MONROE - Austin Burandt sat in the dugout and hoped to get a shot at a game-winning hit Thursday against Orfordville.
Burandt at catcher made a running catch in foul territory to keep Monroe within striking distance, and in the bottom of the seventh inning, he came through with a walkoff squeeze bunt to knock in Mitch Riese for a comeback 4-3 win over Orfordville.
"I wanted to go up there swinging," Burandt said. "I knew if I hit a ball to the outfield that Mitch would tag up and score. I had to put the ball in play. Losenegger gave me the bunt sign. I was a little surprised because I have been hitting pretty decent. I knew if I could get it down, Mitch would score. It was a hanging curveball. It's a pitch I normally would have swung and drove it."
Monroe (6-9, 6-3 Southern Stateline League) trailed 3-2 in the seventh. Ryan Erickson led off by coaxing a walk off Orfordville relief pitcher Nolan Strzok. Isaiah Siemers then beat out a bunt single. Riese reached on a fielder's choice and Alex Einbeck beat out an infield single to load the bases. Kramer Henning, who went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a home run, was hit by a pitch to score the game-tying run. That set the stages for Burandt.
"I knew he could get it down," Monroe coach Eric Losenegger said. "I didn't want to play for the tie. Alex was going to go back out there and pitch in the eighth, but I didn't want to do that. It was a lefty on the mound and he was pitching out of the windup. If he (Riese) gets thrown out we still have Austin up with guys in scoring position."
Einbeck pitched a complete game and gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked four and struck out one. Orfordville's Riley Pearson, who went 2-for-3, had an RBI single in the first and he hit a solo home run in the third to give his team a 2-0 lead.
Einbeck pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the second and another jam in the sixth. In the second, he got Brendan Neal to fly out with the bases loaded to end the threat. Einbeck turned a double play by catching a pop up and throwing to first in the sixth to get off the hook in a two-on, one-out jam.
"He made one mistake and the kid hit it well," Losenegger said of Pearson's home run. "He minimized the damage. Alex kept us there. In the spring, it (pitching) was like foreign territory coming out there. He has come out and worked very hard. He has put in time in bullpen sessions. He has put the time in and it has paid off. It's nice to have some success with all the hard work he has put in. They buy in a little more."
Monroe rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the fourth when Henning crushed a two-run game-tying home run to right field off Orfordville's Trevor Aasen. Aasen, who retired the first nine batters he faced, pitched five innings and only gave up one hit and two runs.
"It felt really good to finally getting a hold of one," Henning said. "I knew I hit it hard. I was still running and I heard everyone cheering so I started jogging around. It's always good to come out and get good hits to put my team on top."
Monroe will start a stretch with a doubleheader on Sunday in Janesville where they play nine games in eight days.
"It feels good to be in first place in our league," Henning said. "Hopefully, it will give us confidence for Sunday so we can go up there and win a couple of games."
Burandt at catcher made a running catch in foul territory to keep Monroe within striking distance, and in the bottom of the seventh inning, he came through with a walkoff squeeze bunt to knock in Mitch Riese for a comeback 4-3 win over Orfordville.
"I wanted to go up there swinging," Burandt said. "I knew if I hit a ball to the outfield that Mitch would tag up and score. I had to put the ball in play. Losenegger gave me the bunt sign. I was a little surprised because I have been hitting pretty decent. I knew if I could get it down, Mitch would score. It was a hanging curveball. It's a pitch I normally would have swung and drove it."
Monroe (6-9, 6-3 Southern Stateline League) trailed 3-2 in the seventh. Ryan Erickson led off by coaxing a walk off Orfordville relief pitcher Nolan Strzok. Isaiah Siemers then beat out a bunt single. Riese reached on a fielder's choice and Alex Einbeck beat out an infield single to load the bases. Kramer Henning, who went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a home run, was hit by a pitch to score the game-tying run. That set the stages for Burandt.
"I knew he could get it down," Monroe coach Eric Losenegger said. "I didn't want to play for the tie. Alex was going to go back out there and pitch in the eighth, but I didn't want to do that. It was a lefty on the mound and he was pitching out of the windup. If he (Riese) gets thrown out we still have Austin up with guys in scoring position."
Einbeck pitched a complete game and gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked four and struck out one. Orfordville's Riley Pearson, who went 2-for-3, had an RBI single in the first and he hit a solo home run in the third to give his team a 2-0 lead.
Einbeck pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the second and another jam in the sixth. In the second, he got Brendan Neal to fly out with the bases loaded to end the threat. Einbeck turned a double play by catching a pop up and throwing to first in the sixth to get off the hook in a two-on, one-out jam.
"He made one mistake and the kid hit it well," Losenegger said of Pearson's home run. "He minimized the damage. Alex kept us there. In the spring, it (pitching) was like foreign territory coming out there. He has come out and worked very hard. He has put in time in bullpen sessions. He has put the time in and it has paid off. It's nice to have some success with all the hard work he has put in. They buy in a little more."
Monroe rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the fourth when Henning crushed a two-run game-tying home run to right field off Orfordville's Trevor Aasen. Aasen, who retired the first nine batters he faced, pitched five innings and only gave up one hit and two runs.
"It felt really good to finally getting a hold of one," Henning said. "I knew I hit it hard. I was still running and I heard everyone cheering so I started jogging around. It's always good to come out and get good hits to put my team on top."
Monroe will start a stretch with a doubleheader on Sunday in Janesville where they play nine games in eight days.
"It feels good to be in first place in our league," Henning said. "Hopefully, it will give us confidence for Sunday so we can go up there and win a couple of games."
