Hopkins, MN - The Hopkins Flyers are off to a 4-2 start this season and are winners of 4 straight.  After dropping their first two games to open the season against Chanhassen (4-0) and Delano (13-3), the Flyers have ripped off four straight wins are ranked 10th in the current LegionBaseballHub poll.  With wins over St. Louis Park and Chesterbird last week, the Flyers are now 2-0 and stand atop the South Hennepin league standings. 

Flyers open South Hennepin with win over St. Louis Park
South Hennepin American Legion league play opened last week in St. Louis Park and the Flyers outlasted the St. Louis Park Railcats by earning a 5-0 shutout.  Alex Schwartz blasted a solo shot to left field and the Flyers scored a run in the final 5 innings.  Jon Koch pitched the complete game 4-hit shutout and also went 3-5 with 3 RBI in the lead off slot.  Third baseman Morgan Holmes was 2-3 with an RBI on the evening.   The game was played in a crisp 1:24.  

7-run inning propels Flyers Past Edina 1
This past weekend, the Flyers swept Edina Legion 1 and Edina Legion 2 at Breamar's Courtney Field.  They opened the weekend with an 8-4 win over the Edina 1.  A 7-run outburst in the third inning proved to be enough as the Flyers cruised to the victory.  Geoff Cooper worked a controlled effort pitching 6 innings and allowed 2 runs against.  He struck out  3 Edina batters and walked just one.  Koch picked up 2 more doubles and 2 more RBI in the game giving him 6 doubles on the season.  Holmes continued his hot bat at the plate going 3-4 with a double knocked in a run.  Shortstop Jeremy Burton was 2-4 with a double and sharp in the field to help lead the Flyers to the win.  The game was not a South Hennepin League game.  

Bats Erupt in Win over Edina 2 
Hopkins closed out the weekend with a see-saw battle against Edina Legion 2.  The game went to the seventh inning tied at 7 and the Flyers erupted for 5 runs to capture the 12-7 win.  Left fielder Derek Johnson was 3-4 and scored the winning run on a wild pitch.  After Hopkins took the lead, they loaded the bases after Max Weesner came off the bench and dropped a perfect bunt, intended to move runners over, that ended up being a base hit.  Like Weesner, Koch had the day off and came off the bench to launch the first pitch out of the park for the grand slam for the final margin of 12-7. 

Leading the way for the Flyers who had a 17 hit attack were second baseman Reece Chiriboga was 4-5 at the plate with 2 RBI, Joey Swanson who was 3-3 with 2 runs, and Aaron Jensen who was 1-3 with 3 RBI.  Martin de la Paz was slick in center field with the wind blowing out and creating plenty of challenges for the outfielders.  He was also 1-3 with a run scored.  Eric Plaunt got the start and worked 4 2/3 innings while striking out 3.  Johnson earned the win in relief and lowered his ERA on the season to 1.31.  

Flyers Outlast Chesterbird in Extra Innings 
The Flyers got down to their last out and last strike of the game with shortstop Jeremy Burton at the plate and Alex Bowers on second base.  Burton hit the ball where it was pitched and deposited a single into right field as the speedy Bowers raced around third to tie the game at 1.  That gave the Flyers new life as they went on to finish off the team that plays out of Benilde-St. Margaret's and is known as Chesterbird in Legion play by a score of 4-1 in 8 innings. 

Starting pitcher Jon Koch worked a controlling and efficient outing on the mound to earn his second win.  He recorded 11 strikeouts, giving him 19 on the year and the run allowed was  unearned and has not allowed an earned run in 15 innings pitched over two starts this season.  The explosive offensive lineup from Hopkins was held to just seven hits over the 8 innings saving the best for last.  

Hopkins heads into the weekend with a game against Wayzata, who are the defending American Legion and MSHSL state champs.  Their challenge will continue this weekend with games in Burnsville tournament.  Their pool play features two top ten teams in Lakeville North (7th) and New Ulm Gold (6th).