Back-to-back squeeze plays helped Brainerd get off to a winning start Friday in the first round of Pool play for the Gopher State 15-Under state baseball tournament at Adamson Field in Brainerd.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Brainerd squeezed in Tory Miller. On the next play Taylor Steiff was squeezed in to defeat Minnetonka 4-3.
Quinn McElfresh pitched the final 1.1 to get the win. He struck out two and didn’t allow a run or a hit. Paul Augustinack started the game for Brainerd. He went 5.2 and allowed three runs on six hits. He struck out one.
Logan Madsen, McElfresh and Augustinack all had hits and Streiff had a hit and scored twice.
Of Brainerd’s four runs, three came on squeeze plays.
Minnetonka 3 6 1
Brainerd 4 5 0
WP: Quinn McElfresh. LP: Rieder. Overall: Brd 1-0. Next: Brainerd vs. Wayzata in second-round of pool play in Gopher State 15U tournament at Central Lakes College in Brainerd 8 a.m. Saturday: vs. Burnsville at Adamson Field 12:30 p.m. Saturday
