The streaking Bertha Blazers lived up to their No. 1 seeding in the first weekend of Region 14C tournament play by clinching a berth in the Class C state baseball tournament.
The Blazers could not be stopped at on the Perham diamond as they opened the tournament Friday night with a 10-0 win over Park Rapids, then bombed New York Mills 22-2 Saturday before edging Nimrod 5-4 Sunday.
The Blazers have a 14-game winning streak going back to June 20. Their next action is Saturday at 7 p.m. in Perham in the region championship game.
Bertha 5, Nimrod 4
Marcus Riewer tossed 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief Sunday as the Blazers held the Gnats in check to reach the championship round.
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Riewer walked three Nimrod batters and struck out four, The only hit he allowed was a seventh inning single by Aaron Funk.
Brian Hinzmann went 3-for-3 in the win while Austin Selvey and Mike Blom drove in two runs apiece.
Gunner Johnson went 2-for-5 at the plate to lead the Gnats.
Brett Dormanen started on the hill for Nimrod and went the distance allowing seven hits, three earned runs and three walks while fanning six. Dormanen pitched six scoreless innings.
John Riewer opened on the mound for Bertha but gave way to Patrick Riewer in the fourth. All three Bertha pitchers had trouble with walks and nine Nimrod batters reached base on free passes.
Nimrod 100 120 000 - 4 8 2
Bertha 320 000 00x - 5 7 0
Brett Dormanen and Taylor Carlson; John Riewer, Patrick Riewer (4), Marcus Riewer (5) and Dakota Aeling
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WP- M. Riewer; LP- Dormanen
Bertha 22, New York Mills 2
Dakota Aeling went 4-for-5, drove in five runs and scored three Saturday as the Blazers chewed up the Millers in Saturday's meeting.
Coming off a narrow 3-2 win over the Millers in the Hi-10 semifinal round, the Blazers knocked four New York Mills pitchers around and out-hit the Millers 19-2.
Aeling homered and doubled in leading the Bertha barrage. Marcus Riewer went 3-for-5 with a double, five runs and four RBIs. Patrick Riewer combined with Mike Blom, John Riewer and Preston Riewer to bang out eight hits while scoring nine runs and driving in three. Blom had a homer while Nate Meissner tripled and scored three times.
Jeff Hamann homered for the Millers while Dustin Gaudette doubled.
Both teams used four pitchers. Patrick Riewer started for Bertha and struck out nine before giving way to Preston Riewer in the fifth, who was credited with the win as he pitched one inning of relief. Grant Heid and Brian Hinzmann pitched the final two frames of the seven-inning game for Bertha. Hamann was tagged with the mound loss.
The Millers committed six errors and gave up nine walks in the loss.
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N.Y. Mills 000 002 0 - 2 2 6
Bertha 432 454 x - 22 19 0
Jeff Hamann, Josh Hendrickx (3), Wade Salo (4), Mike Baune (5) and Adam Patron; Patrick Riewer, Preston Riewer (5), Grant Heid (6), Brian Hinzmann (7) and Dakota Aeling
WP- Preston Riewer; LP- Hamann
HR- Aeling (B), Blom (B)
Bertha 10, Park Rapids 0
Dakota Aeling combined with Marcus and Patrick Riewer in tossing a one-hitter Friday and carrying Bertha to a seven-inning victory over the Esox.
Justin Ryan singled in the fourth for Park Rapids' lone hit.
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Aeling supporting his own pitching cause by homering, going 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs.
Preston Riewer doubled and drove in two runs. Nate Meissner did not collect a hit but drove in two runs. Patrick Riewer went 2-for-4 and scored three times.
Dave Mortenson pitched the first five innings for the ESox and surrendered six hits and five earned runs while walking two and fanning three. Marcus Riewer went three innings and struck out three to gain the mound win.
Park Rapids 000 000 0 - 0 1 6
Bertha 001 232 2 - 10 7 1
Dave Mortenson, Riley Massie (6) and Brad Eischens; Dakota Aeling, Marcus Riewer (4) and Preston Riewer
WP- M. Riewer; LP- Mortenson
HR- Aeling (B)
