Cannon Falls Baseball Season Ends in Extra Innings

The Cannon Falls Bomber baseball team picked a bad time to have a hitting slump.

Over the past two games of the subsection tournament hosted by Cannon Falls, the Bombers collected four total hits and one run. Usually that doesn't win you too many ballgames.

Cannon Falls got excellent pitching in the subsection title game with Pine Island on Tuesday night and lost 2-1.

Hunter Reinardy started the game for the Bombers on Wednesday night in the second-place game and didn't allow any runs.

Dover-Eyota took advantage of two errors in the eighth inning and defeated Cannon Falls 1-0. The Bombers' season came crashing to a halt and the Eagles advance to play in the section tournament Saturday in Rochester.

Cannon Falls was the top seed in the West Subsection of Section 1 Class AA and the top seed out of the East Subsection. St. Charles also did not advance to section action.

Talk about a wide open section, this is it.

Cannon Falls came into the tournament the No. 6 ranked team in the state and St. Charles was ranked 11th. The Saints were eliminated in their first game 8-0 by No. 8 seed Fillmore Central/Lanesboro.

No. 6 seed Lake City and No. 5 seed Chatfield are representing the East Subsection and No. 2 seed Pine Island and No. 5 seed Dover-Eyota will represent the wild, wild west.

Dover-Eyota senior pitcher Luke Franke was lights out good, striking out eight and walking four, two intentionally. Franke never allowed more than one hit in an inning and the Bombers had the lead off man on just twice in the eight innings.

Meanwhile the Bombers flashed a little leather to keep Dover-Eyota from scoring in regulation.

Cannon Falls turned an impressive double play in the fifth inning, and with runners at second and third in the fourth, second baseman Liam Franken made a phenomenal stop and throw out to save at least a run and probably two.

In the top of the seventh, left fielder Michael Munson dove forward to rob a Eagle of a hit and end the inning with a runner in scoring position.

Senior Tanner Carlson came on in relief of Reinardy and pitched very well in tough situations. Carlson inherited runners at second and third with one out in the seventh and, with the help of the Franken catch, got out of that jam.

The top of the eighth started with an error and that man came around and scored on another error.

Carlson got back-to-back strikeouts to end the top of the eighth with only the one unearned run plated and the bases loaded.

In the bottom of the eighth, Cannon Falls couldn't get a runner on base with the batters retired on an infield pop up, ground out and strikeout.

Cannon Falls left seven men on base, five in scoring position, and Dover-Eyota stranded eight runners, five in scoring position.

The Bomber hits were a lead-off single to start the fifth by senior designated hitter Andrew Egge, a lead-off single by junior Liam Franken in the sixth and a two-out double by Tanner Carlson in the bottom of the seventh.

Franke threw 121 pitches in his eight innings of work, 70 were for strikes.

In other area playoff baseball:

Section 1 Class A East Subsection No. 1 seed Wabasha-Kellogg was defeated by No. 2 seed Randolph in the elimination bracket 2-1. The Rockets advance to the section tournament Saturday and wait to see who they play.

The West Subsection is scheduled to conclude Thursday in Austin.

The title game features No. 10 ranked United South Central against No. 14 Lyle/Pacelli, with the winner advancing to Saturday and the loser playing Hayfield in the second place game.

The winner of that game advances to play Randolph at Century Field in Rochester at 10AM Saturday.

No. 3 East seed Lewiston-Altura awaits to play the West Subsection champ at 10AM at Mayo Field in Rochester.

In Section 2AA they don't have subsections.

The winner's bracket final four has top seed and No. 1 Class AA rated Belle Plaine hosts No. 14 rated Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Thursday at 5PM. No. 4 state rated and No. 2 seed Fairmont hosts No. 6 seed Tri-City United. The winners of those games play at 11AM Saturday in St. Peter.

In the elimination bracket at 5PM Thursday, No. 13 seed New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva goes to St. James Area and No. 7 seed Waterville-Elysian-Morristown hosts No. 14 seed Blue Earth Area.

The winners also advance to St. Peter and play at 1:30PM and 4PM Saturday.

In Section 1AAA, the final four Saturday features top seed Northfield playing No. 2 seed Red Wing at 1:30PM in Red Wing. The Big Nine Conference Champion Raiders were rated No. 3 in Class AAA in the latest coaches poll and the Wingers were No. 9.

In the elimination bracket, No. 4 seed Winona will play No. 3 seed Albert Lea 11:30AM in Red Wing on Saturday.

The loser of the Northfield/Red Wing game will play the winner of the Winona/Albert Lea game at 4PM and the winner of the Northfield/Red Wing contest would have to be defeated twice Tuesday not to go to state.

In 2AAA Wednesday, No. 1 seed and No. 5 rated Mankato West rolled over crosstown rival Mankato East 11-0 and No. 2 seed and No. 13 rated Marshall defeated No. 3 seed New Ulm 6-5.

At noon Saturday in New Ulm, Mankato West battles New Ulm with the winner waiting to see who comes out of the elimination bracket.

At 2PM New Ulm faces Mankato East and the winner gets the loser of the noon game at 6PM.

They return to New Ulm on Wednesday for the championship.

In Section 1AAAA, No. 3 seed Owatonna got by No. 7 seed Lakeville South 7-5 and will play top seed Lakeville North in the winner's bracket at 1:30PM Saturday in Dundas.

In the elimination bracket, Farmington waits to see who they play Saturday in Dundas at 11AM.