Windom 201 123 1 = 10-6-2
Fairmont 001 010 0 = 2-6-5
The Windom Eagle baseball team used a patient eye and timely hits to build an early lead and made it stand Thursday evening, defeating Fairmont 10-2 to capture the Section 3AA championship at Marshall.
The win sends the Eagles to the state tournament for the first time since 2013.
The Eagles jumped to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Soren Nielsen hit a run-scoring sacrifice fly and Jackson Joyce scored when Easton Piotter reached on an error.
The Eagles padded their lead in the third. Hayden Tietz singled, stole second and scored when Stevie Meyer reached on an error.
The Cardinals got a run back in the bottom of the third, but the Eagles stranded the potential tying runs on base with a strikeout.
The Eagles regained a three-run lead in the top of the fourth. Matthew Voehl drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Joe Walinga then laid down a sacrifice bunt, with the attempt to throw out Voehl sailing wide, allowing the run to score.
The Eagles then mounted a two-out rally in the fifth, loading the bases on walks before Walinga drew a bases-loaded walk and Piotter scored on a wild pitch for a 6-1 lead.
A solo home run by the Cardinals cut the deficit to 6-2, but the Eagles got three big insurance runs in the sixth. Matt Redman singled. With one out, Joyce beat out a sacrifice bunt attempt, putting two runners on base. Nielsen then lined an RBI single to right. Then, with two outs, a chopper by Piotter was thrown away, allowing two runs to score.
Windom iced the game in the top of the seventh. Ben Ludewig reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Redman sacrifice fly.
The Cardinals put a runner on base in the seventh with a single, but a fly-out to deep right field and a strikeout ended the game.
Tietz finished with two hits and scored three runs in the win.
Tietz also picked up the pitching victory, working five strong innings. He allowed four hits and four walks while striking out seven.
The Class AA State Tournament begins June 11 at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud. Seeding for the tournament will be held Saturday morning.
Fairmont 221 340 0 = 12-11-1
Windom 040 001 1 = 6-7-5
Fairmont was able to force a winner-take-all game for the Section 3AA championship Thursday afternoon in Marshall by defeating the Windom Eagles 12-6 in the opening game of the championship series.
Fairmont jumped out to a quick lead, scoring twice in the first and twice in the second, but the Eagles tied the game in the bottom of the second, scoring four times. Joe Walinga delivered a two-run single, Matt Redman hit a sacrifice fly and Hayden Tietz hit an RBI single.
But the Cardinals seized momentum back, scoring a run in the third, then three in the fourth and four in the fifth to take a 12-4 lead.
Windom got a run in the sixth on a Redman sacrifice fly and scored on a Matthew Voehl groundout in the seventh.
Tietz and Ben Ludewig had two hits each in the loss.
Walinga took the pitching loss, working 2-⅓ innings in relief. He allowed six runs on five hits, walked two and struck out one.
Next games: Check for updates after each game.
Windom: vs. TBA (at Dick Putz Field, St. Cloud), June 11
