The Kenyon Post 78 American Legion baseball team is fighting to see another day.
Fight is the operative word.
Mason Torgeson showed a lot of fight when he mounted a double-digit pitch at-bat to help start a rally when his team needed it most. Kenyon trailed Cannon Falls 6-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning of an elimination game in the Divison II East Central substate tournament.
Spirits were low for the team in the gold jerseys.
Torgeson's effort resulted in a one-out single. Then there was another single by Owen Craig. Then another by Reed Sommer to bring in a run. How about another RBI single by Colton Steberg for good measure? Will Van Epps didn't want to be left out. He lined a run-scoring single, too.
Gunner Kennedy couldn't keep the hit train going, but only because he drew a walk to plate another run.
Noah Wallaker caught 14 innings on this day in 90-degree heat at Highland Park in Watertown, site of the substate tournament. If he wasn't already worse for the wear, he was hit by three pitches across two games on the day.
None of the three were more important than the one that brought in the game-tying run against their League G rival from the regular season.
A new pitcher couldn't slow down Post 78. Butch Lindell walked in another run and Jack Vierling hit a two-RBI single.
Torgeson came back up and made a productive out on a fly ball to right field that advanced Lindell to third base.
Kenyon had runners on first and third. On a steal of second, Cannon Falls threw the ball into the outfield that brought in a run. Cannon Falls got out of the inning on that play throwing out a runner at third.
All 15 runs between the two teams in Kenyon's 9-6 win were scored in an inning-and-a-half span.
It was a scoreless game through three innings with Kenyon as the home team on the scoreboard.
Craig was pitching effectively for Kenyon. He lasted until the fourth inning when Cannon Falls scored six runs thanks largely to three defensive miscues behind him. Lindell finished off the inning on the mound and was effective in stopping the bleeding.
Still, the wheels appeared to be falling off. Especially with Kenyon going down quickly in the bottom of the fourth.
The rally changed everything.
Lindell was on the precipice of completing the rest of the game on the mound. He retired the first two batters of the seventh and had a 3-2 count on the last batter.
Kenyon coach Kirby Van De Walker, ever the chess master, swapped Craig, who was at third base, back in at pitcher mid at-bat. Craig coaxed the final out to pick up the save.
LET'S PLAY TWO
With the win, Kenyon advanced to play a half hour later that evening against Plato.
On July 26 in the winners' bracket, Plato beat Kenyon 16-12.
That advanced Plato to play Le Sueur in the winners' bracket finals to open the day on July 28. Le Sueur won 14-2.
Kenyon had to play again on July 27, this time escaping with a 2-1, 10-inning win against Watertown.
That brought Kenyon to its game with Cannon Falls. Plato awaited that winner.
A rested Plato team came out of the gates hot scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning. A potential inning-ending play on a force out at second base helped the cause.
After Kenyon went down in order on six pitches in the top of the first, it saw plenty more pitches in the second.
Despite recording just one hit on a bunt single 15 feet in front of the plate, Kenyon plated five runs. Two bases on balls, four hit batsmen and a sacrifice fly did the damage. Plato's starting pitcher departed without recording an out in the second inning.
Plato saw Kenyon's bat-around inning and matched it in the third. Plato began to make sharp contact and was mounting a sizable hits advantage. Lindell exited with the bases loaded and score tied at 5. Torgeson came in for relief. He allowed a run to score on Lindell's dime before a timely strikeout limited the damage.
Kenyon responded with a three-run frame in the fourth. Sommer, Steberg, Van Epps and Kennedy all singled with Sommer and Van Epps driving in a run each.
The lead swelled to 10-6 in the fifth thanks to a Torgeson RBI single and Craig RBI fielder's choice.
Plato got one back in the seventh on a RBI single by its ninth hitter, Evan Motzko.
A walk on the next at-bat brought the tying run to the plate in the form of one of Plato's top hitters, Luke Roepke. His hard hit grounder was fielded cleanly to help Torgeson get out of the jam.
Van Epps hit a sacrifice fly to add an insurance run in the seventh. One more came in on a wild pitch.
Up 12-7 heading to the seventh, it looked like Kenyon was going to need all of that five-run advantage to hang on.
Plato loaded the bases to prompt Torgeson's departure with one out. As he jogged out to center field to swap spots with Sommer, Torgeson was met with steady applause from the Kenyon faithful who made the hour-and-a-half jaunt. Their praise was also heaped upon Craig and Lindell. All were sparsely used pitchers throughout the spring and summer seasons. They met the moment and pitched well when the team's main arms were unavailable due to pitch count rules or injury limitations.
Sommer allowed a single to left field that scored a run. Plato would have had the tying run up to bat, but that at-bat never happened.
One run scored easily on the single. The next runner from second base came barreling around third. There was some indecision between coach and player about sending him home. He was held at third and was ready to trot back to the bag safely. Except the next runner was waiting at the bag.
The lead runner high tailed it back toward home to no avail. He was out in a rundown.
Plato's baserunning blunders continued as two runners were in between second and third base. Kenyon executed another rundown to perfection, recording the final out near the third base bag.
The party moved from third base out toward the pitcher's mound where an adrenaline-filled celebration continued.
Kenyon is now two wins away from representing the substate at next week's state tournament in Bird Island.
It plays noon July 29 against Le Sueur, which is 3-0 in the tournament. Kenyon has to win to force a final game at 2:30 p.m., otherwise Le Sueur is champion.
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