Windom 230 013 0 = 9-9-1
Winona Cotter 010 042 0 = 7-6-3
The Windom Eagles closed a remarkable playoff run Friday afternoon by defeating Winona Cotter 9-7 at St. Cloud’s Dick Putz Field, capturing third place at the Class AA State Tournament.
The Eagles plated a pair of runs in the top of the first inning, then tacked on three more in the second to take a 5-0 lead.
In the first, Soren Nielsen ripped an RBI double and scored when Easton Piotter reached on an error.
In the second, Joe Walinga singled and Jackson Veenker walked. Both raced home on a triple from Hayden Tietz, who scored moments later on a wild pitch.
Cotter got on the board in the bottom of the second, but the Eagles stretched the lead to 6-1 in the fifth, as Easton Piotter smashed a solo home run over the right field fence.
The Ramblers battled back, scoring four times in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Eagle lead to 6-5 on a two-run double and a two-run single. But with the potential tying run 90 feet away, reliever Walinga coaxed an infield pop-up and a groundout, ending the threat.
The Eagles rebuilt the lead in the sixth. Nielsen slapped a two-run single and later scored on a throwing error, giving the Eagles a 9-5 lead.
The Ramblers cut the deficit to 9-7 in the sixth on a two-run single, but Walinga again stranded the tying run in scoring position. In the seventh, Walinga struck out a pair of batters and Veenker made an over-the-shoulder catch of a foul pop-up, giving the Eagles their highest state tourney finish since 1986.
Tietz, Joyce and Nielsen each had two hits in the win.
Stevie Meyer picked up the pitching win, working the first 4-⅓ innings. He allowed two hits, walked seven and struck out five. Walinga went the final 2-⅔ innings for a save, allowing four hits and striking out two.
Windom 000 100 0 = 1-2-1
GSL 020 020 x = 4-10-1
The Windom Eagle baseball team was sent to the third-place game at the Class AA State Tournament Friday afternoon with a 4-1 loss to Glencoe-Silver Lake.
Panther lefty Trevor Engelmann held the Eagles to two hits and struck out 10 batters in the game.
Meanwhile, the Panthers were able to take advantage of an Eagle error to score a pair of unearned runs in the second inning, then sealed the win with two more runs in the fifth.
In the second, Owen Motzko reached on a fielding error and took second as the Eagles attempted unsuccessfully to throw out a runner at the plate. Evan Motzko followed with an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.
The Eagles were held without a baserunner until the top of the fourth, when Hayden Tietz led off with a single. He stole second, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a Soren Nielsen sacrifice fly.
In the fifth, the Panthers got some insurance, as Jack Graupmann hit a two-run double for the game’s final runs.
Matthew Voehl had the only other Eagle hit in the game.
Jackson Joyce took the pitching loss, allowing 10 hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out five.
