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Scott Ryan’s two-out, three-run double in the bottom of the sixth propelled the LeJetz to a dramatic 11-10 victory and doubleheader sweep of Holmen on Monday at Loughrey Field.
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Winona LeJetz's Jeff Walters, right, signals for teammate Andy Wolfe to slide to home plate as Holmen's Ben Squier catches the throw from outfield Monday during the doubleheader in Winona. (photo by Katie Derus/Winona Daily News) |
Jake Walther pitched a complete game seven-hitter to lead the LeJetz to a 7-1 victory in Game 1. It was Walther’s third complete game win in his past three starts.
“We’re playing some good baseball right now,” LeJetz coach Gary Hoeppner said. “Were swinging the bats pretty well and we’ve had some nice comeback victories.”
The LeJetz pushed their winning streak to three and are 9-3 in July. The stretch has included come-from-behind victories against Wisconsin Class AAA No. 8 ranked La Crosse, Minnesota’s No. 6 ranked Rochester Patriots, Monday’s comeback against Holmen and a walk-off win at Stillwater.
“We pretty much expect it now,” LeJetz shortstop Andy Wolfe said. “Obviously we don’t want to be down to start, but if that happens, we expect to win and we never really give up.
“The thing is, it’s coming from everybody in the lineup, too. It’s not like everyone’s waiting for one person. Anyone can come through and pretty much everyone has been coming through.”
Ryan hit his bases-loaded double, which highlighted a six-run sixth inning and broke an 8-8 tie, from the No. 8 hole in the lineup. Trevor Semann started the inning, as the No. 9 hitter, with a towering double off the left field fence.
“We’ve just turned it around the last couple of weeks,” Hoeppner said. “We’ve gotten a lot of reps at batting practice, we’ve played more and more games as the summer’s worn on and guys are starting to get more comfortable at the plate. Hopefully, we can keep that going for the remainder of the season.”
The LeJetz seem to be getting stronger through the grueling dog days of their schedule.
The sweep, which followed a 2-1 weekend road trip in Stillwater, concluded the LeJetz’s only regular-season stretch of three consecutive game days. In a little more than 50 hours the LeJetz were able to go 4-1, heading into a much-needed day off.
The LeJetz played four games in three days, June 27-29, as part of the Winona Legion/Winona State University Legion Baseball Classic, but will otherwise not have more than two consecutive game days until the District playoffs.
“We’re feeling really good,” Wolfe said. “I think we’re playing about as well as we can right now. Long days, it’s busy, but that’s the way the summer usually is for us.”
Wolfe reached base in all nine of his plate appearances, going a combined 3-for-5 with seven runs. Ryan finished 3-for-6 with a double, stolen base, three RBIs and a run.
Devon Grossell, Ryan Speltz and Arran Davis all had two hits for the LeJetz in Game 1. Walther picked up the win with three strikeouts against seven hits and one walk in seven innings.
