The unofficial Rivertown Days meeting of the Battle for Highway 61 was a close contest through much of the game, until a 7 run 7th inning propelled the Miesville Mudhens to an 11-1 7 inning victory over their arch-nemesis Hastings Hawks. Miesville opened up an early advantage, slowly taking a 4-0 lead into the middle innings. The Hawks would get one back on a sac fly to make it a 4-1 advantage before a 7 run 7th inning ended the game, with Eddie Peine scoring the final run on a sac fly. The win continues the Mudhens lengthy win streak, and with three games to go in the regular season, Miesville is looking to stay hot ahead of the postseason.
Jon Horn got the start for Miesville, going 5 innings and pretty much shutting down the Hawks batters, with 11 strikeouts and only 2 hits to go along with 3 walks. Quinn Kruger and Cooper Smith each also pitched an inning for Miesville with Kruger giving up a hit and striking out 2, and Smith walking 3, giving up a hit and allowing a run. Ben Teigland got the nod for the Hawks and was replaced on the mound for the 7th by Evan Khrin. Teigland had 9 hits, 4 runs, 2 earned, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts in the loss.
For Hastings, Jason Greeder had a single, as did Jackson Tessman, Noah Paulseth and Corey Wolters.
For Miesville, Max Gamm had 3 hits, Max Moris had 2, Austin LaDoux had 2, Brian Sprout had 2, Brock Rinehart had 3, while Caden Wildman, Eddie Peine and JD Dubos each had 1.
Hastings would face Cannon Falls Tuesday to determine the second team in the Region 5C Playoffs from the CCVL, but this went to press before that game took place so stay tuned for further updates. The loser plays Lake City in a best of 3 to determine the final CCVL team in Region 5C. Red Wing has already clinched a spot.
As for Miesville, it appears unlikely that the Mudhens fall below the top half of Section 1B, currently the 2 seed, chasing Saint Patrick. They will take on defending champs Rochester, a somewhat fading Dundas, and a hungry Elko team this week.
Section 1B play starts on August 4, and state takes place over three weekends in late August
