WILMONT -- Once again getting a dominating pitching performance from Justin Saufley, the host Wilmont Cardinals earned another Gopher League amateur baseball victory Wednesday night, defeating the Adrian A's at Butts Probst Field, 5-1.
Saufley, who entered the game having twirled 31 consecutive innings for Wilmont without allowing an earned run, pitched a perfect game through the first 20 Adrian batters.
Then with two outs in the top of the seventh, Adrian's Brandon Wolf -- who later made a terrific throw to the plate to cut down a Wilmont run in the bottom of the inning -- worked Saufley to a 3-1 count before being plunked in the back with an inside pitch, giving the A's their first base runner of the contest.
"He was dealing," Adrian player-manager Levi Bullerman said after the game about Saufley. "He was working quick and staying in the strike zone."
After a wild pitch moved Wolf to second, Saufley registered his ninth strikeout of the game to end the brief threat.
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Through those first seven innings, Saufley had induced 11 ground ball outs to go along with nine strikeouts and one fly ball out.
"I was just trying to throw strikes and it seemed like Adrian hit a lot of balls on the ground, which we fielded well," explained Saufley. "I can always count on my defense."
Saufley's no-hitter was spoiled in the next inning when Adrian second baseman Jason Stubbe slapped a leadoff single up the middle for the first A's hit.
"It was a fastball up and I was trying to make good contact," said Stubbe after the game. "The first two times up, I had trouble seeing with the sun glaring."
Saufley, however, struck out the next three A's -- again keeping Adrian from mounting any real threat.
After pitching his 13th strikeout of the game to open the top of the ninth, Saufley was tagged by Bullerman for a deep triple.
"He had missed with two breaking balls," Bullerman said. "So I was expecting fast ball and I was able to make good contact on a fat one right down the middle."
"I made the mistake of getting behind in the count," said Saufley. "Bullerman is a good hitter and he sure drove that one."
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Which two schools -- beginning with the same letter -- battled for the 1966 District 7 boys' basketball championship?
Marvin Wood was the basketball coach at which school, which did the impossible in the early 1950's (hint -- this one is not local, but became more famous nationwide in the middle 1980s)?
Who did the Worthington girls beat in the "Game of all Games" in the 1997 Section 2AAA championship game?
Keith, Dale and Bill were the big scorers on which area boys' basketball team that went undefeated through the Southern Star Conference -- in the year that "American Pie" was a blockbuster hit -- before a two-point loss in the district finals?
Who were the "thumbodies" and what did they accomplish in March of 1977?
Which group of high school kids -- that had amazing success at the state level in the middle 1980's -- loved to play a noon-hour game called "kickover" as young elementary kids?
Karmel. Marty, Diane and Julie were the "fab four" on which high school girls' 4x800 that was a dominating team in the middle 1980s?
Which area 1960s athlete starred at the Trojan Relays and -- after playing at South Dakota State -- played pro football briefly in the Canadian Football League?
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The 1960s amateur league playoffs featured the the pitching duel between Bob Gebhardt and Chuck Gageby -- name the teams that Gebhardt and Gageby were pitching for and what year the duel peaked in the regional finals?
Which small town was one of the first to install lights on its baseball field and was a First Night Leauge powerhouse in the late 40s and early 50s (The field and the lights no longer exist)?
And finally, which former Windom Eagle athlete and modern day official has had the most "ink" in this column?
There you have 18 questions from a variety of time frames and a variety of sports.
Send your answers directly to me -- mail to P.O. Box 281, Heron Lake, MN 56137 or e-mail to me at lknutson@centurytel.net . You could try to call me at 507-793-2723 -- but the mailing or e-mailing may work better.
Good luck and look for an amateur baseball feature next time.
