Windom 001 302 003 = 9-16-1
Hadley 000 000 002 = 2-4-3
The Windom Pirates punched their ticket to the Minnesota State Class C Amateur Baseball Tournament Saturday with a 9-2 victory at Hadley, winning the Region 10C best-of-three series two games to none.
The Pirates got a masterful pitching performance from starter Drew Rothenberger and reliever Collin Lovell, who held the Buttermakers off the board for eight innings despite good early scoring opportunities.
Meanwhile, the Pirates used timely hitting and aggressive baserunning to establish the lead.
Hadley put two runners on base in the bottom of the first inning, but a line-out double play ended the threat.
Windom then loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the second, but a force-out at home, followed by a double play ended the threat with no damage done.
Hadley again put two runners on base in the bottom of the second, but a strikeout and a groundout ended the threat.
Windom broke through in the top of the third. With one out, Jake Tauer and Keenan Wenzel singled, putting runners at the corners. Alex Fink then ripped a grounder up the middle for an RBI single and a 1-0 lead.
The Pirates broke the game open in the fourth. Alex Borsgard singled, Luke Gilbertson reached on an error and Brett Willaby walked. Tauer then hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring a run. The attempt to throw Willaby out advancing to second sailed high and rolled all the way into center field, allowing both Gilbertson and Willaby to score for a 4-0 lead.
The Pirates stretched the lead to 6-0 in the sixth on RBI singles from Wenzel and Rothenberger.
The Pirate defense added a second double play to get out of the sixth inning, preserving the shutout.
Windom then put an exclamation point on the win in the ninth. Gilbertson and Kobe Lovell singled and Willaby lined a three-run home run over the right field fence, giving Windom a 9-0 lead.
Hadley scored its only runs of the series on a two-run home run from Max Zwart in the bottom of the ninth, but Collin Lovell recorded three strikeouts in the inning, including a called third strike to end the game.
Wenzel led the offense with three hits. Tauer, Rothenberger, Borsgard, Kobe Lovell and Willaby each had two hits in the win.
Rothenberger went six strong innings for the win, allowing two hits and three walks while fanning three. Collin Lovell worked the final three innings, allowing two hits and a walk while fanning seven to seal the win.
The Pirates will now face the Milroy Irish in a best-of-three series to determine state tournament seeding from Region 10C. Game one of the series is Wednesday at Island Park, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Game two is Friday at Irish Yard, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Game three, if necessary, will be Sunday at Island Park, starting at 2 p.m.
