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In the top of the sixth, with Paynesville clinging to a 6-5 lead, the Thunder had runners on first and second with no one out. A grounder to shortstop Pat Rohe started a 6-4-3 double play with second baseman Max Meagher and first baseman Wes Lieser.

Nic Fuchs slides safely into third after doubling advancing on an outfield error against LPGE.

With the throw heading to first, the LPGE runner on second headed toward third, and Lieser threw to third baseman Chris Rohe to complete the 6-4-3-5 triple play.

Coach Brad Skoglund said it was the first triple play he's seen in 15 years of high school baseball.

In the bottom of the inning, the Bulldogs sent 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs. Max Meagher doubled to start the inning, and T.J. Schultz hit a two-run homer in the outburst. The Bulldogs also benefited from three walks and three LPGE errors.

The Bulldogs took leads of 3-0 and 5-3 only to see the Thunder rally to tie. Nic Fuchs hit two-run doubles for the Bulldogs in the first and third innings to account for four of their first five runs.

The Bulldogs took the lead in the bottom of the sixth, when Jeremy Fuchs scored one of his four runs on Pat Rohe's groundout.

The Bulldogs open subsection playoffs at Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted on Thursday at 4 p.m. The Lakers are seeded fourth, and the Bulldogs fifth. The game will be in Waverly.

The Lakers will be a tough opponent, said Skoglund, citing their 12-3 record. He emphasized that teams need to play their best at this time of year. "To be successful in the playoffs, you've got to put it all together: pitching, defense, and clutch hitting," he said.

Should the Bulldogs win, a second-round rematch against the St. Michael-Albertville looms. The Knights upset the Bulldogs in extra innings a year ago and went on to win the state title. This year, the Knights are the top seed in the subsection. The second-round game would be held at Maple Lake at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29.

LPGE--	003	020	2	- 7	9	6
Paynesville--	302	018	x	- 14	10	2

LPGE - Batting: Trevor Dolly 2-3 2B R-2; Travis Graves 2-3 R-2; Jack Ostendorf 2-4; Mitch Johnson 1-3 R-2; Ricky Byland 1-3 R; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Ryan Tschida (L) (5.1-8-8-6-5-4).

Paynesville - Batting: Nic Fuchs 2-4 2B-2 RBI-4; Max Meagher 2-3 2B R-2 RBI; T.J. Schultz 1-3 HR RBI-2; Jeremy Fuchs 1-1 2B R-4 BB-2; Jon Lieser 1-2 R; Ryan Schneider 1-1 RBI R SB; Adam Kampsen 1-1 R; Wes Lieser 1-2; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Jon Lieser (W) (7-9-9-6-2-8).

Paynesville 15
BBE 0
The Bulldogs scored seven runs in the sixth inning to impose the ten-run rule against Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa on Tuesday, May 15. Paynesville won the nonconference contest 15-0.

Once again, the Bulldogs sent 12 batters to the plate in the sixth inning (just as they did against LPGE). After an error and a walk, Adam Larson, Ryan Schneider, Jon Lieser, Chris Rohe, and Nic Fuchs hit back-to-back singles. Craig Thomes and Nic Stalboerger added another pair of back-to-back singles later in the inning.

The Bulldogs had already built an 8-0 lead against the Jaguars. Pat Rohe hit a two-run homer in the first inning to give Paynesville a 2-0 lead after two batters.

Jeremy Fuchs pitched a complete-game shutout for the victory, yielding only two hits. He did not allow a Jaguar to reach third base and retired the last seven batters he faced.

As a team, the Bulldogs had 15 hits and committed no errors.

Paynesville--	300	417		- 15	15	0
BBE--	000	000		- 0	2	3

Paynesville - Batting: Jon Lieser 2-4 R-2 RBI; Chris Rohe 2-4 R-2 RBI-2; Nic Fuchs 2-3 R; Adam Larson 1-1 R; Ryan Schneider 1-1 R RBI; Nic Stalboerger 1-1; Pat Rohe 1-2 HR RBI-2; Josh Kampsen 1-2 R; Craig Thomes 1-2; Jeremy Fuchs 1-3 R; T.J. Schultz 1-3 R-2; Max Meagher 1-4 2B R RBI; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Jeremy Fuchs (W) (6-2-0-0-3-3).

BBE - Batting: Dustin Breitbach 1-1 BB; Jon Olmscheid 1-1 BB; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Noah Bayer (L) (3.1-6-7-5-2-1).

Melrose 10
Paynesville 5
The Melrose Dutchmen Ð who finished 11-1 in the conference and tied for the championship with Cathedral Ð scored six runs in the first inning and beat the Bulldogs 10-5 on Monday, May 14.

Melrose's Shaun Schoenberg hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and the Dutchmen added four more runs on four singles and a walk. Schoenberg also earned the pitching victory for Melrose.

The Dutchmen also scored four runs in the third inning.

The Bulldogs scored once in the second inning on Nic Fuchs' solo homer, and four times in the top of the fifth. Josh Kampsen walked, Nic Stalboerger singled, and T.J. Schultz was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs in the fifth. All three would eventually score; Kampsen on Jeremy Fuchs' single, Stalboerger on an error, and Schultz on Chris Rohe's single.

The Bulldogs ended the conference season with a record of 3-9.

Paynesville--	010	040	0	- 5	7	3
Paynesville--	600	400	x	- 10	9	2

Paynesville - Batting: Jeremy Fuchs 2-4 R SB RBI; Chris Rohe 2-4 RBI; Nic Fuchs1-3 HR; Nic Stalboerger 1-3 R; Pat Rohe 1-4; Pitching: Wes Lieser (L) and Adam Larsen.

Melrose - Batting: Shaun Schoenberg 2-3 HR R-2 RBI-2; Joe Stangler 2-3 3B R-2; Eric Eveslage 2-3 3B R-2; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Schoenberg (W).