By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
HAYS – For the first time since the 2022 season the TMP-Marian Monarchs baseball team is headed to the state tournament as they claimed the regional championship Thursday in Hays.
FINALS: TMP 5, Sacred Heart 4
TMP scored a single run in each of the final five innings
and Caden Dinkel delivered a seventh inning RBI single, lifting the Monarchs to
a 5-4 win over Sacred Heart in the 2-1A Hays Regional Championship game Thursday
at TMP.
The Monarchs and the Knights battled to a scoreless tie through the first two innings before the TMP broke onto the scoreboard in the top of the third inning.
Joey Mindrup opened the inning with a walk and then three batters later Carson Liles drove in Mindrup with an RBI groundout.
The Monarchs would go on to score a single run in each of the next four innings.
Sacred Heart’s big inning came in the bottom of the third. They scored four runs on three hits with a pair of TMP errors for a 4-1 lead through three innings.
Adler Brown cut the Knights’ lead in half with an RBI single in the top of the fourth, making it 4-2.
In the top of the fifth Caden Dinkel drove in the first of two runs in the game with an RBI groundout making it 4-3 Sacred Heart.
The Monarchs came all the way and tied the game at four in the top of the sixth on an Ian Nehls RBI single.
Sacred Heart threatened in the bottom of the sixth, getting two runners in scoring position but TMP’s Carson Liles came in in relief and struck out the final hitter of the inning setting up TMP to take the lead in the top of the seventh.
Ty Schmeidler walked to lead off the inning and stole second setting up Dinkel for an RBI single to left field giving TMP a 5-4 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh Sacred Heart worked a one out walk and a two out single before Liles struck out the final hitter of the game, his third strikeout of the inning, securing the 5-4 TMP victory.
Liles got the win with 1 1/3 innings of relief. He allowed just one hit and one walk with four strikeouts. Ty Schmeidler didn’t factor into the decision. He allowed four unearned runs over 5 2/3 innings.
Caden Dinkel finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Ian Nehls was 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored a run. Logan Baalmann also collected a pair of hits for TMP.
Sacred Heart finished the year 20-3. All three of their losses came agianst TMP.
SEMIFINALS: TMP 14, Ellinwood 8
In their first action of the day the Monarchs held off a
pesky Ellinwood team in a 14-8 victory in the regional semifinals.
The Monarchs scored four runs in the third, five in the fourth and four more in the fifth on their way to the victory.
Ty Schmeidler finished 3-for-3 with 4 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Logan Baalmann collected 2 hits with 2 RBIs and scored twice. Carson Liles finished 2-for-2 with 3 runs scored.
Logan Baalmann earned the victory for TMP. He allowed eight runs, two earned in 4 2/3 innings with two walks and one strikeout.
The Monarchs are 20-9 heading into the state tournament next week in Great Bend.