The Stewartville VFW Post 8980 baseball team hosted a twin bill on July 13, beating Albert Lea 9-2 in the day game before losing 4-2 under the lights battling Byron in the evening tilt. The local nine's record stands at 9-7. Stewartville 9, Albert Lea 2 The local nine pushed across five runs in the first two innings for a commanding lead and never looked back. Stewartville added to its total with three more runs in the fifth frame to seal the deal. Chris Griffin had the hot bat, hitting 3-for-3 with a stolen base and an RBI. Reed Neubauer was 2-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored while Ben Leimer roped a double and scored a run. Logan Skustad tossed a complete game, striking out four while walking just two. He surrendered only one earned run. "This win kept us in the hunt for a high seed in the postseason," VFW coach Mark Schmitz noted. "Skustad settled in after the first couple of innings and had another outstanding start on the hill. The defense played well and the run support was awesome. We had runners on (base) every inning and kept the pressure on Albert Lea to make plays." Score by innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E Albert Lea 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 7 0 Stewartville 2 3 0 0 3 1 X 9 11 2 Byron 4, Stewartville 2 The nightcap did not go as well for the local nine. Stewartville outhit Byron 7-6, but failed to punch the clutch hit with base runners in scoring position. Zack Schreiber led the local nine from the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored while Carter Miller, Charlie Wood, Titan Klunder, Tegan Malone and Reed Neubauer all hit safely for Stewie, but it wasn't quite enough. Klunder started on the mound and went 5.1 innings, posting six Ks while allowing five walks and three earned runs. Bo Boettcher worked out of a jam pitching in the sixth inning, and Neubauer tossed a scoreless seventh inning, but Byron's damage had already been done. "It was a tough one to lose," Schmitz concluded. "We did a lot of things right, but need to pay attention to details and take care of business in the close games." Score by innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E Byron 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 4 6 0 Stewartville 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 7 1
