Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor

Last week for the Forest Lake Brewers was a little up, and a little down as the team went 2-2 over a four-game stretch. And appropriately enough, the club finished it with a split against the Hamel Hawks in a Sunday double-header.

The afternoon of July 1 looked pretty grim when the Hawks took care of Forest Lake in the opener by a score of 8-1. Not helping matters for the Brewers were four errors, as Hamel scored its eight runs on just seven hits in the seven-inning game.

Meanwhile, Forest Lake’s offense totalled six hits on the way to picking up their lone run by Kyle Johnson in the second inning.

Chris Parent was on the mound for the Brewers and went the entire way, allowing three earned runs, walking three batters and striking out three.

The second game went nothing like the early match-up, with Forest Lake (9-5) exploding for eight runs in the top of the first, and then getting one in the second inning.

Those nine runs would come in handy, as the Hawks chipped away with three runs in both the second and fourth innings as well as a pair in the third.

This time it was Hamel who would stumble along with four errors, and the Brewers would get three more runs over the final four innings for the eventual 12-9 victory.

Bobby Hager and Alex Johnson essentially split the pitching duties down the middle, with Hager getting his second win of the summer on 3 2/3 innings of work.

On offense the team found its rhythm, getting 12 runs on 13 hits. In addition to throwing for three innings, Johnson also had three hits of his own and scored twice.

Mark Miron had three runs on two hits, while John Mollner and Eric Zentzis were the other two Brewers to have multiple-hit games.

“Although we are not out of the race for the Metro Minny yet, it hurt to lose that first game against Hamel,” co-head coach Adam Gallatin said. “A sweep would have really kept us in the mix, but now we have our work cut out for us.

“I was happy with the way we bounced back in the second game and jumped all over them in the first inning. It was good to see a little fire from our team.”

The weekend began at home on Friday for Fan Appreciation Night, and Forest Lake churned out a 3-0 win over Rum River.

Zentzis and Dave Gauerke combined for another solid pitching performance, as Zentzis struck out six and gave up only one hit in five innings to get the win. Gauerke was just as tough during his four innings on the mound, allowing just one hit and striking out two.

“Pitching was the story,” Gallatin shared. “Zentzis and Gauerke just overpowered Rum River.”

The Brewers scored early, but not often, as the team got the winning run in the bottom of the first, and then tacked on the final two runs in the seventh and eighth innings.

Eric Goerdt (.385 BA) had two of the team’s RBIs, while going 2-for-3 from the plate.

On Wednesday, June 27, Forest Lake was at Coon Rapids, who at the time were in first place with a 9-1 record.

Despite a serious Brewers comeback in the top of the ninth, the Redbirds would improve to 10-1 after a 7-5 victory.

With Coon Rapids up 7-1 and looking to close out an easy win, Forest Lake rallied for four runs in its final at-bat, but that wouldn’t be enough.

Parent (3-4) turned in another complete game, but beyond the 11 hits, there were three errors by the Brewers that factored into the final score.

“We actually out-hit them in the game,” Gallatin noted, “but we played some sloppy defense that led to a couple of runs for them, and that was unfortunately the difference.”

Mark and Paul Miron continued their hit parade, with Mark (.367 BA) scoring twice on two hits, and Paul (.392 BA) collecting three hits and scoring once.

Johnson and Nick Carroll would also chip in with two hits apiece.

The Fourth of July holiday provides a bit of a break for the Brewers, as they will not be in action until Sunday, July 8, with a 7 p.m. non-conference game against the Midway Spades at Schumacher Field.

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