Return to Sports Archives

The Bulldogs rebounded from a 12-1 loss to Waconia in their first game at sections on Monday, June 3. That loss meant the Dogs had to beat the Wildcats twice on Thursday at Joe Faber Field at the Municipal Athletic Complex in St. Cloud, which they did: 10-9 in the first game and 3-2 in eight innings in the final.

"That was a lot of fun. We played great baseball," said head coach Brad Skoglund, who has taken American Legion baseball teams to state tournaments but never to a high school state tournament. "They were intense games. The way it should be: one-run games, tying runs on third."

The Bulldogs (13-12) won the first game, a must-win game for them, by rallying with five runs in the top of the seventh inning and holding on to win 10-9, stranding the tying run at third. Then they won 3-2 in extra innings to win the section title and qualify for state, overcoming a 2-1 deficit in the eighth inning with two runs to win.

Having yielded nine runs in the top of the first inning on Monday, creating an immediate 9-0 deficit and effectively taking the life out of the team, the Bulldogs chose to bat first in the first game on Thursday. "We won the coin flip and chose to bat," said Skoglund. "Normally, you'd choose to be home."

The strategy of trading the last at-bat for a fast start worked well, as the Dogs scored two runs in the top of the first. Junior Josh Kampsen walked, stole second, and scored on junior Josh Krupke's base hit to right. Krupke then scored on sophomore Adam Kampsen's base hit past third.

The Bulldogs almost did more damage in the first, loading the bases before Waconia could get the final out and get to bat.

Waconia scored one run in the bottom of the first, and the Bulldogs built a 4-1 lead in their next three at bats. In the third inning, Adam Kampsen led off with a double and scored on a two-out single by senior Nic Fuchs. In the fourth inning, senior Max Meagher walked, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a ground out.

Waconia took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, scoring five runs. The Wildcats had four consecutive two-out hits that scored their final four runs of the inning.

Junior Josh Kampsen is congratulated for his homerun

Trailing 6-4, the Dogs cut the deficit to one with a run in the fifth inning. Senior Pat Rohe walked, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Meagher's two-out hit.

The Bulldogs were on the brink of elimination in the seventh inning, with Waconia leading 6-5 and needing just three outs to win the section title. But Rohe greeted relief pitcher Jim Berg with a double to right to start the inning, and he scored one out later on a double by senior Jeremy Fuchs, tying the game. Fuchs then scored on a single by Meagher, giving the Dogs a 7-6 lead.

Josh Kampsen delivered the big hit of the inning, smacking a three-run homer to left to make the score 10-6. "He threw me a curveball, and he hung it," said Kampsen of his homer. "And I gave it a ride."

At the time, Kampsen's blast appeared to give the Bulldogs plenty of insurance, but it turned out they needed every run.

After the Bulldogs got the first out in the bottom of the seventh, Waconia got four straight hits, including a three-run triple, putting the tying run at third with one out. But the Bulldogs clinched the win when Kampsen got one batter to pop out to Rohe at shortstop and got Waconia leadoff hitter Luke Schiller, who batted over .500 for the year, to ground out to end the game. Josh Kampsen pitched a complete game despite hurting his elbow the previous week. He did not play in the subsection final or semifinal.

"I knew I wasn't feeling 100 percent," he said, "but I knew I could stick with it and we could win."

Skoglund said that Josh is a smart pitcher who kept the ball down and hit his spots. "Josh wanted to throw," he added. "He's a competitor."

In the second game on Thursday, the Bulldogs won a pitcher's duel between Adam Kampsen and Waconia lefthander Alex Kranz.

Sophomore Adam Kampsen gets mobbed as he scores the winning run on a balk.

The game to decide the Section 5AA title was scoreless through five and a half innings. Paynesville finally broke into the scoring column in the bottom of the sixth, when Josh Kampsen led off with a double into the rightcenter gap. Krupke walked, and Adam Kampsen was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Waconia got a strikeout, before Josh Kampsen scored on a wild pitch.

With the Dogs needing just three outs to advance to state, Waconia got a leadoff single, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on an error when the throw to third went into leftfield. This was the only error the Dogs made on Thursday in two games.

In the eighth inning, Schiffler singled, stole second, and scored on a double to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the eighth, once again, Waconia needed just three outs to advance to state. But Krupke and Adam Kampsen walked to lead off the inning. Senior Wes Lieser bunted foul twice, but then the runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. Lieser then grounded out to tie the score as Krupke came home.

With one out and a runner on third, the Bulldogs just needed a fly ball to win. Waconia brought its infield in, and with a 1-1 count to Rohe their coach started to bring in the team's outfielders. The Wildcats pitcher stopped in his windup as the outfielders started to move in, resulting in a balk call that allowed Adam Kampsen to score from third.

"It's too bad, but it was the right call," said Skoglund.

"It was just right down to the wire," he added. "Both games. You've got to give Waconia credit. They're a good ball club."

