Return to Sports Archives

Hemingson allowed two base-runners in the top of the first but pitched out of the jam and then allowed three baserunners the rest of the game. He carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, when junior catcher Corey Sunderman broke up the no-hit bid with a long drive to left for a double.

Senior John Hemingson threw a one-hit shutout as the Bulldogs defeated Mora 4-0 in the state semifinal on Thursday at Dick Putz Field. He did not yield a hit until the sixth inning as the Dogs advanced.

Hemingson retired the next batter on a ground out and then struck out the side in the top of the seventh for a 4-0 win.

The Dogs scored the only run they needed in the bottom of the second. Junior rightfielder Cory Nietfeld led off with a double to left-center, advanced to second on a ground out, and scored on another ground ball.

The Dogs still clung to that 1-0 lead when Mora put runners on second and third with one out in the top of the fifth, courtesy of a walk and two Bulldog errors. Hemingson then induced a short fly to junior leftfielder Alex Naujokas and then struck out a Mora pinchhitter looking on a curve.

The Dogs answered with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, expanding their lead to 4-0. Junior second baseman Chuck Mackedanz lined a single to right to start the inning, and junior catcher Steve Gerding battled for an eight-pitch walk, fouling off two pitches before drawing the free pass. Naujokas forced Gerding with a ground out, and Mora collected the second out on a foul pop fly. But Hemingson smashed a ball towards right that Mora's second baseman knocked down for an infield single. Nietfeld then doubled down the rightfield line, plating Naujokas and pinch-runner Sam Bayer for a 4-0 lead.

Since he was down in the count both times, said Nietfeld of his two doubles against Mora, he was just protecting the plate and was fortunate to hit the first into the left-center gap and the second down the rightfield line.

Junior Cory Nietfeld - who was named to the all-tournament team - hit a pair of doubles against Mora on Thursday and scored the Dogs' first run in the second inning. He later hit a two-run double down the rightfield line in the sixth inning for Paynesville.

Hemingson mixed an 80-mph fastball and 65-mph curve to shut down the Section 7AA champs. He threw first-strike fastballs to nine of the first ten batters he faced, and then baffled Mora's #2, #3, and #4 hitters the second time through the lineup with first-pitch curves.

"I pitched well. My curveball was working well. I had a lot of control of it. I really had them off-balance," said Hemingson.

Senior Derek Stanger made a number of nice defensive plays at third base for the Bulldogs at state, including a diving stop and strong throw to preserve a no-hitter in the fourth inning against Mora.

"John just threw tremendous," said head coach Brad Skoglund of his one-hit shutout.

Hemingson got help from the Bulldog defense, which played errorfree ball except for one inning. Notable defensive plays for the Dogs included: Gerding throwing out a runner trying to steal in the top of the first, turning a two-on, one-out threat into a one-on, two-out situation; senior Ryan Hess fielding a ball deep in the hole at shortstop for the first out of the fourth inning; and senior Derek Stanger knocking down a hard shot by the next batter, collecting the ball, and throwing him out at first.

Derek played a great game at third, Ryan filled in superbly at short, and Steve, despite hurting his thumb in the second inning, did a fine job behind the plate, according to Skoglund.

With the win, the Dogs advanced to the state semifinals against Maple River, a 9-1 winner over Morris in the state quarterfinals. Mora defeated Morris 8-1 in the consolation semifinals but lost to Roseau 11-1 in the consolation finals. They finished their season 16-10-1.

Mora--	000	000	0	- 0	1	2
Paynesville--	010	030	x	- 4	7	2

Mora - Batting: Corey Sunderman 1-2 2B; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Justin Krie (L) (6-7-4-1-2-6).

Paynesville - Batting: Cory Nietfeld 2-3 2B-2 RBI-2 R; Trent Hansen 2-3; John Hemingson 1-3 RBI R; Chuck Mackedanz 1-3 R; Derek Looman 1-1; Steve Gerding 0-0 BB-2; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Hemingson (W) (7-1-0-0-2-6).