Cubs return to state with shutout win over Longhorns

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau
The Courtland Cubs’ Teagan Kamm gets the Stark Longhorns’ Brandon Helget out at second on a force during a Region 2C Amateur Baseball Tournament quarterfinals game at Johnson Park in New Ulm on Saturday.

NEW ULM — The Courtland Cubs plated three runs in the first inning and then added four more in the second as they downed the Stark Longhorns 10-0 Saturday night in a Region 2C Amateur Baseball playoff game at Johnson Park.

The game was stopped in the seventh inning because of the 10-run rule.

Teddy Giefer got the win for Courtland, going six innings and scattering seven hits while striking out three.

Jon Kopacek took the loss for Stark. He went five innings and was charged with 10 runs on nie hits.

Mason Cox and Carter Lang each had two hits for the Cubs.

Lang, Jaden Drill and Jackson Bode each drove in two runs with Bode’s coming on a fifth inning two-run home run.

David Surprenant had two hits for the Longhorns.

The win qualifies Courtland for a state tournament trip.

Courtland now plays the New Ulm Brewers at noon on Sunday in Sleepy Eye.

At 3 p.m. in Sleepy Eye, Stark plays Springfield, and at 6 p.m. Hanska plays Lamberton with state tournament trips on the line.

For Courtland and manager Chase Meyer, getting that big early jump was huge.

“That gave us momentum for the entire game,” he said. “We were ready from the get-go, we were putting runs on the board and we got a couple of shutdown innings from Teddy. He came up big in a lot of pressure situations in order for us to be successful tonight.”

Courtland pushed three runs across in the first when Jackson Bode walked. A Giefer two-out RBI single, a Carter Lang base hit and a two-run triple from Jaden Drill made it 3-0.

The Cubs extended that lead to 7-0 in the second when Maddox Mortensen doubled and Cade Bushard walked. An RBI single from Mason Cox, a fielder’s choice and a two-run Lang triple made it 7-0.

Stark put a big threat together in the fourth when they loaded the bases with no outs. But a double play and a strikeout ended the inning.

The Cubs added a run in the bottom of the inning on a Cox triple and a Nolan Drill single.

An error and a Bode home run to left in the fifth closed out the scoring for the game.

“Everybody hit the ball well for us and it is great to be back in the state tournament again,” Meyer said. “It is what we have worked for — from where we started to where we are now, it is awesome.”

Meyer said he will start Jackson Bode against the Brewers.