The streak is over. Now the Hutchinson Huskies will look to start another streak at the most important time of the year in amateur baseball.
The Huskies, 26-7, dropped two in a row this past weekend in the Region 12C Tournament at Optimist Park in Litchfield, falling to Loretto 9-7 and to Delano 10-9.
Hutchinson finished third in the region and qualified for the state tournament, where it opens against the Kimball Express at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Miesville. Kimball finished as runner-up in the Region 11C tournament.
Delano, the tournament’s top seed, went on to claim the region championship with an 8-6 win over Loretto Sunday.
For Hutchinson, two consecutive losses was a stunning development, even though they came at the hands of two of the region’s top teams. The Huskies entered the region tournament riding a 25-game win streak, not having lost a game since late May when they dropped a tough 6-5 game on the road to Delano.
And the Huskies looked to be on their way to a 26th straight win early on against Loretto, who had entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed in the region, then stunned Delano in the opening round.
Hutchinson grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning, only to have Loretto storm back to tie things in the third inning. Loretto later took a lead, only to see the Huskies’ Jayden Fleck belt a three-run home run late.
The game went to extra innings before Loretto claimed a victory with two runs in the 12th inning after more than four hours of play.
The loss put the Huskies in the difficult position of having to wait for the conclusion of the Delano-Maple Lake elimination game — and then play the winner in the night cap Saturday.
Delano emerged with an 11-7 win over Maple Lake, setting up another clash between two of the region and North Star League’s top organizations. And the matchup did not disappoint — except for the final result, with Delano gaining the 10-9 win.
Hutchinson, drafting third as the third-place team, picked up three pitchers in the Region 12C draft. The Huskies added Mike Dockendorf from Howard Lake, John Weber of Buffalo and Steve Schmitt from Cokato.
Dockendorf finished with the North Star League’s top earned run average at 1.43 in 44 innings pitched. He posted a 3-0 record during the league season, with 47 strikeouts.
Weber was also among the league’s top pitchers with a 3-3 record and 4.36 ERA. He notched 67 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched. Schmitt, meanwhile, was 3-4 for the league’s seventh-place team. He had a 5.59 ERA and struck out 32 in 58 innings pitched.
The trio of draftees add depth to what already is among the region’s top pitching staffs. Zach Kuseske and John DeRock, who both pitched in the loss to Loretto Saturday, were in the top five pitchers in terms of ERA in the North Star League this season. Kuseske posted an 8-0 NSL record with 46 strikeouts and 1.74 ERA in 57 innings pitched, while DeRock was 4-1 with a 1.77 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 35 innings.
Lane Glaser is the third pitcher in the Huskies impressive arsenal of arms. He tallied a 6-1 NSL record with 44 strikeouts and 3.89 ERA in 41 innings pitched.
Glaser is multi-dimensional, as well, having led the Huskies with a .452 batting average during the regular season. First baseman Jake Wendland was second on the team with a .439 average, and Fleck with third at .414.
