The Prior Lake Jays concluded their participation at The Friendly Tournament in Arlington by defeating the Brookings Cubs 11-1 on June 8 and secured the tournament’s consolation championship.
Brookings scored first in the bottom of the first inning, making the score 1-0.
The Jays tied the game in the top of the second inning due to a wild pitch. In the third inning, Beau Rabey executed a sacrifice bunt to score a run and give Prior Lake a 2-1 lead, which they maintained for the rest of the game.
The fifth inning saw the Jays scoring six runs. Mitchell Goodwin initiated the rally with an RBI single, followed by David Flasher’s two-run double. Joe Stelzig contributed a two-run single, and Isaac Heilman added another RBI hit, bringing the score to 8-1.
Prior Lake scored three additional runs before the game ended, resulting in a final score of 11-1.
Charles Running earned the win for the Jays, pitching five innings and allowing three hits and one run while striking out three. Goodwin pitched a scoreless sixth inning in relief.
The Jays accumulated 13 hits offensively, with Flasher leading with three RBIs and going 2-for-4. Jackson Golberg, Stelzig, Flasher, and Henry Brandt each recorded two hits. Defensively, the Jays played without errors and completed one double play. Rabey led the team with seven fielding chances.
They followed that up with a with a 4-1 win over the St. Boni Saints on Tuesday at the Vet.
The Jays were back on the field June 18 to host the Chanhassen Red Birds. With bases loaded Jackson Golberg delivered a three-run single to give Prior Lake a 3-0 lead. The Jays added two more runs in the third, highlighted by an RBI from Andrew Evenson, extending the lead to 5-0. Charles Running struck out 10 batters over strong innings and Sam Brower pitched in relief for Prior Lake to close out the game for the Jays to win 7-3.
Golberg led Prior Lake with three runs batted in, while Joe Stelzig, Wesley Cain and Evenson each recorded two hits. The Jays collected 11 hits overall and played error-free defense. With this win, the Jays improved to 5-7 on the season.
The Mudcats, led by manager Greg Faue, recently have won three of their last six games. They played at home on June 13 against the New Prague Orioles, faced St. Benedict on Tuesday and on Thursday will play Lonsdale. The team will finish off the week on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Shakopee. All games will be played at Veterans Field at Memorial Park in Prior Lake. The Mudcats’ current record is 4-9.
The Legion team, directed by Taylor Smith, Takuma Padilla and Nate Sickman, played a game on June 12 at the Vet versus Eden Prairie. The Legion team was scheduled to head to Omaha for the CWS Tournament from June 18-21. The team is currently 2-2 and play at least four games this week during the Omaha tournament. They will be back in Prior Lake on Monday, June 23, to face Farmington at 7 p.m. at Memorial Park.
The community is encouraged to come out and watch their hometown teams. A number of baseball games are offered every summer at Prior Lake’s own “The Vet” at Memorial Park. There are local Minnesota Amateur Baseball Teams to get involved with or just enjoy, including the Class A Jays, the Class B Mudcats and the Legion team, which all feature local talent. The Jays’ and Mudcats’ rosters consist of former college and high school players. The Legion team is comprised Prior Lake High School players.
