Stone Poneys win close game over rival Muskies on Wednesday

Brian Mozey, St. Cloud Times
·4 min read

SARTELL − The Sartell Stone Poneys started their 2022 amateur baseball season by winning two of the first three games, then hit a tough stretch. The Poneys earned only one win in the month of May and went on a six-game losing streak.

Sartell needed to turn it around in June and the Poneys did a complete 180-degree turn. Prior to Wednesday night's game, the Stone Poneys broke the losing streak and won six of eight games to get back to near a .500 record.

The Poneys faced the rival Sartell Muskies on Wednesday to get one more win in the Sauk Valley League standings.

The game became a pitching duel, but the Stone Poneys were able to hold on for a 2-1 victory, reaching 9-9 on the season and 4-6 in the Sauk Valley League.

"We've been able to get into a rhythm now that all of our players are here," Aman said. "We have a nice mixture of younger talent and veterans to make a well-rounded team. Hopefully, we can just keep this winning streak going with playoffs around the corner."

Aman added that this hot streak for the Stone Poneys is due to the fact that the younger players are done with high school and Legion baseball so they can focus on amateur town team baseball.

The Poneys have 10-12 players on the Sartell High School baseball team or just recently graduated from the team. Aman has been hoping for this type of team for a while and he's happy to see if finally come together.

"The Muskies have guys on the team that have played 10-20 years together and I'm hoping that this core group of guys can play together on the Poneys for the future," Aman said. "It's great to see these younger players wanting to be a part of town ball and enjoying each of these games."

Little Leaguers talk to players in the Sartell Stone Poneys dugout between innings during the game against the Sartell Muskies Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at St. Cloud Orthopedics Field in Sartell.
Little Leaguers talk to players in the Sartell Stone Poneys dugout between innings during the game against the Sartell Muskies Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at St. Cloud Orthopedics Field in Sartell.

Wednesday's game was also a Little League night. Many of the Little Leaguers were asking for autographs from the players and shouting cheers for both the Muskies and Stone Poneys.

Wednesday's game became a pitching duel between Stone Poneys' Chase Heying and Muskies' Adam Wenker.

Stone Poneys catcher Will Kranz pivots to make the tag on Muskies baserunner Brian Schellinger at the plate during the game Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at St. Cloud Orthopedics Field in Sartell.
Stone Poneys catcher Will Kranz pivots to make the tag on Muskies baserunner Brian Schellinger at the plate during the game Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at St. Cloud Orthopedics Field in Sartell.

"My fastball and slider were working exactly how I hoped they would at the very beginning of the game," Heying said. "I was able to find my location early on and it helped me throughout the entire game."

Heying allowed two hits in six innings and has been adjusting to a new release point on the mound. The former Sartell High School pitcher has been throwing from the side and has moved his entire body to the side when releasing the pitch.

So far, it's been working well. Heying said he's enjoyed the change in his pitch release and hopes to continue building off of this early success for the rest of the season.

Chase Heying pitches for the Stone Poneys during the game Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at St. Cloud Orthopedics Field in Sartell.
Chase Heying pitches for the Stone Poneys during the game Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at St. Cloud Orthopedics Field in Sartell.

Wenker allowed seven hits in six innings. The Stone Poneys were able to score a couple runs off of him in the middle of the game.

The Poneys went up 1-0 in the bottom of the second with an RBI single from Steven Brinkerhoff which scored Shawn Lindsay. Then, the score doubled in the bottom of the third as Kade Lewis hit a single and Zack Overboe scored.

The score remained at 2-0 for the majority of the game until the ninth inning when the Muskies tried to make a comeback. Andrew Deters and Tim Burns hit back-to-back doubles and the game became a 2-1 score.

Jalen Vorpahl was able to strike out the next batter and have the following batter pop out to the third baseman. With two outs and the tying run on second, Vorpahl found some extra speed and struck out the final batter to earn the win.

Josh Schaefer fouls a pitch back for the Stone Poneys during the game Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at St. Cloud Orthopedics Field in Sartell.
Josh Schaefer fouls a pitch back for the Stone Poneys during the game Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at St. Cloud Orthopedics Field in Sartell.

"This was an important game because we're at 4-6 in league standings and the Muskies are only 6-4," Aman said. "We have a chance to get closer to the top of the standings with these games in July."

The Stone Poneys play at home against the Royalton Riverdogs at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Muskies will have some time off before its next game as Sartell hosts the Monticello Polecats at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13.

The Sauk Valley League playoffs will begin July 22-24 and finish up July 29-31. Then, the Region 11C playoffs will happen in the first couple weekends in August before the state tournaments at the end of August.

Brian Mozey is the high school sports reporter for the St. Cloud Times. Reach him at 320-255-8772 or bmozey@stcloudtimes.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrianMozey.

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This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Stone Poneys win close game over rival Muskies on Wednesday