Depleted Town Team Starts Season 1-3
Posted June 3, 2019
The St. Peter town team has started its 2019 season 1-3 overall and 1-2 in the River Valley League standings. The Saints opened the season May 12 with a 3-1, 11-inning win at Gaylord, followed by a 6-1 loss at Class B Shakopee on May 23, a 9-1 loss at Belle Plaine on May 31, and a 4-1 loss at Jordan on June 2.
The local nine has had depleted numbers to start the season but the roster will be bolstered once the high school season concludes.
St. Peter 3, Gaylord 1 (11 inn.) | Box Score
Jesse Anderson pitched five shutout innings before giving way to Sam Carlson, a free agent pickup from St. James (folded), in the sixth. The Saints broke the scoreless tie in the seventh as Austin Pinke reached on an error, advanced to second a sac bunt by CJ Siewert, and scored on a single by Billy Hanson.
The Islanders tied the game in the ninth after a walk, stolen base, and a single. But St. Peter scored two in the 11th, taking advantage of two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and an error for a 3-1 lead. Jovan Rodriguez and Siewert scored the 11th inning runs, while Jeff Menk had the game-winning RBI on a bases-loaded walk. Carlson closed the door in the bottom half to secure the win.
In a no-decision, Anderson gave up just two hits against 18 batters. Carlson earned the win after six innings of relief. He allowed one run on three hits with seven strikeouts. Alex Hoehn and Rodriguez led at the plate with two hits apiece.
St. Peter 1, Shakopee 6 | Box Score
Shakopee scored two runs in the first inning and another in the second for an early 3-0 lead and never looked back. The Saints scored their lone run in the fourth as Rodriguez reached on an error, went to third on a double by Pinke, and scored on a single by Siewert. But the Indians added single runs in the fourth, sixth, and seventh.
Anderson pitched six innings in the loss. Jeremy Braun tossed the last two innings, allowing one unearned run. Pinke led the team at the plate with a pair of hits. Mike Enz was brought out of retirement to complete the nine-man lineup, officially playing in his 34th season of town team.
St. Peter 1, Belle Plaine 9 | Box Score
After four scoreless innings, Belle Plaine scored single runs in the fifth and sixth for a 2-0 lead before adding seven in the seventh. Carlson was strung out on the mound for seven innings due to a lack of relief pitching options and suffered the loss. Sam Wenner tossed a scoreless eighth with a pair of strikeouts.
The Saints scored their lone run in the ninth as Rodriguez singled, stole second, and scored on a single by Siewert. Rodriguez hit 3-for-4 with a double and a run. For the second straight game, the Saints brought a player out of retirement to fill the lineup card, this time it was Tony Vetter after not playing town team since the 2013 season.
St. Peter 1, Jordan 4 | Box Score
In a quick, well-played game, the Saints were unable to get the clutch hits needed to back a strong pitching performance by Anderson.
Jordan scored a pair of runs in the second, added another in the sixth, and the last run in the eighth. The Saints scored their lone run in the sixth as Hoehn was bean and scored on a double off the center field wall by Rodriguez. The STP offense was limited to just three hits.
Anderson went the distance in the loss.
St. Peter travels to Waseca at 7:30 p.m. Friday for a non-league game and then hosts its annual golf tournament on Saturday at Shoreland Country Club.
