Huskies improve to 23-11 with two victories

With a first-round bye in Region 8B looming, Hutchinson used three non-league games during the weekend to prepare and tune-up for the upcoming playoff season.

The Huskies, who earned the No. 1 seed and won’t play in regions until Wednesday, Aug. 6 in Delano, went 2-1 to finish the regular season with a 23-11 record.

Hutchinson defeated Class B teams New Ulm Kaiserhoff, 8-6, and Soderville, 8-5. On the road at defending Class A state champion Minnetonka, Hutchinson came up short, 5-1.

The final home games of the season were a way to say thank you to a crowd that come out to the park night in and night out.

With prizes being given away in the stands, the fans were treated to two wins on the field.

On Friday, Hutchinson plated four unearned runs in the sixth inning to take a commanding 7-3 lead over New Ulm.

With the bases loaded and one run already in, Evan Kohli laced a double into the left-center gap for three runs.

Earlier in the game, Kohli blasted his second home run of the season over the scoreboard in right field.
Corey Ryks, who has last won a game June 19 over Delano, pitched all nine innings for his fourth win of the season.

New Ulm managed to pull within two runs in the ninth inning with three unearned runs, but a strikeout and a ground out to shortstop ended the threat and gave Hutchinson the win.

Jordan Schwarze and Brian Meuleners each had two hits in the win.

To read more about the Soderville game, see Tuesday's print edition.

Eric Kraushar is the sports editor at the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sports@hutchinsonleader.com.