The Bulldogs will play in the state baseball tournament this week. Their first game is at 10 a.m. on Thursday against Blue Earth at Joe Faber Field.

FIRST GAME

Paynesville--	201	110	5	- 10	11	0
Waconia--	100	500	3	- 9	14	2

Paynesville - Batting: Adam Kampsen 3-4 2B-2 R; Max Meagher 2-3 R-2 RBI-2 SB-3; Josh Kampsen 2-4 2B HR RBI-4; Josh Krupke 1-3 RBI R SB-4; Pat Rohe 1-3 R-2; Jeremy Fuchs 1-3 2B R SB; Nic Fuchs 1-4 RBI; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Josh Kampsen (W) (7-14-9-9-2-1).
Waconia - Batting: Fredericksen 3-4 2B R; Schiller 2-4 R-2 RBI; Nate Koch 2-4 2B R-2; Berg 2-4 R-2; Matt Groschen 1-4 3B RBI-4; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Fredericksen (6-6-5-5-6-9); Berg (L) (0.1-4-5-5-1-1); Groschen (0.2-1-0-0-0-0).

SECOND GAME

Waconia--	000	000	11	- 2	8	1
Paynesville--	000	001	02	- 3	4	1

Waconia - Batting: Luke Schiller 2-3 R SB-2; Ernie Fleming 2-3; Chris Bullis 1-4 2B RBI; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Alex Kranz (7-4-1-1-2-6); Andrew Fredericksen (L) (0.1-0-2-1-2-0).
Paynesville - Batting: Josh Kampsen 2-4 2B R; Jeremy Fuchs 2-3; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Adam Kampsen (W) (8-8-2-1-1-8).

Paynesville 18, Annandale 8
The Bulldogs pounded out 17 hits and scored 18 runs to beat Annandale for the second time in a week on Tuesday, June 4, in an elimination game at sections.

Paynesville beat Annandale 9-3 the previous week in the Subsection 20AA final. (The Dogs also beat the Cardinals 7-3 in April.) Paynesville lost in the opening round at sections on Monday, June 3, and Annandale won, setting up the rematch.

The Bulldogs jumped ahead with four unearned runs in the first inning, helped by two Cardinals' errors. Nic Fuchs had a two-out, two-run single.

Then the Dogs batted around, scoring five more runs in the second inning, with senior Ryan Schneider, Krupke, Adam Kampsen, Lieser, and Rohe having run-scoring hits.

The Bulldogs led 9-5 after three innings, and then scored five more runs in the fifth and four in the sixth to impose the ten-run rule.

Rohe had a two-run single in the sixth, Schneider singled and scored in both innings, Krupke drove home runs in both innings, and Adam Kampsen hit a two-run double in the seventh.

Jeremy Fuchs, pitching a day after he started against Waconia on Monday, threw a complete game.

Paynesville--	351	054	x	- 0	10	0
Annandale--	023	021	x	- 8	10	5

Paynesville - Batting: Ryan Schneider 3-4 R-3 SB-2 RBI-2; Josh Krupke 2-4 2B RBI-4 R-3; Adam Kampsen 2-4 2B-2 R-3 RBI-2; Pat Rohe 2-4 RBI-3 R-2; Max Meagher 2-4 2B R-2; Nic Fuchs 2-4 2B RBI-2; Josh Kampsen 1-4 R SB-3; Wes Lieser 1-4 R RBI; Jeremy Fuchs 1-4; Scott Buermann 1-1; Pitching: Jeremy Fuchs (W) (6-10-8-6-3-4).
Annandale - Batting: Marcus Zahn 2-4 R-3; Greg Horsch 2-3 2B R-2 RBI; Matt Cordell 2-4 RBI-2 R-2; Jeremy Stuhr 1-4 RBI-2; Dylan Sprague 1-4 RBI-2.

Waconia 12, Paynesville 1
Waconia scored nine runs in the top of the first and beat the Dogs 12-1 in six innings in the opening round of the section tournament on Monday, June 3. The Wildcats had three hits and got six walks in the first inning, taking a 9-0 lead. "When they scored nine runs in their first at bat, the game was basically over," said Skoglund.

Adam Kampsen pitched six innings in relief for Paynesville, which was outscored only 3-1 after the first inning. Junior Andrew Fredericksen pitched a complete game for Waconia, allowing only one hit and striking out 12.

Waconia--	900	012	x	- 12	6	1
Paynesville--	000	010	x	- 1	1	7

Waconia - Batting: Matt Hennen 2-4 RBI-2 R; Luke Schiller 2-5 R-3 SB-2; Jim Berg 1-4 R-2 RBI-2 SB-2; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Andrew Fredericksen (W) (6-1-1-1-3-12).
Paynesville - Batting: Josh Kampsen 1-2; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Jeremy Fuchs (L) (0-2-8-6-6-0); Adam Kampsen (6-4-4-2-3-6).