NEW ULM — There’s a new section 2AAA baseball champion, but the title is staying in Mankato.
Junior right-hander Kason Nuehring’s one-hitter and a trio of two-run, fifth-inning singles Thursday lifted Mankato West to a 6-1 win over Mankato East in the Section 2AAA championship game at a crowded Johnson Park.
East (17-10) needed a pair of victories to gain a third straight state tournament trip. However, the Scarlets (17-5) would have no part of that as they punched their ticket to their first appearance in the final eight since 2022.
“We knew it was going to be tough so we came here to battle because we knew they were going to bring it,” said Nuehring, who struck out seven and walked three in tossing 94 pitches. “We just had to bring it harder and that’s what we did. I knew they were hunting fastball, so I had to mix it up and I thought I did a pretty good job of that. My defense backed me up really well and I love them for that.
“We’ve had some errors in games this year but we always bounce back from that right away. Our hitting is off the charts. Everybody in our lineup can get the big hit when needed. I’ve been working on hitting line drives and I was able to hit another one today. This means a lot and for the players and coaches it’s a huge accomplishment.”
East, which won four straight games in the loser’s bracket to gain a spot in the finale, took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third when an errant pick-off set up senior second baseman Logan Hasz’s run-scoring infield single. Nuehring got a strikeout to end the inning before settling in to set down 12 of the final 13 Cougars.
“One hit isn’t going to win you any games unless you play perfect baseball throughout,” East coach Travis Miller said. “We struggled a little bit with our pitchers hitting their spots and that cost us that one bad inning. I coached Kason when he was 9 and 10 years old, and we know what he’s got. He’s a great pitcher and is able to change-up his look and move the ball around.
“We weren’t able to connect on him two games in a row.”
West, which stranded seven runners through four innings against Cougars’ ace Keaton Wojcik, knocked out the junior left-hander with a six-run burst an inning later. Senior center fielder Ben O’Neil bounced a single into right field to get things started. After junior catcher Emmitt Rentas was hit by a pitch, a wild pitch moved the runners up in front of senior first baseman Mason Schreiber’s slicing two-run bullet into left field.
“I am speechless. This is insane,” said Schreiber, who along with sophomore shortstop Evan Senske came up with a handful of defensive gems. “I’ve been on the other side of losing this three times and it’s not a good feeling. We had a lot of pitchers left but losing that first one is so hard because it puts you on the fence. I felt one we got in the drivers seat which just kept winning and kept the bats hot. I was late on his fastball but I was attacking them until I got that huge hit.”
Wojcik, who allowed four earned runs on four hits while striking out four, walking five and hitting three batters, exited after walking Gavin Torvick. Senior right-hander Avery Stubbs issued a base on balls to Carter Sawtell before Nuehring lined a two-run opposite field single into right field to expand the margin to 4-1
“Kason pitched his butt off for us,” West coach Marshall Miller said. “We just kept stressing to wait for your pitch and we did that the whole game. We finally started getting those key hits we were waiting for all game. Pitching and defense have been the main parts of our game all year. We got through the section tournament with basically three pitchers and we’ve got other guys too.
“That’s a luxury we have to go along with a well-rounded team.”
After junior left fielder Owen Neubert laid down a sacrifice bunt, senior right fielder Dom Murphy laced a two-run single into right field to gap the six-run surge. Rentas cracked a double in the first inning while Senske added a third-inning infield single.
“It all starts with Kason. He’s the best pitcher in the Big Nine,” Rentas said. “We got hitting in that one inning and Dom Murphy with a clutch insurance hit. We were tired of hearing about East since they beat us the last two years. But today, we showed we were better.”
West plays Thursday in the opening round of the Class AAA tournament in Chaska.