Vikings come out on top in a battle of unbeatens
Published 10:07 pm Thursday, April 29, 2021
Hayfield’s Nolan Klocke is tagged out at home plate by Maple River’s Lucas Doering in Hayfield Thursday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Hayfield’s Karver Heydt lines up a swing against Maple River Thursday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Hayfield’s Easton Fritcher slides into home plate to score against Maple River in the sixth inning in Hayfield Thursday. The Vikings won 8-1 to stay unbeaten. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Hayfield first baseman hauls in a throw Thursday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Hayfield’s Isaiah Tempel runs towards third base. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
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HAYFIELD — Hayfield junior Easton Fritcher was completely in his element on Thursday night — on the mound against a tough opponent.
Fritcher and the Vikings brought their best as he struck out 15 and Hayfield beat Maple River (5-1 overall) 8-1.
Fritcher went six and one-thirds innings and he walked just three, while allowing two hits. He left the game due to the pitch count rule.
“I definitely wanted to finish it, but I threw too many pitches in a couple of innings,” Fritcher said. “I got a little wild and I pushed to a full count a few times, but we’ve got guys who can throw strikes. We got the win and that’s all that matters.”
Hayfield (7-0 overall) took a 1-0 lead when Lucas Hansen laid down a bunt for an RBI on a squeeze play and the Vikings went up 2-0 when Nolan Klocke doubled in a run in the second. Hayfield put up three runs to go up 7-1 when Ethan Slaathaug converted a squeeze bunt for an RBI and Erik Bungum singled in a run.
Bungum finished three-for-three with a double against Lucas Doering, who is Maple River’s ace pitcher.
“I felt really confident against a faster pitcher, especially against a lefty,” Bungum said. “I usually do better against lefties. We knew this was a big game and they’re a good team in our conference. We played our hearts out.”
Fritcher wasn’t just tough on the mound, he also made a big impact at the plate as well as he went three-for-four with an RBI. He opened the game with a bunt for a single and he put an exclamation point on the win when he tripled to the right field fence and scored on a pickle between third and home on a ground ball hit by Karver Heydt.
Fritcher said the Vikings are in full baseball mode after winning a state basketball championship just a few weeks ago.
“We’ve always had a pretty decent baseball team with a lot of athletes,” Fritcher said. “We’ve been playing together since James Tempel coached as a Little League team and that really shaped us into the players we are today. “
MR 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 — 1 3 2
Hayfield 1 1 0 2 3 1 X — 8 10 1
Hayfield pitching: Easton Fritcher (W) 6 ⅓ IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 1 ER, 15 K; Cael Becker, ⅔ IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 K
Hayfield hitting: Fritcher, 3-for-4, triple, RBI, 2 R; Joey Tempel, 0-for-4; Karver Heydt, 2-for-4, double, RBI, R; Lucas Hansen, 0-for-1, RBI; Isaiah Tempel, 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 SB, BB; Ethan Slaathaug, 1-for-2, RBI, HBP; Erik Bungum, 3-for-3, double, RBI, 2 R; Isaac Watson, 0-for-2, BB; Nolan Klocke, 1-for-3, double, RBI
