug. 4 as a part of the Region playoffs.

Blue Earth started bringing in runs early on in the game giving them the proper footing for their 5-2 victory.

TJ?Stallman and Bob Olson both crossed the plate in the first inning to start off the scoring. Then, TJ Schmidtke took a base on balls in the third inning which resulted in a run for the Pirates.

The next inning gave Waterville an opportunity to try and even things up. So they brought two of their runners home, putting the score at 3-2.

Both teams fell into a rut for a couple of innings, unable to change the score in either teams’ favor.

Then, in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Pirates came out of their rut to power ahead of their opponents.

Aaron Wendt was first up in the eighth and managed to take a base on balls. Kane Malo followed up by hitting a single and getting on base as well.

Trent Sonnicksen also hit a single, advancing the runners to load the bases.

Malo and Sonnicksen all crossed the plate bringing in two runs.

Waterville had the opportunity to bring in additional runs for themselves in the top of the ninth, however they were out in three batters.

So, the Pirates won by a score of 5-2.

Stallman was 1 for 4 hitting and scored one run. Schmidtke took two bases on balls and scored one run.

Olson was 3 for 4 at bat, had one RBI and one run.

Malo as 3 for 4 and had one run and one RBI. Sonnicksen was 1 for 4 and scored one run.

Wendt pitched all nine innings for the Pirates. He allowed one base on balls, six hits and two runs. He also had 14 strikeouts.

Although the Pirates have earned a trip to State they played Lake Crystal Friday at 6 p.m. in Waterville.

The winner of that game then went on to play for the Region Championship title on Aug. 10.

The State Tournament Competition begins on Aug. 16.