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Staff photos by Ari Selvey
Springfield’s Jakob Nachreiner delivers a pitch during the first round of the Class A State Baseball Tournament Thursday against New York Mills at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud.
ST. CLOUD — Springfield’s Jakob Nachreiner struck out 14 batters and allowed only one hit and one walk as No. 4 Springfield shut out No. 5 New York Mills 4-0 in the first round of the Class A State Baseball Tournament Thursday night at Joe Faber Field.
“Our guys at the plate had really good at-bats,” Springfield head coach Brandon Wilhelmi said. “Obviously when Jakob’s on his game like he was today, it’s tough to beat us. Give credit to him. I don’t know how many hitters he fell behind until maybe the fifth inning. That’s a big deal. He’s ahead of everybody, attacking, and that’s a big thing. And then we scored when we needed to. I’m proud of the kids.”
Nachreiner’s lone hit came on a dribbling grounder to third with a single out left in the game, a heart-wrenching way to lose what would have been the first no-hitter in any class in the state baseball tournament since 2019. Still, Jakob Nachreiner’s performance was key in keeping NYM off of the basepaths.
“Curveball was working, fastball was working, cutter was working,” Jakob Nachreiner said. “Just being able to be confident in my pitches, Jackson [Ludewig] working extremely hard behind the plate, getting the ball where it needed to be to look good to the ump.”
Jakob Nachreiner said getting ahead in the count was key to his success on the day.
Staff photo by Ari Selvey
Springfield’s Russell Beers (10) celebrates with teammate Noah Neperman (16) after scoring a run against New York Mills in the opening round of the Class A State Baseball tournament Thursday at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud.
“The first strike is the most important in the at-bat,” he said. “When you can get that on the first pitch, it’s very good for your confidence.”
Jakob Nachreiner also had a big day at the plate, going 3 for 4 with two runs scored.
“I was just getting ready for the fastball,” he said. “My last hit was on a curveball, but I was hunting the fastball, getting the straight one and just swinging hard, being loose out there.”
Kade Nachreiner was 1 for 3 with a double and an RBI, while Ludewig and Russell Beers each had a hit and an RBI.
Jakob Nachreiner was the first to score after hitting a single, being brought home by a double by Kade Nachreiner. Jakob Nachreiner scored again in the third, doubling before scoring on an error forced by Beers. Beers scored in the same inning on a single by Ludewig to bring the score to 3-0.
A blow was suffered to the Tigers in the fourth inning when shortstop Braydon Sturm was struck in the face with a pitch. Sturm walked off the field, but his availability is in doubt for the rest of the tournament.
His replacement, Madden Lendt, was able to score in that inning after a stolen base and a single by Beers brought him home. Defensively, Springfield retired the first 14 batters before Jakob Nachreiner walked Grady Robers in the fifth inning. His courtesy runner, Elijah Menze, made it to third on a wild pickoff attempt, but Jakob Nachreiner ended the inning with a strikeout to keep NYM scoreless.
Jakob Nachreiner struck out the side in the sixth before retiring the first two batters in the seventh, one on a groundout and another striking out looking. NYM’s Bode Robers managed to connect on a pitch to send it weakly between shortstop and third, reaching first base before the ball could be corralled. The Springfield defense didn’t miss a beat, however, ending the game on a groundout to the same spot, this time harder hit.
Springfield will now take on No. 1 Cherry, who are 21-3 and defeated its first-round opponent, Lac Qui Parle Valley, 6-3 on Thursday.
“We’ve got to keep putting the ball in play in certain situations,” Jakob Nachreiner said. “And our defense needs to play like they did tonight.”
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