144th Article at the Independent

Yankees season ends with loss to Starbuck

Chris Drummond

SPICER — The Milroy Yankees needed a pair of wins on Saturday in the Region 4C tournament in order to earn a state berth, but it would not come to fruition as the Starbuck Stars defeated the Yankees 5-4 to end Milroy’s season.

The Stars got out fast with a home run and added another run in the first inning to take a two-run lead. The Yankees responded in the second with a RBI single by starting catcher Jacob Hughes, cutting the deficit in half through two innings.

The Yankees would put three up on the board in the next inning, highlighted by a Hughes double off the wall that scored two runs and gave the Yankees a 4-2 lead after three.

The Stars weren’t finished though. In the next three innings, the Stars would score three runs to retake the lead and ultimately win by the final score of 5-4.

Yankees shortstop David Schmidt had three hits. He was on second base as the potential tying run in the ninth, but Austin Mathiowetz struck out looking to end the game and season for the Yankees.

Hughes and Schmidt led Milroy with three hits apiece.

Yankees manager Ryan Rohlik noted the team’s rough start, and said they had chances but failed to capitalize on them.

“We had missed opportunities and when you do they come back to haunt you,” Rohlik said. “We shot ourselves in the foot. You can’t have those things happen in the playoffs. The two region games we lost, we left 25 guys on base.”

Isaac Schmidt and Austin Deutz were drafted by the Raymond Rockets, while Nathan Deutz was drafted by the Willmar Rails.

The Yankees finished the season with an overall record of 12-11.

“I’m proud of the guys battling through injuries,” Rohlik said. “We came in this year as the defending region champions, so we had a bullseye on our back. We got some really good time for our youngsters and our future is bright. I think we grew in a lot of ways and we will come back stronger next year.”