It is every team’s goal to be playing its best at the end of the season. While Hutchinson may not be quite there yet, it got a lot closer with a solid weekend of baseball.

Hutchinson went 2-1 at the Mankato East Tournament, placing second to Class AA’s No. 1-ranked New Ulm.

The Eagles rallied to win the championship game 9-7.

Tigers coach Scott Renning liked what he saw from his team, which had dropped three conference games to Red Wing and Shakopee earlier in the week.

“We played well in 20 of 21 innings. We competed and played the game hard, which was great to see,” he said.

After dispatching New Prague in the quarterfinals Friday, Hutchinson advanced to the championship with a 9-6 win over Waseca, which entered the game with a 12-4 record.

In the championship, the Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 lead off Wade French and the Eagles, but New Ulm managed two runs in the fourth inning and and six in the fifth off Tyler Schwantes and Evan Glasson to take an 8-5 lead.

“We had the one inning that got us and that was the difference. We’ve talked about limiting people to one or two rather than five or six and that was the difference,” Renning said. “We just needed to catch and throw the ball a little better in the fifth inning.”

Hutchinson got one run back in the bottom half of the inning, and had the tying run at the plate in the seventh inning before French got a strikeout to finish the game.

“The great thing was that we still battled back. We never rolled over,” Renning said. “It was the kind of game we love being a part of. They came at us with intensity and we answered right back.

Brad Hauer led the Tigers with three hits, which included a two-run triple.

To read more about the Tigers and the Mankato East Tournament, check out Tuesday's print edition on newsstands right now.

Hutchinson concludes the regular season with a home contest with Willmar at 4:15 p.m. today. The Cardinals are 7-9 on the season.

The two teams could be playing for a higher seed at sections, which will be announced Wednesday.

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