Baseball: One big inning lifts Eagles past Rosemount

• Photo: Baseball

Rosemount second baseman Chris Leske turns a double play to end an Apple Valley threat in the second inning of Monday's 5-3 loss. Leske had two hits for the Irish.

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Coach Chris Swansson couldn’t pinpoint exactly what’s been the problem for the Rosemount baseball team over the last week.

There have been different culprits from game to game during the Irish’s five-game losing streak. There were the defensive lapses in Saturday’s 14-3 loss to Bloomington Jefferson, the pitching struggles in last Wednesday’s 10-0 setback at Lakeville North and, most recently, the lack of timely hitting in a 5-4 loss to Wayzata and a 5-3 home loss Monday against Apple Valley.

“To be honest, it’s just depended on the game. A different team shows up on different days,” Swansson said. “Against Prior Lake we gave up a home run in the last inning, but we played one of our best games of the year. Then against Lakeville North we were a different team. Yesterday we played well again, we were mentally focused, but we just didn’t get a couple of hits to drop when there were guys on base.”

One big inning was enough to carry Apple Valley to a victory Monday. Trailing 1-0 in the fifth, the Eagles strung together three hits and two walks against Rosemount starter Jake Schulze to take a 4-1 lead.

Schulze allowed six hits, walked four and struck out five in a complete-game effort.

“We thought when we scored one run in the fourth that might be enough with the way he was pitching,” Swansson said. “He was right there, mixing up his pitches and throwing hard. They just had the one inning where a couple of their hits fell.”

The Irish matched Apple Valley’s six hits, but didn’t string them together. Three of them came during the fifth inning, but the rally produced just two runs. Anthony Winters started off the frame with a single and moved to third on a Jordan Tumilson double. Nate Lemoine brought in one run with a sacrifice fly and Chris Leske followed with an RBI single to make it 4-3.

Leske also scored Rosemount’s first run in the fourth when he doubled and scored from third on a double steal.

Apple Valley added a single run in the top of the sixth and the Irish were retired in order in the final two frames.

The Irish, now 2-7, were back in action Wednesday at home against top-ranked Burnsville. They travel to Lakeville South tomorrow and are back home Monday against Eagan.

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