Birds run SHL record to 3-0 with win over Wayzata

Joe Melles drove in two runs and scored one in the 6-2 win.

A six-run third-inning outburst was all Chester Bird would need in a 6-2 win over Wayzata, giving The Birds their third consecutive South Hennepin League victory.

Starting pitcher Jimmy Heck was forced to work hard early as three errors led to him needing 58 pitches to get through the first two innings.

He worked out of jams in both innings before walking Jake Steinbach to lead off the third inning before giving up a double to Ryan Poppitz two pitches later. He then settled in to retire the next three batters but gave up a run on a ground out as the Trojans jumped on top, 1-0.

Marshall Hoemke, called up from the Junior Legion team and making his Chester Bird debut, led off the inning by reaching on an error, followed by a Robby Sutherland base hit. Sam Lynch then bunted for a hit to load the bases.

Keaton Studsrud drove in Hoemke with a single to center field and Sutherland scored, with Lynch and Studsrud advancing a base, when center fielder Matt Blanchard's throw to the infield got away.

One out later, Joe Melles' single to left field drove in two runs and, with two outs, John Backes and Jimmy Cron hit back-to-back doubles to plate runs five and six.

After pitching two more scoreless innings, Heck needed 20 pitches to get through the sixth inning, when he gave up his second run of the game, and Scott Quinby came on to work a scoreless seventh inning to close out the win.

Heck's final line saw him work six innings, allowing two runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

Leading the way offensively was Studsrud, who singled twice with an RBI and a run scored. Melles accounted for three of The Birds' six runs by driving in two and scoring once.

Chester Bird is in action again, Friday, when it plays in the first two games of the Hopkins Summer Classic at Big Willow Park in Minnetonka. The Birds face Excelsior at 9 a.m., followed by a meeting with Tri-City Red at 11:30 a.m.