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Paynesville (13-11) beat Verndale 9-5 and Cross Lake 9-3 on Thursday and then beat Sebeka 4-2 on Friday and again 7-1 on Saturday to claim the region title.

"The kids played great," said coach Brad Skoglund, who will be taking his fourth American Legion team to the state tournament in the past seven years. Paynesville teams took third in 1997, second in 1999 (in Ely), and third in 2000.

"The key was our defense," said Skoglund. "Our outfield defense was very good: Mike Mueller, Trent Hansen, and Jordan Haag. Our infield defense was solid, too."

Pitchers - Chris Beier, Justin Butkofski, Adam Kampsen, and Jamie Paul - threw four complete games, and the team got great leadership from its four seniors-to-be - Haag, Kampsen, Bob O'Fallon, and Chad Stang - said Skoglund.

Paynesville will open the state tournament against Jackson on Friday, Aug. 8, at 1:30 p.m. in Ely. If they win, they will play on Saturday at 5 p.m.; if they lose, they play on Saturday at 10 a.m.

The consolation final will be played at 3 p.m. on Saturday; the championship game on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.; and the third-place game on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Paynesville 9, Verndale 5
Paynesville built a 7-0 lead and beat Verndale 9-5 in the first round of the tournament on Thursday.

Paynesville scored in the bottom of the first when Jamie Paul led off with a double and scored on a single by Chris Beier. In the third, John Hemingson doubled and scored on a single by Adam Kampsen.

Leading 2-0, Paynesville plated five runs in the bottom of the fourth with only one hit, by Jordan Haag. Mike Mueller, Haag, Chad Stang, Trent Hansen, and Hemingson scored runs for the Bulldogs.

Verndale scored five runs in the top of the fifth, getting four hits, but Paynesville scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth, with hits by Justin Butkofski, Haag, and Stang.

Kampsen pitched a complete game for Paynesville.

Verndale--	000	050	0	- 5	6	1
Paynesville--	101	520	x	- 9	9	2

Paynesville - Batting: Jordan Haag 2-3 2B R-2 SB; Adam Kampsen 2-4 2B RBI; Chris Beier 1-3 RBI-2; Jamie Paul 1-2 2B R; Justin Butkofski 1-3 R; Chad Stang 1-2 RBI R SB; Jon Hemingson 1-3 2B R-2; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Kampsen (W) (7-6-5-3-2-5).

Paynesville 9, Cross Lake 3
Paynesville played error-free defense and benefited from eight errors by Cross Lake in winning their second-round game 9-3.

Cross Lake outhit Paynesville 9-5 but Paynesville outscored Cross Lake, thanks to five unearned runs, eight Cross Lake errors, and nine walks.

Paynesville built a 6-3 lead, thanks to those five unearned runs, then scored three runs in the top of the seventh to put the game away.

Key hits for Paynesville were a two-run double by Kampsen in the fourth inning and another two-run double by Mueller in the seventh.

Beier pitched a complete game for Paynesville to get the win. He allowed nine hits, but walked only three and benefited from error-free defense.

Paynesville--	002	310	3	- 9	5	0
Cross Lake--	002	100	0	- 3	9	8

Paynesville - Batting: Kampsen 2-5 3B R-2 RBI-2; Mike Mueller 2-5 2B RBI-2; Haag 1-4; Hemingson 0-3 BB-2 SB-2 R-3; Paul 0-2 BB-3 R-2; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Beier (W) (7-9-3-3-3-2).

Paynesville 4, Sebeka 2
Paynesville scored three runs in the top of the fourth and got a stellar pitching performance from Justin Butkofski to beat Sebeka on Friday, 4-2.

Butkofski allowed only two hits and one earned run in pitching a complete game for the victory.

Paynesville broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning by plating three runs. Hemingson had an RBI single, Paul drew a bases-loaded walk, and Beier hit a sacrifice fly for Paynesville.

Paynesville scored their first run in the third inning when Paul singled and scored on a double by Kampsen.

Paynesville--	001	300	0	- 4	6	1
Sebeka--	001	010	0	- 2	2	1

Paynesville - Batting: Kampsen 2-3 2B RBI; Hemingson 2-3 R RBI SB; Paul 1-3 R RBI; Hansen 1-3; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Butkofski (W) (7-2-2-1-2-3).

Paynesville 7, Sebeka 1
Paynesville defeated Sebeka again on Saturday, 7-1, to claim the title in the double-elimination tournament.

Paynesville jumped to an early lead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first and four more in the second inning.

Paul threw a complete game, allowing only one run. He shut out Sebeka over the final five innings, allowing six hits but benefiting from error-free defense, including two double plays. One double play ended the fourth inning (with runners on the corners) and another erased a lead-off single in the sixth.

Butkofski had an RBI single in the first inning, and Mueller had a two-run single as Paynesville took a 3-0 lead. Then after Sebeka scored its only run in the top of the second, Paynesville got five straight hits - from Stang, Hemingson, Beier, Kampsen, and Butkofski - with one out in the bottom of the second to score four more runs.

Sebeka--	010	000	0	- 1	8	1
Paynesville--	340	000	x	- 7	11	0

Paynesville - Batting: Butkofski 3-4 2B RBI-2 R-2; Hemingson 2-4 R-2; Beier 2-3 R; Kampsen 1-2 R-2 RBI; Mueller 1-3 RBI-2; Haag 1-3; Stang 1-3 R; Pitching: (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) Paul (W) (7-8-1-1-0-3).