Twenty hits and nine runs is usually more than enough to win a ballgame, but it wasn’t enough for the Milroy Yankees on Sunday.
Willmar used five early hit batsmen and a number of Milroy errors to build a 10-1 lead after three innings and held off a big Yankee rally to claim an 11-9 Corn Belt League win.
Logan Phillippe started for the Yankees, but couldn’t battle his way through two rough innings. He hit five batters to help open the door for the Rails’ big start.
But the Yankees wouldn’t go away without a fight. Milroy pushed across five runs in the fourth inning and single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh to make it a game.
Joey Libel had four hits and two RBI for Milroy, and Eli Weedman went 3-for-5 with three RBI. Jayden Remiger also had three hits, and Branden Flock, Aaron Mathiowetz, Bennett Kimman and Brock Schultz each had two knocks. Schultz also drove in a pair.
Mathiowetz helped keep the Yankees in it on the bump, throwing four innings and allowing just one run.
The Yankees host Marshall at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and wrap up the regular season on the road against Luverne on July 26. Former Yankee slugger Matt Bauer will be inducted into the Corn Belt Hall of Fame on Friday.
WIllmar 334 000 010 — 11 9 1 Yankees 100 511 100 — 9 20
3 Phillppe (L), P. Schmitt (2), Mathiowetz (6) and Kimman. 2B: Schultz, Kimman, Hughes. HBP: Schultz.
Irish on a roll heading into 10C playoffs
The Milroy Irish are playing good ball at the exact right time of the year.
The Irish won their fourth straight game on Sunday, blanking the Worthington Cubs 10-0. With the win, Milroy wrapped up the No. 3 seed in the Region 10C playoffs, which begin Wednesday.
The red-hot Irish broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the third inning, then broke things open with five in the fifth. The Irish put the 10-run rule into effect for the second straight game with another three runs in the top of the seventh, and final, inning.
Noah Knakmuhs had three singles and scored three runs, and Andrew Wallen and Carson Javers both had a hit and drove in two. Tyler Peterson doubled and scored twice.
Tyler Maeyaert earned the win, striking out eight and allowing just three hits in six innings. Connor Lanoue pitched a scoreless seventh.
Irish 002 050 3 — 10 11 1 Worthington 000 000 0 — 0 3 6 T. Maeyaert (W), Lanoue and C. Javers.
2B: Peterson, M. Javers. SF: C. Javers.
JULY 15: IRISH 24, HERON LAKE 4 Trevor Smith, Derek Smith and Carson Javers all had three hits, and both Smiths and Tyler Alcorn drove in three runs as the Irish crushed Heron Lake 24-4 on July 15. Trevor Smith also scored four times — he was one of 14 Irish players to score — and Connor Lanoue drove in four runs.
Lanoue struck out seven over four innings of work to earn the win.
Irish 700 953 x — 24 21 1 Heron Lake 000 031 0 — 4 7 3 Lanoue (W), Lasley and Smith and A. Dolan. 2B: Alcorn, C. Javers, Lee, Wallen, D. Smith. SF: Peterson. HBP: T. Smith, M. Dolan, Wallen, A. Dolan.
