Olivia 5, Granite Falls 6
Three straight wins at the VFW district playoffs in Olivia land the Granite Falls VFW team in the final four of the VFW district finals in Redwood Falls this weekend.
Granite will open the four-team double-elimination tournament against Worthington Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Granite sealed their trip to the finals this weekend with a 5-6 seventh inning win over Olivia Saturday.
Aaron Zieske led Granite both from the mound and the plate in the victory. Zieske pitched the complete game for the win allowing five runs on five hits, while walking three and striking out six. He then turned around and batted 2-for-3 with two RBIs to lead his team in their 10-hit campaign.
“It was the best game we’ve played all summer in all facets,” said manager Trevor Schulte. “We pitched well, we hit well, we played defense well. When you can get all three of those things going, it helps a lot. Especially against a team like Olivia who takes advantage of mistakes and is a well coached team.”
Granite is now .500 on the season with an 8-8 overall record.
Schulte talked about his team’s season saying, “The season’s been a typical summer where you don’t get a lot of practices in and there’s a little inconsistency. But we’ve managed to string some wins together here to get us through. The kids have been good as far as playing the game and staying in the game. That’s been the most positive thing for this team.”
Now only three games, or less, stand between Granite VFW and the State VFW Tournament.
Said Schulte, “At this point, anything can happen. We need to pitch well and play well defensively. Our pitchers need to give our guys a chance and throw strikes. If we do that, we have the ability to keep moving on. These kids never give up and they keep playing hard—that’s the main thing.”
Olivia 100 400 0— 5 6 3
GF 040 100 1 — 6 10 2
HITTING
Olivia: Riley Kramer 1-for-3, rbi; Jake Marcus 1-for-4, 3b, 2 rbi; Jordan Skeie 1-for-3, rbi; Lucas Wertish 1-for-3; Trent Athman 2-for-3
Granite : Elliot Carmany 1-for-3; Adam Koepke 1-for-2, rbi; Ryan Reishus 1-for-3; Reed Raddatz 1-for-4; Austin Thorstad 2-for-4; Chris Jensen 1-for-4; Garrett Londgren 1-for-2; Aaron Zieske 2-for-3, 2 rbi
PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-so)
Olivia: Tyler Seehusen (L) 6 2/3-10-6-4-2-2;
Granite Falls: Aaron Zieske (W) 7-5-5-5-3-6
