The Winona VFW Buddies battled the Rochester Spartans yesterday for first place in the First District but unfortunately the Buddies couldn’t get the timely hits in a 7-4 loss. Winona trailed 7-2 after the fourth inning before they scored a single run in the sixth and seventh inning. The Buddies had their chances in the late innings to come back as they stranded seven runners in the final three innings and had runners on first and second with no outs in the seventh.

Drew Fakler went 3 for 3 to lead the Buddies’ offense while Garrett Block added two hits. The Buddies’ defense didn’t play well as they committed seven errors in the game.

With the loss the Buddies fall into a first place tie with Rochester and the Spartans now hold the tiebreaker between the two teams. Winona has one league game left while Rochester has two remaining. Winona has at least the two seed locked up and if they stay as the two seed they would still be able to host part of the division tournament. The winner of the regular season title will also have a chance to host the district tournament.  The Buddies are 15-4 overall and 9-2 in the First District.