Total Twins Draft League, Undrafted Round, Game 5: Pearce-ing blows

11/20/2024 10:00 AM

Four teams advance.

Capping off the Undrafted Round, we have...

Undrafted Round

Game 5

Select League

(5) Lakeville Noses 8
(4) Duluth Pockets 3
Noses win series 3-2

Lakeville's series-clinching win echoed their journey through the Undrafted Round: fall behind early, then swing momentum at the end.

Duluth took a one-run lead in the first and held that lead until Brian Raabe's RBI double in the seventh, starters Nick Blackburn (LAK) and Sawyer Gipson-Long (DUL) exiting after the frame with the single run allowed. When the Pockets (ahem) pocketed another run in the bottom of the eighth, Willie Norwood singling in Chris Herman, it looked like Lakeville was (double ahem) sunk.

But the Noses hammered Tyler Duffey in the top of the ninth, taking the lead on Terry Tiffee's two-run triple and scoring a third run before Pat Neshek relieved Duffey, Duluth still yet to record an out. Midre Cummings greeted Neshek with another two-run triple and Lyman Bostock launched a home run to cap off their scoring.

(7) Green Bay Tab 2
(2) Bloomington Berries 13
Berries win series 3-2

The Berries showed they had no desire to be upset or squander their two-game lead, hammering the Tab with six home runs, three by Mark Contreras, to knock Green Bay out of the tournament.

While the Tab struck first with an Adam Lind home run, Bloomington put up eight from the second through fourth innings (making another solo shot by Green Bay's Craig Paquette meaningless). Those innings included two of Contreras' dingers as well as dongs by Dave Edwards and Mitch Garver.

As Brad Radke worked towards his complete-game victory, the Berries added a quintet of tallies in the eighth, featuring Contreras' final home run and a solo shot from LaMonte Wade Jr.

Choice League

(5) St. Paul Battles 6
(4) Madison Hints 2
Battles win series 3-2

St. Paul opened up a tight series with a five-run fifth, giving them a 6-2 win and advancing them to the Compensation Clash.

The Battles scored all their runs in the fifth before the Hints recorded an out, stringing together five RBI singles off Pete Falcone and Paul Mirabella.

Madison threatened in the ninth, scoring a run and loading the bases with one out, but Alan Newman struck out Alex Cora and got Steve Staggs to ground into a fielder's choice to conclude the contest.

(6) Brooklyn Park Fights 9
(3) Racine Pieces 12
12 innings
Pieces win series 3-2

While the Fights rode the momentum off the previous two wins for the first half of the game, Racine tied the game in the bottom of the ninth before Steve Pearce walked off Brooklyn Park for a 12-9 victory.

The Fights knocked Racine starter Tyler Anderson out of the game in the fourth with a series of singles and walks, scoring their ninth run in the top of the sixth to take a 9-1 lead. But Pearce started the comeback with a two-run homer before the Pieces battered Bailey Ober and Cody Stashak in the seventh for five runs, cutting their deficit to one. With two outs in the ninth and Taylor Rogers on the hill, Patrick Bailey singled in Pearce to force extras.

While Racine threatened in the 11th, they only broke through in the 12th. With a man on base, Ryan O'Rourke entered from the Brooklyn Park bullpen and got two quick flyouts. But George Springer worked a full-count walk before Pearce clobbered his second home run of the game, sending the Pieces along in the playoffs.

Now for a bit of bracket rearranging to reflect seeding:

The Compensatory Clash will start next Wednesday. Due to OOTP scheduling by day, only two options for Game 1 (and the other two teams will be the options for Game 2):

As a reminder, here are the players (mostly) composing the remaining rosters:

Select League

(5) Lakeville Noses

24th-52nd round picks, signed with the Twins

(1) Rochester Locks

3rd-4th round, signed

(3) Kenosha Sticks

24th-36th round, did not sign

(2) Bloomington Berries

7th-10th round, signed

Choice League

(7) Plymouth Holes

18th-23rd round, signed

(1) Minneapolis Winners

1st round, signed

(3) Racine Pieces

37th-52nd round, did not sign

(5) St. Paul Battles

2nd round, signed

See you next Wednesday for the start of a new round of the tournament!