143rd Article at the Independent

Late surge by Stark eliminates Lamberton, 4-3

Chris Drummond

FAIRFAX — After winning their 500th game in franchise history, the Lamberton Long Sox put themselves in a great position to clinch a state berth in the Region 2C tournament. However, the Long Sox would fall to the Stark Longhorns 4-3 on Saturday despite a three-run lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, bringing their season to a close.

The Long Sox were the first team to score in the ballgame, putting three runs on the board in the top of the first. Little did they know that would be the last time they would score in the entire game.

Starting pitcher Eli Fest has been carrying the pitching duties throughout the tournament and has been phenomenal, only surrendering two runs in his two starts. Through the first seven innings on Saturday, Fest gave up only one run and they were six outs away from clinching a state berth until the Longhorns’ bats woke up.

In the bottom of eighth inning, hits by Longhorns Brandon Helget, Adam Sellner and Zach Haala tied the ballgame up at three apiece. A late Long Sox error gave the Longhorns the lead for good.

The Long Sox led off the ninth inning with a Fest single, but went down in order after that ensuring a Stark Longhorns state berth and ending the Lamberton Long Sox season in heartbreaking fashion.

Long Sox manager Derrick Jenniges was pleased with the team’s hot start, but said there was a domino effect of plays in the eighth inning that cost his team the game.

“Goal number one is to be ahead early,” Jenniges said. “To get three runs in the first inning is a good thing. Eli Fest pitched a really good game for us. However, several plays happened in the eighth inning that cost us the game.”

Jenniges added that Fest is a 19-year old who was playing on a new team, and said has been a great addition to the organization. Fest was drafted to continue play with the by the New Ulm Brewers at state, the region’s No.1 seed.

The Long Sox finished the season with a 19-7 record, a stark improvement from their 14-12 mark in 2021.

“Coming off last year, we weren’t very good,” Jenniges said. “Couldn’t predict expectations for the season, but as we progressed in the season we found some really good pieces for our team in the future.