Dieterle’s run-scoring double in eighth helps Brown County baseball team extend winning streak to seven

MT. STERLING, Ill. — On a day when offense was difficult to come by, one swing decided Wednesday’s baseball game between Pittsfield and Brown County.

Collin Dieterle delivered that swing. The Hornets’ leadoff hitter ripped a double to left field with one out in the bottom of the eighth that rolled to the fence, allowing Wyatt Kassing to score from first with a head-first slide across home plate and giving the Hornets a 1-0 victory.

After Tyce Fullerton dazzled with seven shutout innings, Maverick Henry relieved Fullerton in the top of the eighth and tossed a scoreless frame, setting the stage for Dieterle’s heroics.

Kassing, who singled before Dieterle’s double, was the only player on either team to record multiple hits. The two starting pitchers — Fullerton and Draven Puterbaugh — combined for 14⅓ innings, five hits and 10 strikeouts. The teams totaled just seven hits together.

Brown County (15-5) has won seven consecutive games. It had scored at least nine runs in each of its last six games before Wednesday. They have given up more than three runs just once during their winning streak. The Hornets have lost just one game since April 3, when they lost their third consecutive game and fell to 5-4.

Pittsfield (13-5) has lost three of its last four games following a four-game winning streak. Each loss during that stretch has been by three runs or fewer. Three of the Saukees’ five losses this season have been by one or two runs.