Windom 300 220 0 = 7-10-2
Perham 011 004 0 = 6-8-2
The Windom Eagle baseball team made an early lead stand up Thursday morning, capturing a 7-6 victory over Perham in the opening round of the Class AA State Baseball Tournament at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud.
The Eagles plated three runs in the top of the first inning and never trailed in the game, but needed to hold off a late Perham rally, as the Yellowjackets scored four times in the sixth inning and had the potential tying run on base in both the sixth and seventh innings.
In the first inning, Hayden Tietz led off with an infield single. He then stole second and moved to third on an errant pickoff attempt. Jackson Joyce followed with an RBI single, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Soren Nielsen beat out a bunt single and Stevie Meyer reached on an error, bringing in a run. With one out, Matthew Voehl dropped a bunt, but Nielsen beat the throw to third, loading the bases. Joe Walinga then drew a bases-loaded walk for a 3-0 Eagle lead.
Perham got a run back in the second. Following a leadoff double, the Yellowjackets scored on a fielding error.
Perham cut the deficit to 3-2 in the third on a solo home run by Brody Blume, but the Eagles regrouped in the top of the fourth. Joyce singled, Nielsen walked and Meyer singled, loading the bases. Easton Piotter drew a bases-loaded walk. Voehl then laid down a perfect squeeze bunt, giving the Eagles a 5-2 lead.
In the fifth, Matt Redman walked and Tietz smashed his first career home run over the left field fence, giving the Eagles a 7-2 lead.
Perham rallied in the bottom of the sixth. Blume led off the inning with his second home run of the game. With one out, Perham scored on an error. Lyam Schumacher then hit a two-run double to left-center field, cutting the Eagle lead to 7-6. But with the potential tying run at second base, relief pitcher Nielsen recorded a swinging strikeout to end the threat.
In the bottom of the seventh, Blume hit a one-out single and Ty Rooney drew a two-out walk. But Drew Ellingson hit a comebacker to Nielsen, who fired to first to end the game.
Joyce led the Eagles with three hits in the win. Tietz and Nielsen had two hits each.
Tietz earned the pitching victory, working the first 5-⅔ innings. He allowed six runs on seven hits, walked three and struck out four. Nielsen went the final 1-⅓ innings for a save, allowing one hit and a walk while striking out two.
With the win, the Eagles will face either third-seeded Glencoe-Silver Lake or sixth-seeded Aitkin Friday at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud, beginning at 11 a.m., with the winner of that game advancing to the state championship game Monday at Target Field in Minneapolis, beginning at 1 p.m. The loser of Friday’s game will play again Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. at Dick Putz Field in the third-place game.
Next games: Check for updates after each game.
Windom: vs. Aitkin/GSL winner (at St. Cloud), June 12
