By Jeff Seisser
Union sports editor
JEFFERSON — The Jefferson Blue Devils picked the perfect time to achieve their first three-game winning streak of the 2009 season. With a 7-3 decision over visiting Lake Mills Sunday at Fischer Field, the Blue Devils not only capped off their Home Talent League regular season with three consecutive wins, but also qualified for the Southeast Section playoffs.
Needing a minor miracle, the Blue Devils got just that as Cambridge lost 9-2 to Whitewater Sunday. Jefferson finished 10-6 to earn the second and final playoff spot in the East Division, behind Fort Atkinson (13-2).
The Blue Devils (17-15 overall) will play at West Division champion Albion (11-5) Sunday at 1 p.m. Jefferson beat the Tigers in their only meeting, 18-7 on Memorial Day.
Cambridge finished 9-7 and in third place.
Bowe Bushey’s two-out, two-run single highlighted a four-run fourth inning as the Blue Devils took a 7-0 lead on the Grays (5-11).
After Lake Mills recorded the first two outs of the inning, Jefferson loaded the bases on singles by Michael Huckabay and Justin Thiede while LM starter Kyle Wollin walked Javier Rodriguez. Wollin then issued a free pass to Craig Lange, forcing home Huckabay. That set the table for Bushey who delivered a two-run single.
Lange would then score on Chris Folbrecht’s RBI single to cap the rally.
Folbrecht finished the day 2-for-4 giving him a season average of .388 (26x67), but he missed winning the batting title by just one-thousandth of a point to Cambridge’s P.J. Stilling (.389).
Folbrecht gave the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead in the first inning driving in Justin Thiede, who led off the game with a single. Thiede also went 2-for-4 while scoring a pair of runs Sunday.
A second-inning lead-off double by Travis Wagner and a throwing error on Wollin on Huckabay’s sacrifice bunt attempt brought Wagner in for a 2-0 Devils advantage. A wild pitch then plated Huckabay as Jefferson led by three.
The early cushion was plenty for Jefferson starter Mike Beyer. The veteran southpaw went the distance, scattering eight hits while striking out three.
Sunday’s game ended after 61⁄2 innings following the ejection of Lake Mills first baseman Rusty Meyers, leaving the Grays with only eight eligible players.
Bushey (2x3) and Folbrecht (2x4) were Jefferson’s hitting stars Sunday, each driving in two runs.
Nate Siegel (2x3) and Travis Meyers (2x4) paced Lake Mills’ eight-hit attack.
Lake Mills had won the previous three games in the series.
Sunday’s Jefferson-Albion winner will face either Fort Atkinson or Lodi in the Southeast Section championship game on Sunday, Aug. 23. The HTL Final Four round-robin series begins on Sunday, Aug. 30.
JEFFERSON 7, LAKE MILLS 3
Lake Mills 000 003 0 — 3 8 1
Jefferson 120 400 x — 7 9 3
Lake Mills (ab-r-h-rbi) — Wagner 3-0-0-0, E. Wollin 3-0-1-0, K. Wollin 1-0-0-0, Miller 2-0-0-0, R. Meyers 4-0-0-0, McFarlane 3-0-0-0, T. Meyers 4-0-2-0, Oestrich 4-1-2-0, Paulowske 3-1-1-0, Siegel 3-0-2-1. — Totals — 30-3-8-2.
Jefferson (ab-r-h-rbi) — Thiede 4-2-2-0, C. Lange 2-1-0-1, Bushey 3-0-2-2, Folbrecht 4-0-2-2, Doebereiner 4-0-0-0, Ristow 3-0-1-1, T. Wagner 3-1-1-1, Huckabay 2-2-1-0, Rodriguez 1-1-0-0, Beyer 0-0-0-0. — Totals — 26-7-9-5.
HR — None. 3B — None. 2B — E. Wollin, Oestrich; Ristow, T. Wagner.
Pitching HO — K. Wollin 7 in 32⁄3, McFarlane 2 in 21⁄3; Beyer 7. ER — K. Wollin 6; Beyer 3. SO — K. Wollin 1, McFarlane 3; Beyer 3. BB — K. Wollin 3, McFarlane 2; Beyer 4. W — Beyer. L — K. Wollin.