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For those watching the Dodgeville Knights this season you knew it was going to happen. You just didn't know when.
Well now it happened. The Dodgeville Knights had their bats come alive and their defense perform at its best in the first round of Western Section playoffs. Squeaking their way into the eight team playoffs as the seventh seed, the Knights stunned second seeded Wiota 8-3 with a 17 hit attack and each player in the line-up getting at least one hit.
Combined with two double plays, both ending threats in the later innings and a shut-out relief performance by Austin Larson the Knights advanced to the second round of playoffs and will travel to Argyle to face the Beavers in a 1 p.m. game Sunday.
The opening round was a day of upsets as all the road teams won and eliminated seeds 1-4. Number 8 seed Hollandale took down the top seeded MHPB Bluffers 6-4. Six seeded Agyle dropped third seeded Verona 43. Fifth seeded West Middleton handled the fourth seeded Ridgeway Cardinals 7-4. Hollandale is at West Middleton Sunday for the other second round game.
Danny Sullivan was cruising with a 3-0 lead until the Indians rallied to tie it in the fifth.
Austin Larson then took the mound and shut out the Indians on 40 pitches over the last four frames.
Sullivan fanned seven while Larson K'd two.
The Knights scored twice in the third,  Jordan Olson singled and got to third on a well placed bunt by Bradley Simmons. He scored on a double play. Trent Jones then singled and scored on Austin Larson's single to left that bounced away from the left fielder.
The Knights added a run in the fourth when Mark Ludwig singled and eventually scored on a throwing error on a double play attempt.
Rooney Janecke had a wrecking ball attitude as he singled and scored on an infield out in the fourth for the first Wiota run then singled in Tyler Torstenson-Harris who singled and Mitch Marty who walked in the fifth to tie the game.
The Knights answered in a big way in the sixth with three runs on six hits.
Danny Sullivan and Solberg stared it with one out singles and moved up on a bunt by Ludwig. Jordan Olson then singled in a run and another scored on a balk. The third run scored on a single by Trent Jones.
Single runs in the seventh and eighth were good insurance for the Knights. Solberg doubled and scored on Ludwig's single in the seventh. Austin Larson singled and scored on a hit by Sullivan in the eighth.
Olson was 3x4 to lead the Knights offense. Jones, Austin Larson, Jordan Larson, Sullivan and Solberg were all 2x5 and Ludwig was 2x4. Simmons and Levi Nagel had the other hits for the Knights.
Solberg's double was the lone extra base hit in the attack.