Pirates triumph over the Expos 5-3
Hodges fans eight Eagle Lake batters in complete-game win

Veteran hurler Lee Hodges pitched a complete-game, 5-3 victory over the league-leading Eagle Lake Expos at Veterans Field in Blue Earth on July 7.
The Blue Earth Pirates won their final home baseball game of the regular season when they upended the first-place Eagle Lake Expos 5-3 on Sunday, July 7, at Veterans Field in Blue Earth.
The score was tied at 3-3 after six complete innings. After holding the Expos scoreless in the top of the seventh inning, the Pirates’ Braydon Barnett led off the home half of the inning with a single to center field. Hunter Bleess followed with a line drive single to left field and Brandyn Olsen walked to fill the bases.
Following a strikeout, Lee Hodges singled to center field to drive in Barnett and put Blue Earth on top 4-3 and leave the bases full of Pirates. A walk to Parker Meyers forced in Bleess and gave the hometown team a 5-3 lead.
Hodges, who crafted a nine inning, complete-game victory, struck out the first two Eagle Lake batters he faced in the top of the eighth inning before giving up a double. However, Hodges notched his eighth strikeout of the game to end the Expos threat and maintain the Pirates’ two-run lead.
Hodges worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn the win and give Blue Earth the 5-3 victory.
The final line on the veteran right hander showed he allowed three unearned runs on six hits while walking one batter and striking out eight.
Eagle Lake got on the board first when they took advantage of two Pirates’ miscues in the top of the fourth inning to take a 2-0 lead.
Blue Earth manufactured their first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Olsen hit a one-out single to center and advanced to second on a hit by Kane Malo. Hodges hit a sacrifice fly to right field which allowed Olsen to move to third base while Malo held at first.
With Meyers at the plate, Malo deliberately got into a run-down situation between first and second base. Olsen eventually broke for home and beat the Expos’ throw to the plate to slide safely into home and put the Pirates on the board with one run.
Blue Earth tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kaylan Legred singled, stole second base and came around to score on a double by Bleess.
Eagle Lake regained the lead at 3-2 in the top of the sixth inning when they took advantage of a Blue Earth error to add another run to their total.
The Pirates scored once in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game again. Doubles by Malo and Hodges and a single by Nick Barke led to one run scored and a 3-3 ballgame before Blue Earth took the lead for good in the seventh inning.
Blue Earth outhit Eagle Lake by a 12-6 margin. However, the Pirates committed four errors to one for the Expos.
Hodges went 3-for-4 at the plate while driving in two runs.
Barnett, Bleess and Malo each had two hits. The Pirates had three extra-base hits with Bleess, Malo and Hodges each having a double.
Blue Earth was scheduled to complete a couple of makeup games last week before concluding their regular season at Waseca on July 14, at 2 p.m.