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Ryan wins twice, forces 2nd title game against Cougars

Entering the second day of the Class B Region 6 baseball tournament at Corbett Field, Bishop Ryan needed two wins to keep its season alive.

And behind the efforts of sophomore Alex Burckhard, the Lions got both.

The Lions opened the day with a 7-5 win over Velva-Drake-Anamoose in an elimination contest and closed out the day with a 6-3 win over Central McLean, avenging a 7-1 loss to the Cougars late Monday night.

“They played well,” Ryan coach Fred Nelson said. “Obviously, we got some things we can shore up. Maybe, if we had shored them up, things wouldn’t have been as close.”

In the win over V-D-A, Burckhard, with one swing of a bat, ended Ryan’s recent string of frustrating losses to the Aggies.

The Aggies scored four runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-3 lead.

However, the lead didn’t last long.

In the top of the fourth, Burckhard drove a pitch off a V-D-A starter Aaron Dean over the left field fence to give Ryan a 5-4 lead.

“I got a pitch I liked and I was able to take advantage of it,” Burckhard said.

Said Nelson: “That was a huge swing by Alex.”

It was a lead the Lions wouldn’t relinquish. Senior Jamison Baier, who reached base on a third strike passed ball, also scored on the play.

One inning later, Baier added a two-run single to give the Lions a 7-4 lead.

And while the Aggies got a run back in the fifth, Ryan senior Jesse VerBruggen came on in relief of junior Derek Bartsch to slam the down on the Aggies. VerBruggen retired six of the seven batters he faced, with V-D-A senior Kobe Bright reaching on an error in the seventh.

VerBruggen also finished 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored.

Bartsch gave up five runs on seven hits en route to picking up the win.

In the title game against Central McLean, Burckhard did his part again.

This time from the mound.

And he came up with one of the best performances of his young career. He kept the Cougars scoreless, while limiting them to two hits through six innings of work.

“I threw well,” Burckhard said. “It’s nice to have the defense behind me as well.”

He struck out six, including the side in the second inning.

However, the Cougars finally figured him out in the seventh, plating three runs. Central McLean sent juniors Parker Heger and Justin Reinbold to the plate, representing the tying run with only one out.

Burckhard struck out Heger and induced Reinbold to ground out to end the game.

“They had seen him for seven innings,” Nelson said. “They were on him more than they were before.”

The Lions opened the scoring in the second with two runs. VerBruggen, who singled to open the inning, scored on a single by junior Cole Dauphinais. The key play in the inning was VerBruggen’s ability to make it from first to third on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Mason Hedberg.

Dauphinais scored the second run on a single by Baier.

The Lions added a run in the third on an RBI double by VerBruggen.

Ryan broke the game open in the fourth with three runs. Two of those runs came off Central McLean errors. Junior Eli Stewart, who finished 2-for-4, had an RBI double in the inning.

“It’s crazy,” Burckhard said. “I had to do it for the team. I love (senior) Jesse (VerBruggen), I didn’t want the season to end.”

With the win, the Lions force a decisive title game on Thursday at Corbett Field. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.

“Obviously it’s a big game,” Nelson said. “We are in the middle of (winning the region title) the hard way. It’s going to be fun. We will be ready. The kids have been more focused this week than they have been all season.

Mark Jones covers high school sports and general assignments. Follow him on Twitter @hoopsfan27-MDN.

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