A surprising end to the finale

For five innings, Hutchinson looked flat in the final regular season tune-up with Willmar. However, a game is seven innings, and the Tigers awoke just in time.

Hutchinson rallied from seven runs down to win 9-8.

Down 8-1 in the sixth inning, Tigers coach Scott Renning sent three pinch-hit seniors to the plate.

Seth Baldry laced a hit to right field. Next, Ryan Thorson hit a double off the right field wall, plating the runner. Finally it was Tyler Schwantes, who traded places with Thorson.

Three hits led to five runs and a rally that wouldn’t end until a walk-off hit.

“All we needed was a little spark. We sent up three seniors and they get back-to-back-to-back hits and we get rolling,” Renning said.

Down a run in the seventh following three walks and a wild pitch, Mitch Cannon drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly to center field.

With two outs, Willmar’s Jordan Smith relieved Justin Hamann with Ben Aalfs on third base. Brian Albrecht hit a Texas-League single that just got over the glove of Mike Dunham that allowed Aalfs to score from third for the winning run.

“As bad as we played for five innings, we never gave up. That’s a great way to play heading into the playoffs. No matter the situation, we’re going to have to battle to stay in games if we want to move on,” Renning said.

The Tigers (8-12) will now shift their attention to the second season — the Section 2AAA playoffs. Hutchinson, the No. 11 seed, was put in a pod with No. 2 Minnetonka and No. 7 Waconia.

The Tigers and the Wildcats will square off at 7 p.m. Friday at the high seed.

“Waconia plays in the Wright, which at times is a very good conference. We know we can’t overlook them. Our focus is on them. If we win, then we’ll think about Tonka,” Renning said.

Eric Kraushar is the sports editor at the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sports@hutchinsonleader.com.