Hamburg outlasts Carver in a back-and-forth affair

HAMBURG – There was no shortage of momentum changes in the matchup between the Carver Black Sox and Hamburg Hawks. In the end, it was Hamburg who finished strong down the stretch as they picked up an important 11-9 win over the Black Sox Tuesday night.

Hamburg struck for two runs in the opening inning thanks to an RBI single by Jake Hokanson. The Hawks held onto that 2-0 until the fourth inning when Carver got the bats going.

Back-to-back doubles from Justin Kloster and Jake Margo got the Black Sox on the board. Carver would tag on three more in the inning to take a 4-2 lead over the Hawks.

The Hawks got one run back in the bottom half before putting together a rally of their own to retake the lead. Jake Hokanson started off the inning with a double and Zach Sufka drew a walk to give the Hawks a pair of baserunners. Hayden Movla then reached on an error to load the bases with nobody out. A fielder’s choice tied the game at four but Hamburg didn’t stop there. A sacrifice fly from Gavin Vos put the Hawks in front 5-4 and the Hawks would add two more runs on a dropped third strike and an RBI single from Clint Aretz to take a 7-4 lead.

The back-and-forth affair continued in the top of the sixth as Carver right away answered. The Black Sox scored three runs to tie the game at seven only to see Hamburg answer the bell once again in the bottom of the seventh.

Hamburg scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take control of the game. Just when it looked as if they were on their way to a win, Carver had one last push in them. Justin Kloster and Jake Margo delivered a pair of singles to give the Black Sox some life. Matt Monaghan kept things rolling with an RBI single to cut the deficit to three. An error scored another run for Carver bringing them within two. The Black Sox had the bases loaded with two outs down a pair of runs but Spencer Nelson came through with a big pitch to get Bailey Melz looking to seal a huge win for the Hawks.

Leading the way for Hamburg in the win was Jake Hokanson who had a monster day at the plate. He went 5-for-5 with a double, three RBI, and two runs scored to spark the offense. Hayden Molva and Aretz each added two hits apiece while Justin Perlich scored three runs out of the leadoff spot.

Nelson picked up the win on the mound for the Hawks in relief of Molva. He went the final three and one-third innings allowing two runs off four hits.

For Carver, Margo led the way with a three-hit day and scored three runs as well. Justin Kloster and Monaghan each added two hits.

With the win, Hamburg completed the season sweep of Carver and moved to 8-8 in the Crow River Valley League. With the loss, Carver fell to 6-8.

Follow Kip Kovar on Twitter – @Kovar_HJSports