The pitcher for the Blue Earth Pirates was tough, but he probably wasn’t the difference in the ballgame.

It was defense.

The Pirates played errorless defense and stifled the best scoring chance for the Albert Lea Colonels with a pair of fine catches in the outfield as Albert Lea lost 2-0 in an amateur baseball game at Hayek Field Wednesday night.

Blue Earth’s pitcher, a left-hander named Roesler who plays for South Dakota State, twirled a five-hitter while going the distance, walking one while striking out six.

&uot;He just kept us off balance,&uot; said Colonels manager Bill Trygstad. &uot;He wasn’t overpowering.&uot;

Overall, Trygstad was not disappointed with his team’s showing against a quality opponent that’s seeded No. 1 in the 1360 League playoffs.

&uot;I look for Blue Earth to have a shot at going to state in Class C if they play like they did tonight,&uot; said Trygstad. &uot;They’re a good team.&uot;

The Colonels’ only good scoring chance came in the bottom of the sixth inning, after Blue Earth scored both its runs in the top. For the first out, Mick Westeng’s drive to right field was snagged on a nice sliding catch by the right fielder. Then, with Craig Smith on second and Matt Trygstad on first, Justin Kohn hit a shot that the center fielder chased down with another impressive catch; he tossed to second to complete the double play.

Matt Trygstad was 2-for-4 for the night. Kohn and James Gonzalez had the Colonels’ other hits.

Isaac Walton started on the mound but, with so many games in the next week, went only four innings. He gave up two hits and no walks, striking out five.

Adam Berge pitched the next three innings and took the loss, allowing two runs on two hits, with two walks and two strikeouts. Smith struck out three and gave up one hit over the final two frames.

&uot;All three pitchers did very well tonight,&uot; said Bill Trygstad. &uot;I have no complaints there. We played a good team and we played decent ball, other than the hitting. Our pitching was very good, our defense was adequate. We’ve just got to find a way to get some hits going.&uot;

The Colonels play at 7:30 tonight at New Richland. Friday’s home game with the Austin Athletics was canceled because Austin has a rescheduled league game. The Rochester Blues come to town Saturday and Faribault is here Sunday.

Pirates 2, Colonels 0

BE

000

002

000 – 2

5

0

AL

000

000

000 – 0

4

3

LP – Adam Berge

(Contact Jim Lutgens at sports@albertleatribune.com or 379-3437.)