When the regular season ended, the Faribault Lakers and Montgomery Mallards finished tied in fourth place in the DRS League. A tiebreaker gave Faribault the No. 4 seed while Montgomery had to go to a best of three series against Webster.

Each team scored six runs against each other during the regular season and split their games with each winning on their home field.

On Sunday, Montgomery continued their incredibly hot July with a 10-2 win in Faribault.

The Mallards defeated Webster by scores of 4-2 and 2-0 to set up Sunday's opening Region 3C game at Bell Field in Faribault.

The Lakers had 10 days off and hoped that would have them eager to play and ready for a deep playoff run.

It looked good for Faribault early. Matt Lake threw just 33 pitches through the first three innings and struck out six while giving up two hits.

In the bottom of the first, Blake Langerud singled to right field  and Joe Grote hit a 2-2 pitch over the fence just to the right of the center field light pole and the Lakers were up 2-0.

They would never threaten after that.

Faribault would only have three hits after and never more than a hit in an inning.

After throwing 33 pitches those first three innings, Lane would have a 27-pitch fourth inning where no runs were scored but you could feel a bit of momentum swinging while Montgomery pitcher Johnny Krocak wasn't pressured at all.

Krocak faced just three batters in each of the second, third, fourth and fifth innings before allowing a lead-off single to Mitch Johnson in the sixth. Three infield pop outs later, Johnson was still at first base.

Adam Jensen clubbed a one-out double in the seventh but was left at second after a strike out and ground out. The only other Faribault base runner came on a walk in the eighth inning with two outs.

The killer inning for the Lakers came in the sixth when all nine Mallards batters came to the plate and five of them scored. Three of the runs that scored got on base by walking.

Lane issued walks to the first two batters with full counts and things unraveled from there. Mike Flicek had a bloop single to load the bases. Krocak had a sacrifice fly RBI. Tyler Bednar tied the game with an RBI single. No. 9 hitter Dalton Zeug loaded the bases again with a full count walk. The next batter struck out and at this point it's still a 2-2 game.

Lane was a pitch away from keeping the game tied when Pat Lloyd hit a single on a full count, two runs scored and the third run scored on an error on a throw well up the third baseline.

Lane struck out the next batter, but his day was finished after six innings with 119 pitches thrown, 71 for strikes, 13 strikeouts, five walks and seven hits allowed.

Five of the nine Montgomery batters in the sixth had full counts, including all three batters who walked. The other two resulted in a single and a strikeout.

Evan Knutson pitched the next two innings for Faribault and the Mallards clubbed seven hits, including two homers, while adding five more runs to run away with the game.

Krocak threw 111 pitches through six innings, 84 for strikes, and had 11 strikeouts and just one walk while scattering five hits.

Faribault is now 1-5 in their last six games and Montgomery is 5-1.

Good news for Lakers fans is four teams go to state out of this eight-team region. If they win two games, Faribault will make a state trip for the third straight year. There is not much margin for error now though. The Lakers have to win their next two games to get there.

In other Region 3C action Sunday, there were really no exciting games.

Top seed New Market breezed over St. Benedict 9-1 at home. No. 3 seed Prior Lake rolled by Shakopee 12-2 and No. 2 seed St. Patrick lost at home to Union Hill 12-2.

Faribault hosts St. Benedict in an elimination game Wednesday at 7:30PM. The other elimination game has St. Patrick hosting Shakopee at the same time.

Montgomery will be at New Market on Tuesday at 7:30PM while Union Hill travels to Prior Lake in the other winner's bracket game that night.

Winners of the winner's bracket contests know they are heading to state.

Laker Joe Grote Homered in First Inning
Laker Joe Grote Homered in First Inning
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