Charlie Hatlen threw a complete game and catcher Austin Mades had 3 RBIs as the Albion Tigers earned a 4-2 Eastern Night League win at Cottage Grove Thursday night. Hatlen allowed five hits and two unearned runs while striking out 8, and also went 2x4 at the plate. Mades was also 2x4, including an RBI single in the third inning and a two-run homer in the fifth inning to provide a 4-0 lead that Albion would hold onto. Jesse Appel also had two hits, including an RBI double for the winners.
The Albion Tigers pounded the Waterloo McKays 10-0 on Sunday to earn the Wally Olstad Classic title as well as clinch the #1 seed in the upcoming Southeast Section playoffs. The Tigers will host on August 11 to open up the postseason.
Lucas Gregory threw six innings of shutout ball, and was followed by Cullen Oren and Jake Zeimet, who each put zeroes on the board as well. Albion banged out 13 hits, including a three-run bomb from Gregory in the second and a solo shot from Jaden Johnson in the fifth. Jake Taylor and Jake Zeimet also each had two hits for the winners, while Aaron Laskowski chipped in with a hit and two RBIs.
Adam Gregory led off the eleventh inning with a tremendous home run to right field to give the Albion Tigers a 7-6 walk-off victory over the McFarland Muskies. With the win, Albion now sports a 12-1 record in the Southeast Section and is guaranteed a berth in the sectional playoffs beginning August 11.
After the Muskies jumped out to a two-run lead in the first inning, Albion bounced back in the second on RBIs from Cullen Oren and Dan Zeimet. Oren had another RBI single in the fifth inning to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead, but McFarland tied it in the sixth and took a 5-3 lead in the eighth. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Dan Zeimet drew a walk and scored on Aaron Laskowski's triple to deep left. Matthew Klubertanz then singled up the middle to tie the game, moved to third on Adam Gregory's single, and scored on a wild pitch. However, the Muskies erased that lead with a run in the ninth, sending the game into extras, where neither team threatened until Adam Gregory's blast in the eleventh.
Cullen Oren started on the mound for Albion, pitching admirably into the ninth inning before being lifted for Lucas Gregory, who earned the win with three innings of relief.
The Albion Tigers didn't play by the script, but continued their winning ways nevertheless by earning an 8-6 victory over the Cambridge Blues on Saturday. Charlie Hatlen went the distance on the mound without allowing an earned run, and survived six Albion errors to get the victory. Adam Gregory and Lucas Gregory combined for 5 RBIs and 3 extra-base hits to lead the Tigers offensively.
Adam Loveland and Cullen Oren combined to shut down the Utica Association on 4 hits as the Albion Tigers claimed a 9-1 Eastern Night League victory on Thursday. The Tigers got an early lead when Dan Zeimet's two-run single in the second inning scored Josh Reese and Gunnar Wileman. Two innings later, Albion had three hits and took advantage of two errors to put up a five-run fourth that put the game out of reach.
The Albion Tigers overcame deficits of 2-0 and 4-3 to finally put away the Evansville Jays by a final score of 5-4 on Sunday in Albion Park. Adam Loveland's two-run double in the bottom of the eighth plated Charlie Hatlen and Dan Zeimet, and Jake Zeimet threw a perfect ninth inning to lock up the win. Albion is now 10-1 in Southeast Section play with 5 games to go.
Lucas Gregory started on the mound, allowing two earned runs in six innings, while also going 2x3 with a triple. Dan Zeimet was 2x4 with an RBI and two runs scored, including the game-winner on Loveland's big hit.
The Albion Tigers celebrated Independence Day with some early fireworks in a seven-inning 11-1 victory over the Utica Association. Charlie Hatlen allowed four hits and no earned runs in a complete game effort, and also had three hits of his own to lead the Tigers to a 9-1 record in Southeast Section play.
Albion got on the board with three runs in the second when Lucas Gregory led off with a double and scored on a throwing error, Hatlen doubled down the line to score Dan Zeimet, and Brennan Deegan hit a sacrifice fly ball to plate Hatlen. Albion got three more runs in the 4th on a two-run triple from Matthew Klubertanz and an RBI single from Adam Gregory. Over the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, more RBIs came from Klubertanz, Adam Gregory, Adam Loveland, and Hatlen to push the final score to 11-1.
The Albion Tigers earned a big win at Stoughton on Sunday, moving to 8-1 in the Southeast Section and taking over first place in the process.
Albion got an early lead on Jake Zeimet's two-run bomb in the first, but would fall down 4-2 after five innings before mounting rallies in the sixth and seventh. Jaden Johnson had an RBI single, an then Brennan Deegan walked to load the bases for Aaron Laskowski, who scored two on a double to shallow right. In the seventh, two unearned runs and RBIs from Johnson, Austin Mades, and Laskowski gave Albion a lead they wouldn't give up.
Starting pitcher Lucas Gregory held the Merchants at bay all day, allowing three earned runs over seven innings to earn the win.
Four Tigers - Laskowski, Matthew Klubertanz, Jake Zeimet, and Dan Zeimet - had two hits apiece, while Johnson chipped in with two RBIs as well.
The Albion Tigers got a dominant pitching performance from Lucas Gregory and had eight different players combine for eleven hits as they rolled to an 8-2 victory against the Waterloo McKays on Friday night. Albion is now 7-1 and will travel to face the Stoughton Merchants next Sunday, with whom they are tied for first place in the Southeast Section.
