Bluejays clinch CRVL South title with win over Brownton

PLATO – The Plato Bluejays put themselves in a great position with their stellar play all season long. They were rewarded for it as they clinched the Crow River Valley League South Division title with a 3-1 win over the Brownton Bruins July 9. The win for Plato combined with St. Boni’s win over Cologne secured them their third-straight division title.

Drew Hedtke was in control throughout on the mound in the win for the Bluejays. He went all nine innings allowing just one run off four hits while striking out 10.

The offense came through in some big spots to help Hedtke get the win. In the bottom of the first, Bennett Lepel delivered a two-out RBI single to give Plato a 1-0 lead.

Reece Schwirtz would add a two-out RBI single of his own in the bottom of the second to extend the lead to 2-0 for the Bluejays. Plato would tag one more in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a sacrifice fly by Dane Schwirtz to make it 3-0 Bluejays.

Brownton got on the board in the top of the seventh. Deryk Randt led off the inning with a single and later scored on a groundout by Ryan Grams to cut the deficit to one.

The Bruins nearly had a chance to tie things up in the eighth. With a runner on, Scott Finberg nearly tied the game with one swing of the bat but Caden Lang made a great running catch near the wall to end the inning and keep the Bluejays in front.

Leading the way for the Bluejays offensively was Mitchell Boesche with two hits. Beau Lepel scored a pair of runs while three different players drove in a run.

For Brownton, Troy Kohls kept the Bruins in the game with a strong showing on the mound. He allowed just three runs off eight hits while striking out three.

Deryk Randt had two of the team’s four hits in the loss. Seth Schuette and Nathan Schultz each had one hit as well.

With the win, Plato is the CRVL South Division champion. With their division title, Plato receives an automatic bye into the Region 7C Tournament and will be one of the top two seeds.

Follow Kip Kovar on Twitter – @Kovar_HJSports