New Munich completes miracle in Meire Grove

The New Munich SilverStreaks rallied to defeat the Lake Henry Lakers 12-11 in the Region 15C elimination round Aug. 7 in Meire Grove.  

“That is crazy stuff,” said Joe Hoppe, New Munich coach. “You never know what happens in weather like this. It’s tough pitching.”

The final three innings were played in a steady rain. The SilverStreaks used six walks in their six-run, game-winning ninth inning rally. Carter Schiffler scored the game winner, coming when the Lake Henry catcher bobbled a force-out attempt at home plate. One of the runs scored on a ground out, while the other four came in on bases-loaded walks or hit batters.

“I saw the pitcher with the ball and thought he would go to first, but he flipped it home and I saw him (the catcher) bobble it,” Schiffler said. “I ended up running into him, and he dropped the ball. Then, I had about 1,000 pounds of people laying on top of me.”

The comeback was incredible, as New Munich spotted Lake Henry five runs in the first inning, committing three errors. It finished with six in the game. Most of the Laker runs were unearned.

“They helped us that inning, but we gave them a bunch early on,” said Paul Sand, New Munich manager.  “Maybe it evens out. We got a bunch (of runs) late.”

New Munich rallied from a 9-1 deficit in the sixth with four runs, but still trailed 11-6 going into the bottom of the ninth. Will Funk’s fourth-inning double was the only SilverStreaks extra-base hit. Jacob Hinnenkamp led New Munich with three hits, Caden Sand had two hits and Joe Stangler, Keegan Stangler and Carter Birr all singled.

Jim Thull started and pitched into the fifth inning. Brett Engelmeyer, drafted from Greenwald, earned the win in relief.

St. Martin 3, 

Luxemburg 1

Scott Lieser won his second game of the day Aug. 6, coming on in relief in the Martin’s 3-1 10-inning win over Luxemburg, putting the Martins in the state tournament.

The Martins scored in the top of the 10th, with Zack Moritz reaching on a single and Bryan Schlangen and Kyle Lieser reaching on errors to allow the runs to score.

Bryan Schlangen, Kyle Lieser and Brady Goebel singled for the Martins’ hits. Ben Schroeder started. Scott Lieser came on in the seventh and pitched two and one third innings of relief for the win. 

Luxemburg’s Reed Pfannenstein pitched a complete game, striking out 17 batters.

Watkins 11, Spring Hill 3

The Spring Hill Chargers’ season ended in an 11-3 loss to Watkins Aug. 7 in Meire Grove. 

Eric Terres had three hits and Reegan Nelson had two hits for the Chargers. Anthony Revermann and Austin Schoenberg doubled and Nate Terres, Owen Meyer, Corey Schoenberg and Devin Orbeck singled.

Ben Welle started and took the loss, pitching three innings. Tyler Hoffman, drafted from Greenwald, finished the game.

Elrosa 4, Spring Hill 1

The Chargers fell 4-1 to Elrosa Aug. 6 in Meire Grove. Jamie Terres’ RBI single scored Corey Schoenberg. Luke Dehmer also singled.

Revermann started and worked seven innings, taking the loss. Hoffmann pitched the final inning.

St. Martin 2, 

New Munich 1

The SilverStreaks were previously sent to the playbacks with a 2-1 loss to St. Martin Aug. 6 in Meire Grove. 

St. Martin’s Scott Lieser and New Munich’s Ty Reller both pitched complete games, allowing only four hits. 

Scott Lieser tallied an unearned run in the fifth and scored Kyle Lieser in the eighth with a sacrifice fly. New Munich pinch runner Nolan Sand tied the score on a sacrifice bunt by Hinnenkamp in the top of the eighth. 

Moritz and Bryan Schlangen had two hits for the Martins. New Munich had a double from Neal Anderson and singles from Logan Funk, Will Funk and Birr.

The Region 15C Tournament continues Aug. 15-16 in Elrosa and Meire Grove. The championship matchup between Elrosa and St. Martin, both unbeaten in the tournament, will be held at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 12, in Elrosa. The final elimination games will be played Saturday, Aug. 13, in Meire Grove, with Luxemburg facing Watkins at noon and New Munich facing Richmond at 2:30 p.m. The winners qualify for state. Final seeding games will begin at 11 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 14, in Meire Grove.