Lucas Gregory threw eight innings, allowing only four baserunners and an unearned run while striking out ten. The Tiger offense was stoked by the bottom third of the order, where Lucas Gregory, Austin Mades, and Brennan Deegan each were 2x4 with an RBI.
Albion took the lead with single runs in the third on a sacrifice fly from Adam Gregory, and the fourth on a solo home run from Jake Zeimet. The difference-maker was the fifth inning, when Albion used six walks and RBIs from Deegan and Matthew Klubertanz to put up a five-spot and gain a 7-1 lead. A tack-on run came in the ninth on Adam Loveland and Lucas Gregory's back-to-back doubles.
The Albion Tigers swept both ends of a doubleheader Sunday against Lake Mills in very different fashion, needing 12 innings to win Game One before winning the nightcap 17-0. The win makes Albion 6-1 in the Southeast Section of the Home Talent League and moves them into a tie for first place with Stoughton.
Game One was a back-and-forth affair all day, but Albion needed clutch hits from Adam Loveland in the 8th and Jake Zeimet in the 9th to force extras, where they finally prevailed in the 12th when Dan Zeimet's sacrifice bunt was thrown into rightfield and allowed Jake Zeimet to score the walk-off run. Jake Zeimet also earned the win on the mound with seven innings of relief baseball.
Game Two was a different story from the outset. Albion scored 13 runs in the first inning, with two-run hits from Loveland and Matthew Klubertanz as well as Jake Zeimet's bases-loaded triple into the left-field trees. Aaron Laskowski, Klubertanz, Jake Zeimet, Dan Zeimet, Loveland, and Charlie Hatlen would all finish with multiple hits for Albion... but a shutout is a shutout, and Hatlen threw a gem in this one, completing seven innings with no walks and striking out five.
The Albion Tigers and Jefferson Blue Devils combined for 26 runs and 25 hits on Sunday, but the Tigers emerged from the Southeast Section showdown with a 15-11 victory. Aaron Laskowski tripled and scored the first of his four runs in the first inning, then Albion used a couple big innings to build a lead. A five-run second inning featured RBIs from Laskowski, Jake Taylor, Dan Zeimet, and Adam Gregory, and a seven-run fifth provided a lead they wouldn't give up. An RBI single from Austin Mades and walks to Taylor, Laskowski, and Dan Zeimet again set the stage for Gregory, who crushed a 1-0 pitch to deep right field and circled the bases for a grand slam home run.
Dan Zeimet had yet another RBI in the seventh, and Charlie Hatlen's third hit of the game in the eighth provided important insurance runs for Albion.
Not to be lost was the effort of starting pitcher Jake Zeimet, who worked eight innings against the vaunted Jefferson lineup to earn the win. Cullen Oren pitched the ninth to preserve the win for the now 4-1 Tigers.
Three Albion pitchers allowed four hits and zero earned runs as the Tigers earned a hard-fought 5-1 win against the Utica Association on Sunday. Albion is now 3-1 in the Southeast Section.
While Jake Taylor (2 innings), Jake Zeimet (5 innings), and Lucas Gregory (2 innings) were shutting down the Utica bats, the Tiger bats were able to put together a four-run fifth inning. Three singles, a sacrifice bunt, and a balk conspired to get two runs across, and then Dan Zeimet singled in two more to make the score 4-1. Two innings later, Dan Zeimet would drive home Adam Gregory with a sacrifice fly to left to provide the final score for Albion.
The Albion Tigers are finally into full swing in 2019, owning a 2-1 record in Southeast Section play after splitting a pair of games over the holiday weekend. Albion earned a 6-4 win at McFarland on Sunday, combining some clutch hitting and a big relief appearance from Jake Taylor to beat the Muskies. Taylor, pressed into service in the third inning, scattered seven hits over 5.1 innings to earn his first win, dropping his ERA to 0.87 for the year. The Tigers were down 3-0 heading into the sixth when the bats woke up. Cullen Oren singled with one out before Adam Gregory launched a two-run homer, and Matthew Klubertanz scampered home on a wild pitch to tie the game shortly thereafter. One inning later, Klubertanz gave the Tigers the lead with a two-run hit into right field, and Aaron Laskowski tacked on a run in the eighth with a sacrifice fly. Lucas Gregory came on in relief in the home eighth to stymie a Muskie rally and earn a four-out save.
On Monday, Albion lost a rain-shortened 2-1 nail-biter to the Fort Atkinson Generals. Charlie Hatlen and Jake Zeimet combined to pitch well and the Tigers threatened several times, but couldn't break through against Fort veteran Dan Dean.
The Albion Tigers got 2019 off to a good start with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Evansville Saturday night. Jake Taylor (5 innings) and Josh Eastman (4 innings) combined to allow only six hits, while the Albion defense continually made big plays in big spots to keep the Jays off the board.
After stranding six runners through the first eight innings, Albion finally got one across in the ninth. Josh Eastman reached on an error and moved to third on a single to right by Matthew Klubertanz. That set the stage for Jesse Appel, who flied to deep right to allow Eastman to race home with the winning run.
The Albion Tigers closed out their pre-season with a 9-4 win over Stoughton on Saturday. Jake Taylor, Charlie Hatlen, and Adam Loveland combined to do the work on the mound. The Tigers took advantage of seven walks and only had six hits, but they came in a bunch during a six-run fifth inning. Hatlen had an RBI single and Matthew Klubertanz followed with his own two-run hit before Aaron Laskowski tripled to deep left. Adam Gregory's single scored Laskowski to cap the scoring.