Amateur Baseball: VonBerge’s no-hitter highlight of Hudson’s week

Logan VonBerge stole the show for the Hudson River Rats last week.

VonBerge threw the first no-hitter in the 25-year history of the River Rats, and the first of his career at any level, while striking out 22 batters in a 9-0 win over the New Richmond Millers Friday night in New Richmond.

It was the third of five games in six days for Hudson and the first of three straight victories that saw the Rats boost their record to 16-5-1 overall, 9-3 in St. Croix Valley Baseball League play. They started the week at North St. Paul Tuesday night in a game that was called after eight innings due to rain with the score tied 1-1. Their only blemish of the week came in an 11-0 SCVBL loss at Spring Valley Wednesday night before beating New Richmond 9-0 Friday, the Eau Claire Cavaliers 20-7 Saturday, and the Plum City Blues 10-8 in 12 innings Sunday.

VonBerge, who just completed his sophomore season at Augustana University alongside twin brother and fellow River Rat Brody, walked four batters and hit three more Friday at New Richmond but didn’t allow a hit while coming up with key strikeouts when he needed them, including inning-ending strikeouts in the second and third with a runner on third.

Hudson’s offense gave him all the runs he needed in the first inning by scoring three times on RBIs by Mitch Lewis and Teddy Donna and a Miller error.

Donna added a double in the fifth inning and a solo homer in the ninth, and Owen Anderson singled twice and drove in two runs while Payton Lawrence had three hits and an RBI and Lewis and Landon Zeuli had two hits and an RBI each. The River Rats were aided by five New Richmond errors in the game.

Saturday Donna hit his second home run in two at bats, a three-run shot in the bottom of the first inning and the Rats erupted for 11 runs in the fourth inning in a 20-7, seven-inning victory over the Eau Claire Cavaliers.

Hudson sent 17 batters to the plate in the bottom of the fourth while collecting nine hits, including a two-run single by Anderson and run-scoring hits from Zeuli, Isaiah Grancorvitz, Jason Hollar and Lewis. Lawrence drove in two runs in the inning with a bases-loaded walk his first time up and an RBI fielder’s choice in his next at bat.

Hollar finished 5-for-5 at the plate with a double, RBI and three runs scored while Zeuli had three hits and two RBI and Anderson singled, doubled and drove in four runs. Steele Homme added two hits, including a double, and three RBI and Lawrence drove in three runs while Lewis plated two.

Bradyn Bezanson, the second of five Hudson pitchers in the game, pitched a scoreless third inning to earn credit for the win.

Bezanson pitched three more scoreless innings in relief in Sunday’s 12-inning victory at Plum City as the River Rats scored three runs in the top of the ninth to tie the score and three more in the 12th before holding on for a 10-8 victory.

Lawrence got things going in the ninth with a leadoff walk before stealing second and moving to third on a base hit by Lewis. He scored when Lewis was forced out at second on a grounder by Anderson. Bezanson followed with a single that sent Anderson to third and Anderson scored on a sac fly by Taylor Matter before Quin Tretsven singled in Bezanson from second to make it a 7-7 game.

Bezanson retired nine of the ten batters he faced in the ninth, 10th and 11th innings, allowing just one baserunner on a one-out error in the 11th before getting a strikeout and pop out to keep the score tied.

Tretsven and Kyler Hove led off the Hudson half of the 12th with back-to-back singles and Will Jilek walked to load the bases before Tretsven scored on a passed ball to put the River Rats up 8-7. An RBI single by Lewis and a sac fly by Anderson made it a 10-7 game.

Tretsven came on in the bottom of the 12th and gave up a double and single that resulted in one run for the Blues before retiring the next three batters to earn the save.

Lewis had three hits and an RBI in the win and Anderson drove in three runs while Mattern had two RBI and Tretsven and Lawrence drove in a run apiece.

Last Wednesday at Spring Valley Lawrence had two of Hudson’s four hits in an 11-0, seven-inning loss to the Hawks.

The River Rats hit the road for four games this week beginning with a SCVBL at Osceola Wednesday night. They’ll visit Stillwater for a non-league game Thursday before returning to SCVBL action at River Falls Saturday at 7 p.m. at Prescott Sunday at 1 p.m.