Baseball: Irish offense gets things going

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When the Rosemount baseball team trailed Lakeville South 5-1 in the final inning last week, it appeared as though the offensively-challenged Irish were headed for another loss.

Lakeville South had scored a pair of runs in each of its final two at-bats to take the four-run lead.

Meanwhile, Rosemount had scored just three total runs in its past 31 innings.

The Irish had reached five runs in a game just three times all season long. They had two four-run innings total this season.

None of that mattered against Lakeville South though.

Maybe a little pressure was just what Rosemount’s offense needed.

The Irish proceeded to score five runs in the inning to earn a 6-5 walkoff victory at home. On Monday, Rosemount (5-5, 5-4 Lake) lost 5-3 to Eastview, but Irish coach Trevor Monroe felt the offense was coming around.

“We really had some positive things,” Monroe said of the Eastview game. “The bats started to come alive. Just, the spirits are up and the guys are continually competing. The key is getting them to compete 100 percent of the time; from the time they show up at practice until the final out.”

Competing to the final out was the key in beating Lakeville South, but Monroe’s been around the game long enough to know it takes more than just effort.

Sometimes you have to be lucky.

“We didn’t really hit the ball until the bottom of the seventh there,” Monroe said of the Lakeville South game. “We were fortunate. We got a couple of guys hit by pitches and we had a walk in there. Jake Turner had a hit. We weren’t crushing the ball, but we were finding ways to get on base and had some key hits. We found a way to come out on top. That’s what you need to do, have the mentality to never give up.”

Against Eastview, the Irish posted six hits as a team. Brady Loew, Justin Wallace, Turner, Paul Eppen, Jordan Wilhelmi and Matt Foley each had one hit. Loew, Wallace, and Foley each drove in a run.

“Six hits are not a lot, but it’s more than we’ve been getting,” Monroe said. “It was something we absolutely needed. Going forward, we need more production from our 3-4-5 hitters. Against Eastview, they were 0 for 9.

“It’s got to start rolling our way sooner or later. Hopefully, it turns around our way.”

Chris Adams had a two-run single in the comeback against Lakeville South. Eppen added two hits and an RBI. Wilhelmi had a run-scoring hit.

Justin Wallace pitched a complete game to earn the win, going seven innings and allowing five runs — three earned — while striking out 10.

Last week, Robohm threw a complete-game shutout against Apple Valley in a 1-0 Irish win. He struck out nine in the game.

Wilhelmi had one of Rosemount’s five hits, and drove in courtesy runner Doug Haase in the second for the lone run.

Tags: rosemount lakeville, sports, baseball