When the Minnesota Class C State Baseball Tournament starts on Aug. 20, the Hutchinson Huskies will be one of 48 teams competing for the championship.
After missing out on state last year for the first time since 2015, Hutchinson made the cut this past weekend by winning its first two games of the Region 12C Tournament in Delano. The Huskies routed Maple Plain 8-1 on Thursday, then beat Howard Lake 6-3 Saturday to punch their ticket.
“It feels good,” Hutch veteran Jayden Fleck said about the wins. “We always have the confidence that if we show up and play, we can beat anyone. It’s good to be back. It was a disappointment last year, but I think if we keep playing hard and doing our thing, we’ll be back and making a run at the state tournament.”
Before the tournament, Huskies manager Mike Kutter had said the team played well through July. Pitchers were throwing strikes and avoiding big innings, the defense was getting outs and cutting down on errors, and the bats had woken up in time to help Hutch win the North Star League title and claim the top seed in the playoffs. All of those trends continued in the first week of region playoffs as the Huskies combined for 19 hits in their two games and allowed just one unearned run while outscoring opponents 14-4.
“We got guys throwing up good ABs against good pitchers, stringing hits together, just getting runners on base,” Hutch outfielder Tyler Schiller said. “Everything’s blending together so well, we’re scoring runs. It’s good.”
Schiller was especially seeing the ball well last week as he went 4-for-6 with five runs scored and two RBIs. In both games he blasted home runs in the first inning to give the Huskies fast starts, and he’s now homered in three straight contests.
“It’s really nice to have a guy like Tyler Schiller on your team who’s been so hot and again starts the game off with a home run to get the offense going,” Kutter said Saturday after the win over Howard Lake.
“I go up there with a clear head and find a pitch I like,” Schiller said. “It’s as simple as that. Sometimes you forget, but that’s what I’ve been doing lately and it’s been working well.”
The early leads have also helped Hutch’s pitchers be able to relax and work.
“It was huge to get out to an early lead,” said Jeremiah Van De Steeg, the starting pitcher on Saturday. “It gets a little pressure off myself and (I can) focus on getting zeroes.”
Jon DeRock started against Maple Plain and struck out four batters while allowing just one run on seven hits in eight innings. Van De Steeg got the win against Howard Lake, striking out six batters and allowing two runs on five hits in 6.1 innings of works. Relief pitchers Jayden Fleck and Zach Kuseske were also strong out of the bullpen, combining to strike out five batters and give up one run on four hits.
All four of Hutch’s pitchers combined for just two walks and one hit batter.
“They’ve really led us in July, and here we are in August and we’re going to the state tournament,” Kutter said about the team’s pitchers. “We’ve got to have more of that. We’re not done. We’ve got a few more games here to play, and we’d like to win the region now.”
With their spot in the state tournament secured, the Huskies can relax a little knowing there won’t be a repeat of last year’s early exit. But don’t expect them to take it easy in the second week of regions. They’d like to win their fifth Region 12C title in six years, and the next team standing in their way is Delano.
The Huskies and A’s play at 1 p.m. Saturday in Delano. The winner moves on to the final at noon Sunday, while the loser plays again at 7 p.m. Saturday to either finish third or have another shot at the title.
“There’s still a lot on the line,” Fleck said. “Being the No. 1 seed’s a big advantage. We’ll show up and try to play as competitive as we can. We have a pretty veteran group where, games like this to punch your ticket to state don’t feel like too much pressure.”
Hutchinson 6, Howard Lake 3 (Aug. 7)
Howard Lake … 001 001 001
Hutchinson … 102 010 20x
Hutch stats
Batting: Piechowski 2-5, 1R; Schiller 2-3, 3R, 1RBI; Fleck 1-4, 2RBI; Wendland 2-4, 1R; Hahn 0-3; Arlt 3-4; Lane Glaser 0-2; Katzenmeyer 0-3; Caleb Marquardt 0-3, 1R; Ty Glaser 0-0; Brady Zackrison 0-0
2B: Schiller 1; HR: Schiller 1
Pitching: Van De Steeg (W) 6.1IP-6K-1BB-5H-2R-1ER; Kuseske 2.2IP-4K-0BB-3H-1R-1ER
Hutchinson 8, Maple Plain 1 (Aug. 5)
Maple Plain … 000 000 100
Hutchinson … 310 000 04x
Hutch stats
Batting: Piechowski 1-5, 1R; Schiller 2-3, 2R, 1RBI; Fleck 1-2, 2R, 2RBI; Wendland 1-4, 2R; Hahn 1-3, 1RBI; Arlt 1-3, 1RBI; Lane Glaser 2-4; Katzenmeyer 0-3, 1RBI; Reiner 0-3, 1R; Caleb Marquardt 0-2; Zackrison 0-0
2B: Fleck 1, Wendland 1; HR: Schiller 1
Pitching: DeRock (W) 8IP-4K-1BB-7H-1R-1ER; Fleck 1IP-1K-0BB-1H-0R-0ER
