Austin Post 91 bounces back from slow start against Owatonna
Published 9:15 pm Thursday, June 16, 2016
The Austin Post 91 baseball team used it’s bullpen to help dig out of an early hole and beat Owatonna 6-5 in its home opener in Marcusen Park Thursday.
Austin Post 91’s Daniel Bollingberg lunges for a ground ball against Owatonna Thurday night at Marcusen Park. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Evan Horstmann picked up the win by pitching four hitless innings and Jake Reinartz struck out three straight hitters to get the save for Austin (2-0 overall).
“Our bullpen was very, very good,” Austin co-head coach Andy Swanks said. “Evan was a kid who we kind of knew would come into situations like that. He’s proven he’s capable of doing a little more and doing a really nice job for us. Jake looked pretty good and we look forward to some big things out of him too.”
Owatonna held a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the first and Post 91 was able to chip away at the lead. Austin tied the game at 5-5 when Jason Stoulil doubled and scored on a wild pitch in the sixth and it took a 6-5 lead when Daniel Bollingberg singled, stole second and then scored on an error.
“We gave up a couple of runs early due to some bad defense,” Stoulil said. “Good teams find a way to win even if it’s ugly and that’s kind of what we did there. We showed some intestinal fortitude and we didn’t quit.”
Austin Post 91 first baseman Jason Stoulil reaches for the throw as Owatonna’s Eric Benson lunges for the bag Thursday night at Marcusen Park. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Horstmann came into the game firing a lot of strikes and he was ready to get on the mound. He struck out four and walked just two.
“I came in pretty confident because I wanted to pitch and I knew I could do good against Owatonna because I’m not a big fan of theirs,” he said. “I was pumped up and it came to me.”
Austin will face a big test when it hosts the Rochester Redhawks in a doubleheader 5 p.m. Saturday. Stoulil said the team Post 91, which went to the state tournament last summer, is still looking to hit its stride.
“We have high expectations this year,” Stoulil said. “We really didn’t play our best in the first two games, but we’re excited for the year and we expect good things.”
Owatonna 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 – 5 6 5
Austin 0 1 2 1 0 2 X – 6 7 1
Austin pitching: Alex Ciola, 2 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 5 ER, 4 K; Evan Horstmann (W) 4 IP, 2 BB, 0 R, 4 K; Jake Reinartz, 1 IP, 0 R, 3 K
Austin hitting: Daniel Bollingberg, 3-for-4, RBI, 2 R, SB; Ciola, 0-for-4; Nate Conner, 0-for-3, RBI; Dylan Gasner, 1-for-3; Nik Gasner, 1-for-3, RBI; Phillip Zynda, 1-for-2, R, HBP; Jason Stoulil, 1-for-2, double, R, BB; Ryan McCormack, 0-for-1; Forest Lewis, 0-for-2, R, HBP; Evan McAlister, R; Horstmann, 0-for-1
