MANKATO — Sophomore catcher Jackson Kopp’a RBI single through a drawn-in infield and a bizarre game-ending putout at home plate Friday night lifted No. 7 Mankato Loyola past top-ranked Madelia 9-8 in a Tomahawk/Valley Conference showdown at Wolverton Field.
Kopp, who ended up with two hits and a trio of runs batted in, was also in the middle of the play that produced the game’s final out.
With Tate Becker on third base with two outs in the top of the seventh, Miah Garza squared around to bunt. However, Garza let the pitch sail outside and when Kopp tossed the ball back to senior pitcher George Crimmins, the speedy Becker broke for home. Crimmins quickly flipped the ball back to Kopp and Becker was called out on a close play at the plate.
“I wasn’t expecting him to come home, but I had enough time to react and George made a sensational flip to get him,” Kopp said. “I was trying to shoot a ball up the middle and was looking for a fastball to hit. I happened to get it in the wheelhouse. I just shot it up the middle. We’re expecting to win games like this because we’re one of the top teams in the state right now.”
Madelia (15-2 overall, 7-1 in conference) put together its final threat when Becker reached on a two-base infield throwing error. After Becker moved up a base on errant pitch with no outs, Crimmins got a called strikeout and a two-strike foul ball on an attempted suicide squeeze to set up the insanity which was the game’s final out.
“I had total confidence in myself and my teammates,” Crimmins said. “I knew they would make the plays if I just battled through and kept throwing strikes with confidence. I saw the first guy square so I adjusted and threw it high to make it harder to bunt. Luckily, he was able to get it down but it went foul. The last play I didn’t see anything happen until the ball was half-way back to me. I saw Tate heading home so I just bare-handed it and Kopp made a great play.”
Loyola (13-3, 9-1) trailed 4-1 when Bryce Borgenhagen ripped a two-run single through the hole in the top of the third. The Crusaders, who pushed their winning streak to eight games, trimmed the deficit to 4-3 in the bottom of the frame when sophomore center fielder Covin Winter and senior right fielder Eddie Engen laced run-scoring singles. Winter finished with three hits and Engen drove in a trio of runs on a pair of hits.
“These were two good teams who have a lot of guys who have played a lot of baseball,” Loyola coach Sam Carlson said. “I didn’t think we were being aggressive early and even though they were a little wild you still have to go after a pitch if it’s yours. Our bottom of the order did a good job of getting on base. There were just a lot of things going on and those are the games you want to play before playoffs.
“I just couldn’t be prouder of the way this team is playing right now. We know they like to safety squeeze, so we had some plans for that. Sometimes it can be a great bunt so there’s nothing you can do but George did a good job of putting the ball where they couldn’t do it.”
Loyola erupted for five runs in the fourth to take an 8-4 lead on Kopp’s two-run bullet into right-center field. Senior shortstop Cam Fogal and Engen each delivered an RBI single in the surge. The Blackhawks got a run back in the fifth before two defensive gems from second baseman Noel Davila allowed the ‘Hawks to tie things with a three-spot an inning later. Zach Jacobs doubled in the uprising.
“This was one of the most fun games we’ve played this year,” Madelia coach Jimmy Kiefer said. “It was two highly competitive teams going at it like a heavyweight match-up and it was fun to be a part of it. This has been an exciting year for us and it has been fun building a bond with them and going on a journey with them.”
Senior right-hander TJ O”Malley gave up six earned runs over 5 1/3 innings to pick up the win.
Loyola plays Monday at Sleepy Eye while Madelia plays at Nicollet the same day.