It wasn’t easy, but Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn made it two wins in a row with a 6-4 victory over Harris-Lake Park June 23 at Hartley. The Wolves actually out-hit HMS 9-8 and rallied twice in an unsuccessful attempt to steal the win.
The Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Dawson Schiphoff and Jordan Ortega hit back-to-back singles. Batting third, Samuel Heyn launched a home run to right to put his team up by three. In the next three innings the Hawks were unable to add on any runs. Meanwhile, Harris-Lake Park scored a run in the second and another in the third to pull within one at 3-2.
HMS created some breathing room with a pair of runs in the fifth. Number nine hitter Keith DeBoer provided the spark with a leadoff single. Schiphoff drew a walk and Ortega followed with a double to drive in DeBoer. Heyn was intentionally walked to load the bases. Jacob Cates’ base hit scored Schiphoff with the second run of the inning.
The Hawks scored a run in the sixth to increase their lead to 6-2. Trenton Vollink led off the inning with a walk and then stole second. Two outs later, Schiphoff drew the second walk if the inning. An error on the third baseman allowed Vollink to score but the Wolves then recorded the third out. They then drew closer with four hits and two runs in the top of the seventh. A 4-6-3 double play (Ben Haack to Heyn to Nick Bronstad) for the first two outs of the inning limited the damage.
Ortega went the distance on the mound to pick up the win. He yielded three earned runs and the eight hits. Ortega struck out eight batters without allowing a walk or hitting a batter. HMS committed two errors.
Schiphoff batted 2-for-2 with a pair of walks and two runs scored. Ortega was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Heyn had the three-run homer and Cates the RBI single. DeBoer went 1-for-3 with a run scored. The Hawks stranded six runners while Harris-Lake Park left four on base.
HLP 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 – 4
HMS 3 0 0 0 2 1 x – 6