JORDAN — Mankato East sophomore Keaton Wojcik has pitched better in his young baseball career, but probably not by much.
Wojcik threw a complete-game no-hitter Thursday at the Mini-Met to outduel Jack Scanlon, who also tossed a no-hitter, for a 2-0 win against Delano. The victory came in the semifinals of the Class AAA state baseball tournament and lifts the Cougars into Saturday’s championship game at Target Field.
The dual no-hitters is believed to be a first in state tournament history. It marked the first no-hitter for Wojcik at the varsity level, who also threw two no-hitters in middle school.
To accomplish the feat on such a big stage left even Wojcik shaking his head. “It’s surreal. You dream about games like this, but for it to happen in the state semifinals is a surprise.”
Wojcik, a left-hander, had a premonition something big might happen Thursday. “When I was warming up I felt I had pretty good stuff,” he said. “I felt like I was either going to have one of my best games or one of my worst games.”
The game started out as if it might be one of his worst. He hit Delano’s leadoff batter on the first pitch and then walked Caden Rock to put runners on first and second. But he got out of it by inducing an infield lineout, a fly to left and a grounder to second.
When he retired the side in order in the second, Wojcik assumed he was on his way. “After that second inning I felt like I was in control. All my pitches were working for me.
“My slider was nasty today. I abused the heck out of it during the game.”
Delano’s first real chance at a hit didn’t happen until the sixth inning when Rock hit a bouncer in the hole that shortstop Caeden Willaert fielded cleanly and fired to first just in time to nail the batter.
In the seventh, Delano’s Carter Van Beusekom hit a hard bouncer to first that Nate Bridger knocked down but couldn’t find the handle on. Wojcik, who had been running to first to cover the base, picked up the loose ball and just beat the batter to the bag. The next two batters struck out and flied out and the game was over.
Wojcik’s no-hitter included three walks and two hit batters. He struck out six.
“We need to give some credit to assistant coach Travis Miller today,” East head coach Micah Degner said. “Our catcher (Austin Hendley) did a great job, but Travis called all the pitches. He thoroughly scouted Delano, so he knew what pitches would keep them off balance.”
Wojcik’s counterpart, Scanlon, was wild at the start but settled down in the middle to late innings. He walked seven and hit one batter, finishing with 10 strikeouts.
The difference in the game was errors. East made one miscue while Delano made four. The Cougars’ speed on the basepaths forced Delano into a number of mistakes.
In the bottom of the second, designated hitter Caden Hansen walked and pinch-runner Peyton McCormick promptly stole second. A passed ball and wild pitch later gave East the only run it needed.
The Cougars added an insurance run in the third when Carson Hart walked, scampered all the way to third on Scanlon’s errant pickoff throw, and continued on home when the throw to third sailed into foul territory down the left-field line.
“When we put pressure on the defense, good things happen for us,” Wojcik said. “We’ve been doing that all season.”
When asked if he thought his team could get no-hit and still win the game, Degner didn’t hesitate to answer: “No. That just doesn’t happen. But when you get great pitching like we did today, and you force the defense out of their comfort zone, that’ll keep you in the game.”
The Cougars (23-3) take on Mahtomedi for the state championship at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Target Field in Minneapolis.